The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1912-01-12

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,
I'm which what may be called the first
of the reform edicts was issued by
the late emperor and empires dowager
when i'm retirement at Sianfu, after
their fight 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-
moriallze 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
WI ch'u, some of them dealing with
political and others with educational
and legal matters. They were mostly
paper reforms-"yu ming WI shin" as
the Chinese say, or "ali talk and no
substance" as we express II.
|, At the head of the progressive party
I'm Pekn at this time was Yuan Shih-
kal. who in addition to being viecroy
of Chilli province was consulting min
lster TO the board OF state affairs. di-
rector-general Of the imperial rPilways
of north China and of other lines,
minister in charge of the Manchu gar
rison at Pekin and commander in
chief of the 1st, I'd. 3D. 5th and 9Th di.
visions of the imperial army. As a
result Of his influence, the throne on
Nov g. 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 Pekn
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 1905
In the constitutional movement due tc
a recrudesceuce of party strife. But
| on July % the provisional assemblies
/ already foreshadowed, were formally
/ constituted, while on Aug. q, a de
| cree was issued definitely promising &
constitution at the end of nine years
| and assigning n 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 til
Nov. %. and astonished every one b!
their orderly behavior and by th'
quiet tone of their debates. Momen
tous debates these, for in then
young China" first realized III
strength Ii was not long before tina
strength was shown. In January, 1910
. the assemblies sent NtltEdANo w
kin to petition for an earlier opening
of parliament than that promised b,
the nine year program. which ha'
fixed 1917 as the date. The govern
ment of the country was now. Il mus
be remembered. in the hands Of tn
present prince regent, for in Noveu
ber. 1909. both the emperor. Kwan
Hsu. and the empress dowager. tt
Hsi. died. One of the first acts Of th
regent had been TO dismiss Yua
Shih-kai from office. and to Danish hlr
10 Honan, so that the petition OF th
delegates fell on very deaf ears.
Speculation was rife in Pekin as
the effects OF this answer on the cour
Try at large. for In every part of IN
,mpire. more particularly in tn
Yangtse valley. there was strong nj
'ercurrent OF unrest At Changsh
here had been an actual outbreal