Peking, June 20.
Dr. W. W. Yen, interviewed by Reuter's correspondent yesterday evening, said that it was incorrect to say that he had attended the first meeting of the members of the Government after the arrival of President Li Yuan-hung at Peking. Not wanting the Premiership, he had purposely stayed away.
The first intention was to appoint Dr. Wu_Ting-fang Premier, but Dr. C. T. Wang pointed ov, that the mandate must"be countersigned by the head of the Cabinet. It was thus necessary to appoint someone Acting Premier and the meeting thereupon resolved to ask him (Dr. Yen) to act as the latter.
Later in the day, the President sent for him and asked him to accept the Acting Premiership. Dr. Yeu replied that two main considerations faced the Government, firstly, reunification, and, secondly, the financial stringency. If President Li desired to concentrate on the former, Dr. Yen thought Dr. Wang Chung-hui should be appointed Acting Premier. Dr. Wang he would return to Tientsin. Upon that, Dr. Yen said, he accepted, as Mr. Li Yuan-hung's departure would have been a serious calamity. {—-Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.