Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1912-02-02

that the whole fabric OF Man
chu rule in China could or
would be overturned in little
more than a fortnight he would have
,een pronounced mad Yet that is
What has happened
We must go back to the year 1901,
which what may be called the first
# the reform edicts was issued by
he late emperor and empires dowager
Fhen in retirement at Sianfu, after
heir flight from Pekin in 1900, the
Boxer year" BY this edict they ere
tied a new board called the cheng
WI ch'u or bureau for government az
airs The board was ordered to me
norialize the throne in regard to what
lhould and what should not be done
o modernize the government of the
country. Between 1901 and 1906 a
Teat many ediets were issued in re-
Iponse to the memorials of the cheng
ru ch'u. some of them dealing with
political and others with educational
md legal matters. They were mostly
PAPER reforms-'yu ming WI shin" as
he Chinese say. or -all talk and no
substance" as we express it.
At the head of the progressive party
n Pekin at this time was Yuan Shin
raj. who in addition to being viecroy
If Chilli province was consulting min
ster to the board OF state affairs. d.
.ector-general of the imperial railways
If north China and of other lines.
minister in charge of the Manchu gar
-ison at Pekin and commander in
.hief OF the LIST. ID. Sd. 5th and 9th di-
visions OF the imperial army. As a
-esult of his influence. the throne on
Nov. 6. 1906. issued an edict inaugur-
lting important administrative re
'orms. and promising that in future no
distinction should be made between
Nanchus and Chinese Almost i'm
nediately afterward palace intrigues
esulted in Yuan being compelled TO
.esign all mis- posts save that of vice
.oy. and for several months Pekin
politics were guided by the reaction
lries- But in July. 1907. a famine in
he Yangtse valley started revolution
lry unrest. which eliminated in the
of Gen. Min. the Manohu /
governor of Anhui province The /
hrone took fight. and Yuan was re-
.alled to the capital.
During the first six months of 1908 /
title was done There was a pause
n the constitutional movement due 10 /
recrudescence of party strife But I
N July % the provisional Assem- blies. I
lready foreshadowed. were formally J
onstituted. while on Aug. %. de
rec was issued definitely promising a
constitution at the end of nine years
nd assigning definite preparatory
rogram TO each year
Young China.
In accordance with the program the
rovincial assemblies met on Oct. IA
900. They continued in session till
low. %. and astonished every one by
heir orderly behavior and by the
MET tone of their debates. Momen-
,us debates these. for in them
Young China" first realized its
trength it was not long before that
trength was shown. In January. 1910.
10 assemblies sent delegates 10 Pc
in to petition for an earlier opening
I parliament than that promised by
be nine year program. which had
xed 1917 as the date. The govern
lent of the country was now. it must
9 remembered. in the hands of the
resent prince regent. for in Novem-
es. 1909. both the emperor Kwang
tsu. and the empress dowager. TIE
Isl. died. One OF the first acts OF the
egent had been to dismiss Yuan ,
hih-kai from Office. and to Danish him
, Honan. so that the petition OF the
elegates fell on very deaf ears. I
Speculation was rife in Pekin as to I
lie effects OF this answer on the coun-
y at large. for in every part OF the I
npire. more particularly In the I
angtse valley. there was strong I'M
srcurrent OF unrest AT Changsha
lere had been an actual outbreak.