The recently formed political combine, known variously as the "League of the Eight Provinces," the "Premier-President Faction," "The New Alliance," and the "Chihli-Shantung-Honan Union," has undertaken to announce definite policy for the _restoratiot: of peace and the re-establishment of 'a stable government. The whole combination is purely military, and the object of this new faction, is, first, to down the Anfuites. This is a' most laudable objective, but the mere downfall of the Anfu Party does not mean the restoration of peace, nor is there assurance of any other sort of government at the hands of this combination thea a purely military domination of China.
Tooruy's View or PaRLiAMENT.
The Tuchuns, forming the new faction, have determined that the two parliaments are the sole cause of unrest throughout the provinces and the first thing to be done is to} get rid of both. It will be interesting to learn the reasons set forth) for their dissolution at this time: There is no doubt that the Canton Parliament will be done away with on the grounds that the term of its members has expired, and, therefore, it has no legal status. The Peking Parliament is a very hard. nut to crack. The new fac: tion want its dissolution simply because it is an Anfu organ, but this is not sufficient reason for its legal dissolution.
A Sort or Macuinery.
Before the end of President Feng Kuo-chang's term of office, it was necessary to create some kind ut machinery for the election of his successor, so the Northern militarists elected, that is, elected through bribery and' intimidation, the Peking Parliament, known more commonly as the New Parliament, to do their bidding. This is the parliament that elected Hsu Shih chang President of China upon the orders of the Tuchuns.
The first Parliament's legal status is of no particular importance at the moment. The reason for its a.ssolution upon two occasions is of first importance. It was dissolved twice to make way for a military dictatorship, first, under Yuan Shih-kai, secondly, under Tuan Chi-jui. There were hundreds of ex cusses advanced by the militarists and their civil henchmen _advocating dissolution upon so-called legal grounds, but the excuses were used to throw dust in the eyes of the public, trying thereby to hide the real reason for dissolution. The present agitation for the dissolution of the New Parliament is in reality upon the same grounds, that is, to make way for a dictatorship to be enforced by the new faction. This Parliament now being the instrument of the Anfu militarists must go, and a parliament representing the militarists of the new faction must be installed.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.