May 8.
Iv appears to be generally assumed that there will be no more fighting in the north of any serious kind, that Chang Tso-lin and the Fengtien troops have had enough and that General Wu Pei-fu is master of the situation. So much might be Inferred from the Fengtien troops' withdrawal from Machang on the Tientsin-Pukou Railway, which indeed was necessitated by.the Chihli victory on the Peking-Tientsin Railway, threatening their communications. But much more is it to be deduced from the Presidential Mandate now issued, dismissing Mr. Liang Shih-yi from the Premiership, proscribing others and commanding the Iengtien troops to do what they are doing as fast as they can—withdraw behind the Great Wall. We hesitate to speak discourteously of the President of a friendly nation. But this mandate is a contemptible document. Contemptible also are the Peking Press Bureau insinuations that Wu is demanding huge indemnities from Chang Tso-lin and has promised that his troops shall not enter Peking, both being cunningly designed to make General Wu Pei-fu. unpopular. For the mandarins do not want the Chibli forces in Peking, and, if they enter, they, the mandarins, will upbraid General Wu before the world with broken promises. And if any indemnity is squeezed out of Chang 'Tso-lin, the stupid people'? are sharp enough to know that not he but they will have to pay it and will revile Wu accordingly.
Meanwhile although popular opinion has not pronounced itself about General Wu (in spite of the feverish delight of the Peking populace reported by the Press Bureau) we are told by well-informed Chinese that it is a mistake to think that the Chinese are opposed to him. They appeared to side with General Chang Tso-lin, we are told, only because he publicly declared that he was going to Peking to tun out President Hsu Shih-chang, who has lost the favour of all parties. If General Wu Pei-fu does that, we are assured that China will be on his side. And here: we cannot do better than quote from a letter from one who
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.