The Holbrook news., 1912-03-08

AL any european ID or out Ol
 China said six months ago
 that the whole fabric of Man
 chu rule in China could or
 would be overturned in little more than a fortnight he would have been pronounced mad Yet that is what has happened
 We must go back to the year 1901, In which what may be called the first of the reform edicts was issued by the late emperor and empres doWager when in retirement at Sianfu. after their flight from Pekin in 1900, the Boxer year" By this edict they ere ated a new board called the cheng wu ch'u or bureau for government af- fairs The board was ordered to me morialize the throne in regard to what should and what should not be done to modernize the government of the country. Between 1901 and 1906 a great many edicts were issued in re- sponse to the memorials of the cheng Tu ch'u, some of them dealing with political and others with educational and legal matters. They were mostly paper reforms-"yu ming wu shin" as the Chinese say. or -an talk and no substance" as we express 1t.
 At the head of the progressive party In Pekin at this time was Yuan Shih- kai, who in addition to being viecroy of Chihli province was consulting min lster to the board of state affairs, di- rector-general of the imperial railways of north China and of other lines. --f-E-k.- c., -1,,-.--,- ,,F kha lrauot,, --or rison at Peldn and commander in chief of the 1st. 2d. Sd. 9th and 9th d. visions of the imperial army. As a result of his influence. the throne on Nov. 6, 1906, Issued an edict inaugur- ating important administrative re- forms. and promising that in future no distinction should be made between Manchus and Chinese. Almost im- mediately afterward palace intrigues resulted in Yuan being compelled to resign all his posts save that of vice roy, and for several months Pekin politics were guided by the reaction aries. But In July. 1907, a famine in the Yangtse valley started revolution ary unrest. which eliminated in the assassination of Gen Min. the Manchu governor of Anhui province. The throne took flight. and Yuan was re- called to the capital
 During the first six months of 1908 little was done. There was a pause In the constitutional movement due to a recrudescence of party strife. But on July % the provisional assemblies, already foreshadowed. were formally constituted, while on Aug. 27, a de- cree was issued definitely promising a constitution at the end of nine years and assigning a definite preparatory program to each year.
 Young China.
 In accordance with the program the provincial assemblies met on Oct 14. 1909. They continued in session till Nov. g. and astonished every one by their orderly behavior and by the quiet tone of their debates Momen- tous debates these. for in them young China" first realized its strength. It was not long before that strength was shown. In January, 1910, the assemblies sent delegates to Pc kin to petition for an earlier opening of parliament than that promised by the nine year program which had fixed 1917 as the date. The govern ment of the country was now, it must be remembered. in the hands of the present prince regent, for in Novem- Der. 1909. both the emperor. Kwang Hsu, and the empress dowager. Tze Hsi, died One of the first acts of the regent had been to dismiss Yuan Shih-kai from office. and to banish him to Honan. so that the petition of the delegates fell on very deaf ears.
 Speculation was rife in Pekin as to the effects of this answer on the coun- try at large, for in every part of the empire. more particularly in the Yangtse valley. there was strong un- dercurrent of unrest At Changsha' there had been an actual outbreak.