THE DREAM EMPIRE
"THE PEOPLE'S VOICE," AND THE ACTION OF THE POWERS (FROM SEPTEMBER
TO DECEMBER, 1915)
The effect of Liang Ch'i-chao's appeal was noticeable at once:
there were ominous mutterings among all the great class of
"intellectuals" who form such a remarkable element throughout the
country. Nevertheless there were no overt acts attempted against
the authority of Peking. Although literary and liberal China was
now thoroughly convinced that the usurpation which Yuan Shih-kai
proposed to practise would be a national disgrace and lead to far-
reaching complications, this force were too scattered and too much
under the power of the military to tender at once any active
opposition as would have been the case in Western countries. Yuan
Shih-kai, measuring this situation very accurately, and aware that
he could easily become an object of popular detestation if the
people followed the lead of the scholars, decided to place himself
outside and beyond the controversy by throwing the entire
responsibility on the Tsan Cheng Yuan, the puppet Senate he had
erected in place of the parliament destroyed by his coup d'etat of
the 4th November, 1913. In a message issued to that body on the
6th September, 1915, he declared that although in his opinion the
time was inappropriate for making any change in the form of State,
the matter demanded the most careful and serious consideration
which he had no doubt would be given to it. If a change of so
momentous a character as was now being publicly advocated were
decided in too great a haste it might create grave complications:
therefore the opinion of the nation should be consulted by the
method of the ballot. And with this nunc dimittis he officially
washed his hands of a plot in which he had been the prime mover.
The Senate now openly delivered itself over to the accomplishment
of the scheme which had been broached by Yang Tu, the monarchist
pamphleteer. Although this individual still posed as the leader of
the movement, in reality he was nothing but the tool of a
remarkable man, one Liang Shih-yi, famous throughout the country
as the most unscrupulous and adroit politician the Revolution had
thrown up. This person, who is known to have been gravely
implicated in many assassinations, and who was the instrument used
in 1912 by Yuan Shih-kai to persuade the Manchu Imperial Family to
abdicate, had in a brief four years accumulated a vast fortune by
the manipulations he had indulged in as Director-General of The
Bank of Communications, an institution which, because it disposed
of all the railway receipts, was always in funds even when the
Central Treasury itself was empty. By making himself financially
indispensable to Yuan Shih-kai he had become recognized as the
power behind the Throne; for although, owing to foreign clamour,
he had been dismissed from his old office of Chief Secretary to
the President (which he had utilized to effect the sale of offices
far and wide) he was a daily visitor to the Presidential Palace
and his creatures daily pulled all the numerous strings.
The scheme now adopted by the Senate was to cause the provinces to
flood Peking with petitions, sent up through the agency of "The
Society for the Preservation of Peace," demanding that the
Republic be replaced by that form of government which the people
alone understood, the name Constitutional Monarchy being selected
merely as a piece of political window-dressing to please the
foreign world. A vast amount of organizing had to be done behind
the scenes before the preliminaries were completed: but on the 6th
October the scheme was so far advanced that in response to "hosts
of petitions" the Senate, sitting in its capacity of Legislative
Chamber (Li Fa Yuan) passed a so-called King-making bill in which
elaborate regulations were adopted for referring the question
under discussion to a provincial referendum. According to this
naive document the provinces were to be organized into electoral
colleges, and the votes of the electors, after being recorded,
were to be sent up to Peking for scrutiny. Some attempt was made
to follow Dr. Goodnow's advice to secure as far as possible that
the various classes of the community should be specially
represented: and provision was therefore made in the voting for
the inclusion of "learned scholars," Chambers of Commerce, and
"oversea merchants," whose votes were to be directly recorded by
their special delegates. To secure uniformly satisfactory results,
the whole election was placed absolutely and without restriction
in the hands of the high provincial authorities, who were invited
to bestow on the matter their most earnest attention.
In a Mandate, issued in response to this Bill, Yuan Shih-kai
merely limits himself to handing over the control of the elections
and voting to the local authorities, safe in the knowledge that
every detail of the plot had been carefully worked out in advance.
