Following the parade to the Viceroy's Yamia at Tieatein on December 20, when 2000 people—moatly students from Chibli and Mancbaria—demanded the support of Viceroy Cheng Kucilaog to " petition asking the Throne to eatabliah a parliament at once, number of there delegates came to Peking and made to Prince Chiog a removal application of the same nate Central Government had had enough of that hiad of thing, apparent.
for on the following Saturday it edict that the Infantry Barean (or City Guards) to send off to their homes the agitators then in Peking, and to prevent others ons from entering the In the excitement of the many well informed Chinese inclined that edict as the last word on the subject. Not so the members of the Tzechengynsn, however, for, although the edict was circulated in the House before 4 o'clock, before 5 they passed the revised version of the memorial for representative <government, and succeeded in eliciting promise from their President that it, would be presented not Later than the following Monday. The wording of this memorial was less crude than that of its predecessors, which aroused the anger of the Government and was rejected, bat it was no less explicit it made a clear request for the establishment of a Cabinet instead of an improved Grand Council as the House bad intended at the earlier meetings.
It is interesting at this point to note that Prince Pa Lan did not hesitate in promising to forward the memorial, although such action might be taken as serious offence in the light of that day's edict; and the general impression is that Highness bad " shrewd idea that the following day's edict would render the memorial unnecessary, This suggestion was borne cut by the Prince's remarks on Monday, when, after explaining that an edict could not be presented in one day—as there were 0 many official channels to navigate—he stated that he had launched the memorial prior to recei the edict and that considering the perfectly satisfactory he bad recalled it upon his own initiative, The Prince concluded by moving that the memorial be cancelled.
Pagsibly some of the members had an ides, also, of what the Government purposed for several of them expressed. the calm' conviction that they would obtain a peaceable victory. Of course some of the members are Princes, some members of the Ministries; and, when it is remembered how difficult secrecy is in China, even in the highest official circler, such foreknowledge is not improbable, The majority of the publi however, accepted the edict at ite face value, specially old Chinese residents of Peking who were familiar with the awe-inspiring regime of the late Empress-Dowager. They all felt that the Government had merely been giving the National Assombly the necessary amount of rope, and that ita death knell had been sounded by the edict, Tu short, that the Tzecbengynan bad done more barm than good by bam-mering away at the Grand Coancil, The reply to this was that less than issued in connexion with the appeal for parliament at an earlier d official programme, ernment had acceded, nevertheless.
Opinion was divided as to whether the Government would deal severely with fature agitators. No one thought that the reformers would cease their importunitioe and. all admitted that severe measures would endanger the dynasty. The situation was beyond the ken of the man in th 1o specific promise, but what more could be expected than the precise orders given to the Barean of constitutional preparation?" Hasten the parliamentary regalatione, include a ca and submit as early as possible to the Throne." The two edicts were inseparable. In the former the Government had saved its face: in the latter, it bad done its part to meet the wishes of the peuple, The Government could not be expected to Kowtow to an advisory chamber that had carried its fanetions immeasurably beyond the scope intended {or its labours,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.