The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-12-12

and Of the most revered ancestry, In
J.. 4 !and where respect for ancestry IL
| carried to the extent OF actual wor-
snip; and as such, as well as in his
capacity as incir OF Confucius. he has u
much greater hold on the good will
Oh me chinese people than the six
y,efiai-oid alapchu Emperor Pu-Yl. who,
Ike his father, the exPrince Regent
Chnn, Ike his aunt. the widowed En-
press, and hts various unclcs. aunts
ana cousins forming the members OF
| the rcigning family, are in every sens G
| OF the. word an alien dynasty.
Should the holy duke become En-
peror., tho capital OF the empire viii
De undouotedly transferred TO the pro-
vince Of shan.Tung. where he makes
his home, at Ky-Fu: city which In
c!udGs his superb palace. and the tomb
OF his ancestor ConfuCiuS, who -four
ished about Ave centuries before the
birth OF Christ.
The holy duke Is six-foot tall.
hcaTy-t faced, Chinanan, Hfty years OF
age, OF somewhat massive build. with
q rather majestic presence. and a good
nupored face, the mouth inclined 10
Laughter. and In Keeping with shrewd,
cheery eyes. Though regarded as a.
SAINT by probably nine-tenths of his
4O60O0.O00 fcllow-countrymen, ne Is a
very joyial saint and II popular rumor
III his homo province OF Shan-Tung Is
to be believed. he is extremely fond
Of the good things OF life. He has paid
n number of visits TO Peking, where he
mas always been received with the
most imposing honors, and does not
dtsdain 10 travel by rail. In fact, ne
Is quite progressive, fully alive TO the
advantages OF reform, and quite as
Keen ABOUT the matter az the late Lii
Hung Chang AS an illustration there
Of may mention that he granted
permission for the Tientsin- Puko rail-
road line to traverse his estates. He
has also made use Of his hereditary
Office of InspectorG General of Educa-
ton, in an empire where preferment
10 high office has been wholly depen-
dent upon learning, to further the In
novatlon of foreign ideas. In fact, he
has expressed himself as perfectly
willing to abolish the ancient law re-
curing an altar t. Confucius In every
school and college throughout the en-
pirc, and the daily obeisance to that
altar by every member of the faculty
ana every student: an obligation which
since graduation from these seats OF
learning was Indispensable to govern
Guiding from the latter both Chris
/ tians and Moslems. True. some Of the
government officials OF China do pro-
fess Christianity: but they have be-
come converts since their apDoint-
ment.
Prince Chun. the ex-regent, WINS
lteeAly alive 10 the strong hold of the
holy duke upon tho affection and re-
gard of HIS countrymon, and In the
| hope Of strengthening the foundations
of the throne of his son, endeavored
to arrange for o marriage between the
boy Emperor and n daughter, or
granddaughter, of the duke Instead of
selecting as Empress one OF those
Manchu princesses from whom the
! monarch's consorts have been chosen
ever since the NIanchu invaders OBJ
tanned the mastery of China. He
hoped by this means to reconcile the
bulk of the Chinese people to his
house, and to obliterate, at any rata
in a measure, the profound antagon-
ism which exists between the Chinese
and the Manchus.
The duke, however, held back. and
cold Ssh ouldcred the project, which
| naturally leads to the belief that ho
was aware even ut tho time that the
proposal was mooted, that a move
Inent was under way. with tho object
OF emancipating China from the Man