By this time the fact that a serious and dangerous movement was
being actively pushed had been well-impressed on the Peking
Legations, and some anxiety was publicly manifested. It was known
that Japan, as the active enemy of Yuan Shih-kai, could not remain
permanently silent: and on the 28th October in association with
Great Britain and Russia, she indeed made official inquiries at
the Chinese Foreign Office regarding the meaning of the movement.
She was careful, however, to declare that it was her solicitude
for the general peace that alone dictated her action. [Footnote: A
very remarkable illustration of the manner in which Yuan Shih-kai
was trapped by official Japan during the monarchist movement has
recently been extensively quoted in the Far Eastern press. Here is
the substance of a Japanese (vernacular) newspaper account showing
the uses to which Japanese politicians put the Press:
"... When that question was being hotly discussed in China Marquis
Okuma, interviewed by the Press, stated that monarchy was the
right form of government for China and that in case a monarchical
regime was revived Yuan Shih-kai was the only suitable person to
sit on the Throne. When this statement by Marquis Okuma was
published in the Japanese papers, Yuan Shih-kai naturally
concluded that the Japanese Government, at the head of which
Marquis Okuma was, was favourably disposed towards him and the
monarchical movement. It can well be imagined, therefore, how
intense was his surprise when he later received a warning from the
Japanese Government against the resuscitation of the monarchy in
China. When this inconsistency in the Marquis's actions was called
in question in the Japanese House of Representatives, the ex-
Premier absolutely denied the truth of the statement attributed to
him by the Japanese papers, without any show of hesitancy, and
thus boldly shirked the responsibility which, in reality, lay on
him ... "] Nevertheless, her warning had an unmistakable note about
it and occasioned grave anxiety, since the ultimatum of the
previous May in connection with the Twenty-one Demands had not
been forgotten. At the beginning of November the Chinese Minister
of Foreign Affairs, replying verbally to these representations,
alleged that the movement had gone too far for it to be stopped
and insisted that no apprehensions need be felt by the Foreign
Powers regarding the public safety. Dissatisfied by this reply all
the Entente Powers, now including France and Italy, renewed their
representations, receiving a few days later a formal Note in which
absolute guarantees were given that law and order would be
sedulously preserved. Baffled by this firmness, and conscious that
further intervention in such matter would be fraught with grave
difficulties, the Entente Powers decided to maintain a watchful
attitude but to do no more publicly. Consequently events marched
forward so rapidlly that by December the deed was done, and Yuan
Shih-kai had apparently been elected unanimously Emperor of China
by the provincial ballot.
The explanation of this extraordinary business was only made
public months later with the outbreak of the Yunnan rebellion and
the secession of the Southern provinces. In a remarkable
publication, entitled satirically "The People's Will," the
Southern Republican Party, which now possessed access to all the
confidential archives of the provinces, published in full the
secret instructions from Peking which had brought about this
elaborate comedy. Though considerations of space prevent all
documents being included in our analysis, the salient ones are
here textually quoted so as to exhibit in its proper historical
light the character of the chief actor, and the regime the Powers
had supported--until they were forced by Japan to be more honest.
These documents, consisting mainly of telegraphic despatches sent
from Peking to the provinces, do more to explain the working of
the Government of China than a dozen treatises; for they drag into
the garish light of day the most secret Yamen machinery and show
precisely how it is worked.
The play was set in motion by a circular code telegram sent out on
the 30th August by Tuan Chih-kuei, Governor of Moukden and one of
Yuan Shih-kai's most trusted lieutenants, the device of utilizing
a centre other than the capital to propagate revolutionary ideas
being a familiar one and looked upon as a very discreet procedure.
