New-York tribune., 1912-02-13
THE CHINESE REPUBLIC.

Uncertainty rather than surprise will
be caused by the final abdication Of the
Manchu dynasty. For some time such
| step has been generally regarded as
| inevitable The edict Of abdication is
understood to have been prepared weeks
ago and withheld only in the hope of
securing better terms from the trium'
phant revolutiOnists. Apparently that
hope was vain. 1t does not appear that
any conditions were secured, though 1t Is
understood that the revolutionists intend
to treat the expelled clan generously.
There has, indeed, from the beginning
been scarcely a symptom Of anything
like vindictiveness. The revolutionists
simply want the Manchus to leave the
throne and get out, retaining their fort
unes and their titles of dignity. Such
disposition augurs well for the future
of the country, since It averts the acri-
moniouS factionalism which would prob
ably he created by policy of severity
toward the imperial clan.
The uncertainty Of the situation is
in the fact that while the Manchus in
abdicating Internationally accept and
approve the agreements which have been
made between Yuan Shih-kai and the
republican leaders the character of
those agreements is unknown. 1t is
known that negotiations between the
Prime Minister and the republican gov
ernment have been in progress for some
time but their result has not been au-
thoritatively disclosed. IL is assumed
that Mr. Yuan has stood pretty resO-
lutely for the selection of himself as the
| first President of the republic, and it is
known that the Manchus have been par
| ticularly insistent upon that; so that
now, indeed, some Of them threaten that
if he is not made President they will re-
pudiate the present DEGREES and fight
against the republic. On the other hand.
Sun Yat-sen and his colleagues, including
our old friend DR.. WI, are understood
to have been resolutely opposed 20 any
such arrangement and TO have insisted
that the choice Of DR.. Sun as first Presi-
dent must stand. The disclosure Of the
decision which has been made on this
and other points will be awaited with
much interest.
The establishment Of some sort Of re.
public, on some basis, may be regarded
as now assured, and it seems probable
that IL will be a far more democratic
republic than any in the Western world.
We have spoken Of the exceptional de-
gree TO which democratic self-govern-
ment prevails in China 1t seems rea-
sonable 10 expect that those democratic
ideas will be embodied in the constitu-
tion OF the republic and will be put into
practice The effect Of the change of
government upon the integrity Of the
country is Of course matter Of supreme
moment Influences of disintegration
have been at work, with ominous ef-
feet. 1t is generally assumed that MIR.
Yuan as President would be able to hold
the provinces together far more effec-
lively than DR.. Sun. Indeed, it has
been said that the accession of the
latter to the Presidency would be in
evitably provocative Of secession and
the breaking up of the nation. If that
Is so, 1t would seem to constitute one
strong argument for the selection of Mr..
Yuan.
These uncertainties will probably be
promptly dispelled, however, without
continuance Of the civil war. 1t is not
supposable that the rival factions Of