The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-08-12
ormation;' 1.-THE Overland to China" etc.



form principles which were to bring down
on him the anger of his aunt and her party.
Tsu Hsi enjoyed the full powers of a Regent
during another long minority, but the COM
Ing of age of a Chinese Emperor takes place
early. and in 1887, when kwang Hsu was 10.
he assembled the throne. His aunt, in sur
rendering the reins Of Government. reserved
to herself two important prerogatives-the
Great Seal and the appointment of all the
principal civil and military officials. This
meant, practically, the reservation of su-
preme power, for no one was ever advanced
to office unless he were pledged to upheld
the lettering Manchu dynasty and support
the anti-reform policy of the Dowager En-
press, and so, holding the strings to which
the official puppets were bound to dance,
this remarkable woman was able to main
tain her position and follow out her own
bent for close on forty years-from 1860 to
1898. In the latter year the Emperor, VINO
had grown more and more imbued with the
desire to reform. and deeply resented the
cession of territory to Russia, and
other foreign Powers, made a desperate at
tempt to shake off the Dowager Empress.
The plot to put her out of the Way-a term
which has only one meaning in Oriental
countries-was revealed to her, and a ro-
! mantle story is told of this denouement.
| which has the sanction of very high au-
thority.
Kwang Hsu and his advisers felt that
| alone they could hardly accomplish the re-
| forms which We're SO necessary to the coun-
try. True, q large section of the Chinese
| were in sympathy with them, but their
| immediate encourage. the imperial clans
| men, and above all the terrible Dowaser
Empress, had to be faced or-disposed Of.
| japan was the Power from whom help
| could perhaps be obtained, and according
| ly certain Japanese We're approached. with
| the utmost secrecy, and negotiations were
| opened with a prominent japanese states
| man. In Pekin palace walls have ears
! and eyes, and despite precautions notice
| was given to the Dowager Empress of I'M
usual activity on the part of her nephew
and his friends. and in particular of their
communications with the Japanese. In the
multitude of councillors there may be Wis
dom. but hardly secrecy. and so among the
MANY advisers of the Emperor, who was
not sufficiently strong to act on his own
initiative, the Empress was able to find
one who would give her the information
she wanted. In particular. she learned that
Kwang Hsu had arranged to give an audi
ence to the Japanese statesman referred to,
on a certain date. to learn the intentions
and opinions of his countrymep and how
much might be expected from them.
The Empress went to her nephew, and in
a terrible scene she told him that his de-
signs were known to her and that she
would crush them and all who had part in
them. She then commanded him to keep his
engagement with the japanese. while she
herself would be concealed in the room. so
that she might judge of the character and
extent of the plot and OF his completely.
The wretched Emperor was forced to sub
nit to this, and the interview which fol-
lowed must have been a strange one. The
statesman was full of his message, the
Emperor in an agony lest he should betray
still more of the plot to the ear behind the
arras. Oriental politeness involves circum-
locution in all conferences, but the EN-.
peror exhibited the greatest anxiety about
the Minister'S health. his journey-every
thing except the message. and finally dis
missed him in bewilderment. But the Dow
ager Empress had learned all she wanted
to know. and. calling together her Man
chu supporters. she seized the person OF
KWang Hsu, who henceforth was practi.
calIy Imprisoned in the palace, his life only
spared because it was convenient to have
a nominal Emperor. He was terrorizcd
with threats and compelled to sign docu-
ments in direct contradiction to his previous
reform schemes.
There is no reason to believe that Kwans
Hsu is in any way mentally weak, as has
often been asserted, but he is physically frai
and was not sufficiently bold and daring tc
oppose his aunt. 1t must be remembered TOO
that though undoubtedly he would hav,
been popular with the better half of The
Chinese, these were rather those of TIL,
Central and Southern Provinces. Pekin
the headquarters Of the Manchus. and
therefore of the anti-reform party. was ia,
from friendly to the Emperor's schemes