This initial telegram is a document that speaks for itself:
CODE TELEGRAM DATED AUGUST 30, 1915, FROM TUAN CHI-KUEI, MILITARY
GOVERNOR OF MOUKDEN, ET ALIA, CONTAINING INSTRUCTIONS FOR
PRESENTING PETITIONS TO PEKING IN THE NAME OF THE CITIZENS OF THE
PROVINCES
To the Military and Civil Governors of the Provinces:--(To be
deciphered personally with the Council of State Code)
The proposal of changing the form of the State into a monarchy
having been unanimously agreed to by the provinces, the first step
to be taken has now to be decided. We propose that petitions be
sent in the name of the citizens of the respective provinces to
the Senate acting in the capacity of Legislative Chamber, so as to
demonstrate the wish of the people to have a monarchy. The acting
Legislative Chamber will then decide upon the course to be
adopted.
The plan suggested is for each province to send in a separate
petition, the draft of which will be made in Peking and wired to
the respective provinces in due course. If you approve, you will
insert your name as well as those of the gentry and merchants of
the province who agree to the draft. These petitions are to be
presented one by one to the Legislative Chamber, as soon as it is
convoked. At all events, the change in the form of the State will
have to be effected under the colour of carrying out the people's
will.
As leading members of political and military bodies, we should
wait till the opportune moment arrives when we will give
collateral support to the movement. Details of the plan will be
made known to you from time to time.
This method of circular telegrams, which had been inherited from
the last days of the Manchus, and vastly extended during the POST-
revolutionary period, was now to be used to the very utmost in
indoctrinating the provinces with the idea that not only was the
Republic doomed but that prompt steps must be taken to erect the
Constitutional Monarchy by use of fictitious legal machinery so
that it should not be said that the whole enterprise was a mere
plot. Accordingly, on the 10th September, as a sequel to the
telegram we have just quoted, an enormous circular message of
several thousand words was sent in code from Peking to all the
Military and Civil Governors in the provinces instructing them
precisely how to act in order to throw a cloak over the nefarious
deed. After explaining the so-called "Law on the General
Convention of the Citizens' Representatives" (i. e. national
referendum) the following illuminating sentences occur which
require no comment showing as they do what apt pupils reactionary
Chinese are in the matter of ballot-fraud.
... (1) The fact that no fewer than one hundred petitions for a
change in the form of State have been received from people
residing in all parts of the country shows that the people are of
one mind concerning this matter. Hence the words in the "General
Convention Law": "to be decided by the General Convention of the
Citizens' Representatives," refer to nothing more than the formal
approval of the Convention and are by no means intended to give
room for discussion of any kind. Indeed, it was never intended
that the citizens should have any choice between a republic and a
monarchy. For this reason at the time of voting all the
representatives must be made unanimously to advocate a change of
the Republic into a Monarchy.
It behooves you, therefore, prior to the election and voting,
privately to search for such persons as are willing to express the
people's will in the sense above indicated. You will also make the
necessary arrangements beforehand, and devise every means to have
such persons elected, so that there may be no divergence of
opinion when the time arrives for putting the form of the State to
the vote.
(2) Article 2 provides: "The citizens' representatives shall be
elected by separate ballot signed by the person voting. The person
who obtains the greatest number of votes cast shall be declared
elected."
The citizens' representatives, though nominally elected by. the
electors, are really appointed beforehand by you acting in the
capacity of Superintendent of Election. The principle of separate
signed ballot is adopted in this article with the object of
preventing the voters from casting their votes otherwise than as
directed, and of awakening in them a sense of responsibility for
their votes ... .
