The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-12-05

were an inch long, and as well kept as
though cared for by one of our fair mani
cures.
China's New Constitution.
The viceroy opened the interview by
asking me the usual questions as to how
long l had been in China and whittier I
was going. He spoke kindly of the United
States, and in referring to our return of
the Boxer indemnity said that his people
from one end of the country to the other
felt grateful to us. and that they were
glad to be able to send SO many students
10 be educated in the American schools.
AT this point the consul remarked that
] was an author of school books and had
written books on geographical subjects
This evidently improved my standing in
the vceroy's eyes. and he talked of the
modern educational movement in China.
saying that 1t had come to stay, and that
there would eventually be up-to -daals
public schools in every city and town.
I asked as to the new constitution.
His excellency replied:
There is no doubt that China will
have a constitutional government Our
plans for 1t are well established, and
the preparations are now going on. 1t
is a great task to reorganfze a gov
eminent like ours. We have been NOV
ing along our present lines for over a
thousand years, and we have to intro
duce our new administrative methods
: step by step. We have fixed plan
for educating the people to the new
government, and this Is already in OPP
Grafton over the empire. Our educa-
tional plan runs through eight years,
and at the end of that time we shall
have a parliament at Pekin and shall
have become a constitutional monarchy.
The prince regent Is in favor of the
scheme, and since the deaths of the en-
peror, KwangSu, and the great dow
ager a number of imperial edicts have
been published urging that the work he
carried on along the lines upon which
it has been started"
I here referred to the Canton Hankow
railway, for which Americans had the
concession. and asked whether tn at
road would be built. His eXcellency
replied that the matter had been given
over to other officials but that he
thought that it would be rapidly pushed
on to a completion | understand that
the road is resurveyed, and that the
rails for ii are already being made at
the Han Yang iron works.
The viceroy tells me he is anxious to
have railroads built throughout his
provinces. and that their industrial re-
sources will probably make Wuchang
and Hankow great railroad centers. He
then referred to the fact that one can
now go from Hankow to Paris by rail.
Thereupon the American consul rather
facetiously ventured that the time
might yet come when one would be able
to go from Hankow even to New York
in comfortable cars.
but how could that beg' said the vice.
roy you c.lnnot cross the oceans by
railroad
mo" returned the consul, "but we can
go under the Pacific ocean at Boring
straight, and we might possibly make q
bridge there by which we could cross
from Siberia to Alaska, an dthence go
by land to New York You know, Asia
and North America are only % miles
apart at that point. and If Russia is will
ing, l think we can build the bridge
Upon this ] burst into a laugh, in
which both our consul and the viceroy
joined
The next subject was the boycotting of
foreign nations by the Chinese. His ex-
cellency said that he hoped there would
be nothing of that kind in the future in
China's trade relations with us. He
thereupon added some kind expressions
: as to the United States. saying that the
Chinese have always felt that the Amer
leans have no desire to take any part
of their empire, and they look upon us as
their safest friends 1t was at this point
that asked his excellency If he would
/ not send a greeting to the people of the
United States through this newspaper.
He replied that he would gladly do SO,
! and that he would forward 1t with his
| photograph by one OF his deputies to Han
kow.
This MESSAGE has Just come in. I have