The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1912-01-12
AID any European in or out of
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 empires dowager
when in retirement at Sianfu. after
their flight from Pekin in 1900. the
Boxer year." BY this edict they Gre
ated a new board called the cheng
WI 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 1905 a
great many edicts YER issued in re-
spouse to the memorials Of the cheng
WI ch'u, some of them dealing with
political and others with educational
and legal matters. They we're mostly
paper reforms-"yu ming WI shin" a.
the Chinese say, or "all talk and no
substance" as we express It.
At the head Of the progressive party
In Pekin at this time was Yuan Shih-
kai. who In addition to being viecrUy
Of Chill province was consulting min
lister to the board Of state affairs, d.
rector-general Of the imperial railways
Of north China and of other lines,
minister In charge Of the Manchu gar
rison at Pekin and commander in
chief of the LIST. I'd. 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 i'm
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
airy 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. we're formally
constituted. while on Aug. 81, 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. IA,
1909. They continued in session till
Nov. %. 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 a now, 1t 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, TIE
Hsi. died. One Of the first acts Of the
regent had been to dismiss Yuan
Shih-kai from office. and to Danish him
to Honan. SO that the petition Of the
delegates fell on very deaf carr.
Speculation was rife in Pekin a. 70
the effects Of this answer on the coun-
try at large. for in every part Of tho
empire. particularly Ia thA
yangtse valley. there wal . strong IN.
dercurrent Of unres&. At Changsha
there had bean ~ actual outbreak.