These admirable principles having been officially laid down by
Peking, it is not hard to understand that the Military and Civil
Governors in the provinces, being anxious to retain their posts
and conciliate the great personage who would be king, gave the
problem their most earnest attention, and left no stone unturned
to secure that there should be no awkward contretemps. On the 28th
September, the Peking Government, being now entirely surrendered
into the hands of the plotters, thought it advisable to give the
common people a direct hint of what was coming, by sending
circular instructions regarding the non-observance of the
Republican anniversary (10th October). The message in question is
so frankly ingenuous that it merits inclusion in this singular
DOSSIER:
CODE TELEGRAM DATED SEPTEMBER 26, 1915, FROM THE COUNCIL OF STATE
TO THE MILITARY AND CIVIL GOVERNORS OF THE PROVINCES RESPECTING
THE NON-OBSERVANCE OF THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE REPUBLIC
To the Military and Civil Governors and the Military Commissioners
of the Provinces and the Intendant of Shanghai:--
(Code Telegram)
Now that a monarchical form of government has been advocated, the
National Anniversary in commemoration of the Republic should, of
course, be observed with least possible display, under the pretext
either of the necessity for economy owing to the impoverished
condition of the people, or of the advisability of celebrating the
occasion quietly so as to prevent disturbances arising in
consequence of the many rumours now afloat. In this way public
peace and order may be maintained on the one hand, money and
trouble saved on the other. How to put this suggestion into
practice will be left to your discretion.
(Signed) COUNCIL OF STATE.
By October such progress had been made in Peking in the general
work of organizing this coup d'etat that as we have seen, the
Senate had passed on the 6th of that month the so-called "King-
making Bill." The very next day, so that nothing should be left in
doubt, the following circular telegram was dispatched to all the
provinces:
CODE TELEGRAM DATED OCTOBER 7, 1915, FROM CHU CHI-CHUN, MINISTER
OF THE INTERIOR, ET ALIA, DEVISING PLANS FOR NOMINATING YUAN SHIH-
KAI AS EMPEROR
To the Military and Civil Governors of the Provinces:--
(To be deciphered with the Hua Code)
Our telegram of the 12th ult. must have reached you by this time.
The Administrative Council, at a meeting held on the 4th inst.,
passed the Bill for a General Convention of the Citizens'
Representatives. Article 12 of the Bill was amended so as to
contain the following clause:--"The Superintendent of Election
may, in case of necessity, delegate his functions to the several
district magistrates." This will soon be communicated officially
to the provinces. You are therefore requested to make the
necessary preparations beforehand in accordance with the
instructions contained in our telegram of the 29th September.
We propose that the following steps be taken after the votes have
been duly polled:--
(1) After the form of the state has been put to the vote, the
result should be reported to the sovereign (meaning Yuan-shihkai)
and to the Administrative Council in the name of the General
Convention of the Citizens' Representatives.
(2) In the telegrams to be sent by the General Convention of the
Citizens' Representatives for nominating the emperor, the
following words should be specifically used: "We respectfully
nominate the present President Yuan Shih-kai as Emperor of the
Chinese Empire."
(3) The telegrams investing the Administrative Council with
general powers to act on behalf of the General Convention of the
Citizens' Representatives should be dispatched in the name of the
General Convention of the Citizens of the Provinces.
The drafts of the dispatches under the above-mentioned three heads
will be wired to you beforehand. As soon as the votes are cast,
these are to be shown to the representatives, who will sign them
after perusal. Peking should be immediately informed by telegram.
As for the telegrams to be sent by the commercial, military, and
political bodies, they should bear as many signatures as possible,
and be wired to the Central Government within three days after the
voting.
When the enthronement is promulgated by edict, letters of
congratulation from the General Convention of the Citizens'
Representatives, as well as from the commercial, military, and
political bodies, will also have to be sent in. You are therefore
requested to draw up these letters in advance.
This is specially wired for your information beforehand. The
details will be communicated by letter.
