The Yale expositor., 1912-01-11

while the foreign legations had re.
ceived anonymous letters warning
them of approaching revolution. The
delegates held meeting and decided
that fifteen of their number should
remain in Pekin. The remainder,
about a hundred. returned TO their
| homes.
In the meantime steps had been Ia
ken to call an assembly destined to
succeed where the delegates had fail
! ed. The nine year program provided
for the inauguration during the third
year OF a national assembly to meet
at Pekin and to serve as Il training
ground for the future parliament Ac.
cordingly, on March IL, 1910. the cleo
| ton of members began, and on May
/ D. 1910. an edict was issued giving Il
LIST of those nominated by the throne.
| Further. the assembly was brought
| together as an advisory body pure and
! simple. This was clearly laid down in
! its regulations and was emphasized
by the prince regent when he opened
| the assembly Oct g. the underlying
theory OF his speech being that what
ever measure OF popular government
the throne had decided to allow was
! granted as a gift and not as a right
| The entire session, however, was a
| fiat contradiction of this theory On
Oct. % the assembly appointed a com
mite OF six to draft a memorial de-
handing an earlier convocation Of
! parliament.
The confidence Of the assembly
knew nc bounds, and it proceeded first
to impeach the grand councillors, and
next to demand the formation Of re.
! sponsible cabinet The impeachment
! failed. but the dc nand for a cabinet
succeeded. On Dec. %, few days
! before the assembly was dissolved. an
edict ordered cabinet to be formed
| In May 1911, the cabinet came into
existence and article II of it's consti-
tuition stated that laws, imperial
roscripts, and imperial edicts having
reference to state affairs shall be
countersigned by all the ministers of
state"
The Revolution.
The meeting Of the national assem-
bly, this year has conceded so aptly
with the outbreak of revolution that
! there is good reason for supposing that
the two events were planned to take
place simultaneously. BE that as il
may. the immediate occasion of rebel
lion was the edict of May last ma
| tionaizing all the trunk railways. The
! railway question had been an acute
one ever since June, 1909, when three
! financial groups, the Deutsch-A STA
| tische bank. the Hongkong and Shan.
ghai bank and the Banque de Undo
Chine. made n preliminary agreement
with the late grand councillor, Chang
Chihtung, to lend the Chinese gov
eminent $27 100000 to enable Il To
build a railway from Canton to Han
kow and from Hankow to Ichang. Ow
ing to various difficulties the loan
hung fire till May last year, when IL
was finally arranged and signed.
The government appeared to be get.
ting the rebellion in hand, when on
Oct. II news reached Pekin that Wu.
chang, which is just opposite Hankow.
had been captured by rebels and that
the viceroy had fled. On the follow.
ing day Hanyang was taken, together
with the arsenal in Hankow. and Il
became clear that the long expected
anti-Manchu revolution had at last
broken out under the military leader
ship of Brig Gen. Ii Yuan Heng. n ma.
tive of Hupeh, educated in Tientsin.
and the civilian leadership of Huang
Tanghauling, president of the Hupeh
provincial assembly, and Sunyu. broth.
er of DR.. Sun Vat Sen, the famous
Cantonese revolutionary.
With extraordinary rapidity the
torch Of revolution has been handed
from. province TO province, and now
flares from nearly every city OF i'm
portance In the midst of these events
the national assembly met and
through them. the revolutionaries
have been able to snatch every yes
tige of power from the throne.