The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-14

is forwarded through the same agency tc
the board of works, and the decision
reaches him in a similar manner A
foreigner can never communicate direct
~ with the official having charge Of the
subject, and the tSung Ii yamen usually
insists that foreigners who have business
10 transact shall conduct IL through the
legations of their governments.
All this makes IL necessary to exercise
a great deal of patience and tact in order
TO accomplish anything at Pekin. There
Is no government on earth in which the
clrcumlocution Is so prolonged and com
plicated, or where the art of procrasti-
nation is so thoroughly understood. Fur.
thermore, none of the boards has any
authority whatever. They can only listen
and reflect, and write reports to the gen
eral council which considers and discus
ses them, and forwards them with their
recommendations through the grand secre-
taries 10 the throne. 1t is customary,
however, for the grand secretary TO pre-
pare an edict or proclamation, or whatever
orders are necessary on the matter at Is
sue Tor the emperors signature, which Is
Attached 10 the other documents, and laid
before him with any oral explanation that
he may require.
Then he uses the famous vermilion pen
ell, which for centuries has been the act
ual scepter in the hands of the Emperor
of China. A stroke of this pencil Is the
end and summit of all things. The only
creatures that can question IL are the
members of the board OF censors, or as
translated the al-eXamining court. "
This is, without doubt, the most power
full branch of the government. for II Is
charged with the duty of supervising, in
vestigatng and criticising public acts and
officials and the proclamations and edicts
OF the emperor himself pass through its
hands before they reach the public. The
emperor may appoint or remove censor
at Will. He may degrade or Danish or eX-
ecute him, but, nevertheless, theoretically
the "all-examining court" is supposed TO
md Hole fg
him whenever II thinks necessary.
In rare cases this has been done. The
right of reproving the emperor has been
openly and freely exercised even within
the memory Of the present generation. but
II was for buncombe only and not In
any way sincere For example some years
ago, when there was drought and fam
inc throughout China, the board of cen
sOrs reproVed the late emperor for having
neglected the worship of his ancestors and
for lacking interest in the welfare of the
people, which they held, and he admitted,
to be the cause of their great national
misfortune. They condemned him to per-
form certain ceremonies and make GER
tain sacrifices in order to propitiate the
spirits of his ancestors and restore pros
perity and happiness to the people. He did
all this with great humility, and the next
year they had abundant rains and good
crop.
1t is common, and in fact customary. for
the grand council or the grand secretary
to submit TO the board OF CenSOfS all new
questions that arise in the transaction Of
business before they reach the emperor,
in order to anticipate their action, or at
least secure their approval and cO-Opera-
ton in advance. II is customary also for
the members of the censors to give the
emperor advice and suggestions on sub
jects that are laid before him by the coun-
ell of state, which are usually very iniiu-
entail with his majesty. Therefore, Il will
be seen that the board of censors, having
the veto power and constant access 10
l. - foo fVn
authority, or the court Of highest appeal.
As a matter of fact, Notwithstanding all
this circumlOcutiOn, the pretense OF sue
cessive consideration and continued re-
Election, and the amalgamation of learn
ing and wisdom and experience The en-
peror Is a mere automatOn in the hands
of a few men, at present two princes,
Weng Tung Ho and Iii Hung Tsao, who
dominate the entire organization and gov
ern the country in his name AS members
of the council of state, they decide and
direct what their associates, the presi-
dents of the various executive boards,
shall do, and make their recommendation
accordingly. The grand SECRETARIES are
their clerks, and prepare such proclama-
tions and instructions as they direct, and
the emperor himself is said never to ques-
ton their assertions or resist their influ-
ence over him. Both Of them are con-
serVative, ignorant. superstitious and
bigOted old fOgies Neither has ever been
outside the walls of the city in his life,
and while they are profoundly familiar
with the maxims of Confucius and the his
tory of their own country, they never con-
versed with a foreigner except Sir Robert
Hart, the Englishman who has charge of
the customs service of China, until they
met Mr. Foster al the tsung II yamen
after the late treaty Of peace was signed.
Mr.. Fosters meeting with these gentle
men and their associates was an event
in the history of China, and must have
been a novelty to them. They had given
ii Hung Chang absolute authority 10
make terms of peace and had so Informed
the japanese government. He had signed
a treaty in their name and they proposed
to repudiate 1t, as they had done several
times before. Ii Hung Chang dare not go
to Pekin to defend and explain his ac-
ton, because he was pretty confident that
behead him. Mr.. Foster, however, had no
fear in that direction and determined 10
give the old fossils a lecture. But he was
unable to obtain an interpreter. There was
not a man in the employ of the Chinese
government who dare translate his words
to the princes, and he was compelled to
ask Mr.. Cheshire, the interpreter Of the
United States legation, to accompany him.
II is said that he talked to them very
plainly, and told them that no nation On
earth would longer recognize China as civ
ilized If the emperor repudiated the treaty
he had authorized ii Hung Chang to
make. He then told them what they
ought to do to bring China up to date, and
they listened with amazement TO his
words. That he made an impression upon
them is proved by the fact that they Of
fered him a salary Of 900 a year to re-
main in Pekin permanently as their ad-
wiser. / am told that in the course of the
discussion il was disclosed that not one
of the eleven Chinese statesmen that sur
rounded the table of the tsung Ii yamen
and undertook to direct the foreign rela-
tons Of the Chinese empire had ever
heard Of the Franco-Prussian war.
William e. Curtis.