In ordinary circumstances it would have been thought that
sufficiently implicit instructions had already been given to
permit leaving the matter in the hands of the provincial
authorities. Great anxiety, however, was beginning to reign in
Peking owing to continual rumours that dangerous opposition, both
internal and external, was developing. It was therefore held
necessary to clinch the matter in such a way that no possible
questions should be raised later. Accordingly, before the end of
October--and only two days before the "advice" was tendered by
Japan and her Allies,--the following additional instructions were
telegraphed wholesale to the provinces, being purposely designed
to make it absolutely impossible for any slip to occur between cup
and lip. The careful student will not fail to notice in these
remarkable messages that as the game develops, all disguise is
thrown to the four winds, and the central and only important
point, namely the prompt election and enthronement of Yuan Shih-
kai as Emperor, insisted on with almost indecent directness, every
possible precaution being taken to secure that end:
CODE TELEGRAM DATED OCTOBER 26, 1915, FROM CUU CHI-CUUN, MINISTER
OF THE INTERIOR, ET ALIA, RESPECTING THE NOMINATION OF YUAN SHIH-
KAI AS EMPEROR
To the Military and Civil Governors of the Provinces:--
(To be deciphered with the Hua Code)
Your telegram of the 24th inst. came duly to hand. After the form
of the state has been put to the vote, the nomination of Yuan
Shih-kai as emperor should be made forthwith without further
voting. You should address the representatives and tell them that
a monarchy having been decided on, not even a single day should
pass without an emperor; that the citizens' representatives
present should nominate Yuan Shih-kai as the Great Emperor of the
Chinese Empire; and that if they are in favour of the proposal,
they should signify their assent by standing up. This done, the
text of the proposed letter of nomination from the citizens should
be handed to the representatives for their signatures; after which
you should again address them to the effect that in all matters
concerning the nomination and the petition for immediate
enthronement, they may, in the name of the citizens'
representatives, invest the acting Legislative Council with
general powers to act on their behalf and to do the necessary
things until their petition is granted. The text (already
prepared) of the proposed telegram from the citizens'
representatives to the acting Legislative Council should then be
shown to the representatives for approval. Whereupon three
separate telegrams are to be drawn up: one giving the number of
votes in favour of a change in the form of the state, one
containing the original text of the letter of nomination, and the
third concerning the vesting of the acting Legislative Council
with general powers to act on behalf of the citizens'
representatives. These should be sent officially to the acting
Legislative Council in the name of the citizens' representatives.
You should at the same time wire to the President all that has
taken place. The votes and the letter of nomination are to be
forwarded to Peking in due course.
As for the exact words to be inserted in the letter of nomination,
they have been communicated to you in our telegram of the 23rd
inst. These characters, forty-five in all, must on no account be
altered. The rest of the text is left to your discretion.
We may add that since the letter of nomination and the vesting of
the acting Legislative Council with general powers to act on
behalf of the citizens' representatives are matters which
transgress the bounds of the law, you are earnestly requested not
to send to the National Convention Bureau any telegraphic enquiry
concerning them, so that the latter may not find itself in the
awkward position of having to reply.
Two days after this telegram had been dispatched the long-feared
action on the part of Japan had been taken and a new situation had
been created. The Japanese "advice" of the 28th October was in
fact a veritable bombshell playing havoc with the house of cards
which had been so carefully erected. But the intrigue had gone so
far, and the prizes to be won by the monarchical supporters were
so great that nothing could induce them to retrace their
footsteps. For a week and more a desperate struggle went on behind
the scenes in the Presidential Palace, since Yuan Shih-kai was too
astute a man not to understand that a most perilous situation was
being rapidly created and that if things went wrong he would be
the chief victim. But family influences and the voice of the
intriguers proved too strong for him, and in the end he gave his
reluctant consent to a further step. The monarchists, boldly
acting on the principle that possession is nine points of the law,
called upon the provinces to anticipate the vote and to substitute
the title of Emperor for that of President in all government
documents and petitions so that morally the question would be
chose jugee.
CODE TELEGRAM DATED NOVEMBER 7, 1915, FROM CHU CHI-CHUN, MINISTER.
