The ex-President, Li Yuan-hung, was invited to accept the post of President ad interim and on June 11 he arrived in Peking to take up his duties. His appointment was opposed by Dr. Sun Yat-sen and the powerful Lu Yung-hsiang of Chekiang, but the latter ultimately agreed to it on the understanding that it was only a temporary Presidency necessitated by the emergency of the times. Good intentions were signalized by a mandate abolishing tuchunship (June 16), a grandiose scheme of army disbandment (June 30) and the imprisoning of Chung Shih-ming, former Vice-Minister of Finance (June 23), accused of having starved all public services to give the money to Chang Tso-lin's agents. On July 5 the Provincial Assembly -of Canton (Dr. Sun Yat-sen having been expelled and General Chen Chiung-ming reigning in his stead) telegraphed to Peking, proposing abolition of the Southern Government and reunion with the North. It is inexplicable that no serious attempt was made by Peking to profit by this apparently genuine move. On August 1 the old Parliament of 1912 was formally reopened in Peking amid many hopes. It has continued to meet at intervals, apparently when members had nothing better to do. Not one Serious piece of work, scarcely even a serious proposal, can be put to its credit.
On arriving in Peking President Li sounded Dr. Wu Ting-fang, the veteran Foreign Minister of the Southern Government, as to his accepting the Premiership, but without success. An offer to Mr. Tang Shao-yi was equally fruitless. On July 81 Dr. Wang Chung-hui, the well known jurist, a man equally acceptable or obnoxious to all parties, as being identified with none, accepted office as acting Premier and formed a Cabinet. On August 14 two regiments of the 9th Division mutinied at
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.