OF THE INTERIOR, ET ALIA, ENJOINING A STRONG ATTITUDE TOWARDS
INTERFERENCE ON THE PART OF A CERTAIN FOREIGN POWER
To the Military and Civil Governors of the Provinces:--
(To be deciphered personally with the Council of State Code)
A certain foreign power, under the pretext that the Chinese people
are not of one mind and that troubles are to be apprehended, has
lately forced England and Russia to take part in tendering advice
to China. In truth, all foreign nations know perfectly well that
there will be no trouble, and they are obliged to follow the
example of that power. If we accept the advice of other Powers
concerning our domestic affairs and postpone the enthronement, we
should be recognizing their right to interfere. Hence action
should under no circumstance be deferred. When all the votes of
the provinces unanimously recommending the enthronement shall have
reached Peking, the Government will, of course, ostensibly assume
a wavering and compromising attitude, so as to give due regard to
international relations. The people, on the other hand, should
show their firm determination to proceed with the matter at all
costs, so as to let the foreign powers know that our people are of
one mind. If we can only make them believe that the change of the
republic into a monarchy will not in the least give rise to
trouble of any kind, the effects of the advice tendered by Japan
will ipso facto come to nought.
At present the whole nation is determined to nominate Yuan Shih-
kai Emperor. All civil and military officers, being the natural
leaders of the people, should accordingly give effect to the
nomination. If this can be done without friction, the confidence
of both Chinese and foreigners in the Government will be greatly
strengthened. This is why we suggested to you in a previous
telegram the necessity of immediately substituting the title of
"Emperor" for "President." We trust you will concur in our
suggestion and carry it out without delay.
We may add that this matter should be treated as strictly
confidential.
A reply is requested.
(Signed)
The die now being cast all that was left to be done was to rush
through the voting in the Provinces. Obsequious officials returned
to the use of the old Imperial phraseology and Yuan Shih-kai, even
before his "election," was memorialized as though he were the
legitimate successor of the immense line of Chinese sovereigns who
stretch back to the mythical days of Yao and Shun (2,800 B.C.).
The beginning of December saw the voting completed and the results
telegraphed to Peking; and on the 11th December, the Senate
hastily meeting, and finding that "the National Convention of
Citizens" had unanimously elected Yuan Shih-kai Emperor, formally
offered him the Throne in a humble petition. Yuan Shih-kai
modestly refused: a second petition was promptly handed to him,
which he was pleased to accept in the following historic document:
YUAN SHIH-KAI's ACCEPTANCE OF THE IMPERIAL THRONE
The prosperity and decline of the country is a part of the
responsibility of every individual, and my love for the country is
certainly not less than that of others. But the task imposed on me
by the designation of the millions of people is of extraordinary
magnitude. It is therefore impossible for one without merit and
without virtue like myself to shoulder the burdens of State
involved in the enhancing of the welfare of the people, the
strengthening of the standing of the country, the reformation of
the administration and the advancement of civilization. My former
declaration was, therefore, the expression of a sincere heart and
not a mere expression of modesty. My fear was such that I could
not but utter the words which I have expressed. The people,
however, have viewed with increasing impatience that declaration
and their expectation of me is now more pressing than ever. Thus I
find myself unable to offer further argument just as I am unable
to escape the position. The laying of a great foundation is,
however, a thing of paramount importance and it must not be done
in a hurry. I, therefore, order that the different Ministries and
Bureaux take concerted action in making the necessary preparations
in the affairs in which they are concerned; and when that is done,
let the same be reported to me for promulgation. Meanwhile all our
citizens should go on peacefully in their daily vocations with the
view to obtain mutual benefit. Let not your doubts and suspicions
hinder you in your work. All the officials should on their part be
faithful at their posts and maintain to the best of their ability
peace and order in their localities, so that the ambition of the
Great President to work for the welfare of the people may thus be
realized. Besides forwarding the memorial of the principal
representatives of the Convention of the Representatives of
Citizens and that of the provinces and special administrative area
to the Cheng Shih Tang and publishing the same by a mandate, I
have the honour to notify the acting Li Fan Yuan as the principal
representatives of the Convention of the Representatives of
Citizens, to this effect.
Cautious to the end, it will be seen that Yuan Shih-kai's very
acceptance is so worded as to convey the idea that he is being
forced to a course of action which is against his better
instincts. There is no word of what came to be called the Grand
Ceremony i. e. the enthronement. That matter is carefully left in
abeyance and the government departments simply told to make the
necessary preparations. The attitude of Peking officialdom is
well-illustrated in a circular telegram dispatched to the
provinces three days later, the analysis of Japan's relationship
to the Entente Powers being particularly revealing. The obsequious
note which pervades this document is also particularly noticeable
and shows how deeply the canker of sycophancy had now eaten in.
CODE TELEGRAM DATED DECEMBER 14, 1915, FROM THE OFFICE OF
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE LAND AND NAVAL FORCES, RESPECTING
CHINA'S ATTITUDE TOWARDS FOREIGN NATIONS
To the Military and Civil Governors of the Provinces:--(To be
deciphered with the Hua Code)
On the 11th inst. the acting Legislature Council submitted a
memorial to the Emperor, reporting on the number of votes cast by
the people in favour of a monarchy and the letters of nomination
of Yuan Shih-kai as Emperor received from all parts of the
country, and begged that he would ascend the Throne at an early
date. His Majesty was, however, so modest as to decline. The
Council presented a second memorial couched in the most entreating
terms, and received an order to the effect that all the ministries
and departments were to make the necessary preparations for the
enthronement. The details of this decision appeared in the
Presidential Orders of the past few days, so need not be repeated
now.
The people are unanimously of the opinion that in a republic the
foundation of the state is very apt to be shaken and the policy of
the government to be changed; and that consequently there is no
possibility of enjoying everlasting peace and prosperity, nor any
hope for the nation to become powerful. Now that the form of the
state has been decided in favour of a monarchy and the person who
is to sit on the Throne agreed upon, the country is placed on a
secure basis, and the way to national prosperity and strength is
thus paved.
Being the trustworthy ministers and, as it were, the hands and
feet of His Majesty, we are united to him by more ties than one.
On this account we should with one mind exert our utmost efforts
in discharging our duty of loyalty to the country. This should be
the spirit which guides us in our action at the beginning of the
new dynasty. As for the enthronement, it is purely a matter of
ceremony. Whether it takes place earlier or later is of no moment.
Moreover His Majesty has always been modest, and does everything
with circumspection. We should all appreciate his attitude.
So far as our external relations are concerned, a thorough
understanding must be come to with the foreign nations, so that
recognition of the new regime may not be delayed and diplomatic
intercourse interrupted. Japan, has, in conjunction with the
Entente Powers, tendered advice to postpone the change of the
Republic into an empire. As a divergence of opinion exists between
Japan and the Entente Powers, the advice is of no great effect.
Besides, the Elders and the Military Party in Japan are all
opposed to the action taken by their Government. Only the press in
Tokyo has spread all sorts of threatening rumours. This is
obviously the upshot of ingenious plots on the part of
irresponsible persons. If we postpone the change we shall be
subject to foreign interference, and the country will consequently
cease to exist as an independent state. On the other hand, if we
proclaim the enthronement forthwith, we shall then be flatly
rejecting the advice,--an act which, we apprehend, will not be
tolerated by Japan. As a result, she will place obstacles in the
way of recognition of the new order of things.
Since a monarchy has been decided to be the future form of the
state, and His Majesty has consented to accept the Throne, the
change may be said to be an accomplished fact. There is no
question about it. All persons of whatever walk of life can
henceforth continue their pursuits without anxiety. In the
meantime we will proceed slowly and surely with the enthronement,
as it involves many ceremonies and diplomatic etiquette. In this
way both our domestic and our foreign policies will remain
unchanged.
We hope you will comprehend our ideas and treat them as strictly
confidential.
(Signed) Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Land and Naval
Force.
After this one last step remained to be taken--it was necessary to
burn all the incriminating evidence. On the 21st December, the
last circular telegram in connection with this extraordinary
business was dispatched from Peking, a delightful naivete being
displayed regarding the possibility of certain letters and
telegrams having transgressed the bounds of the law. All such
delinquencies are to be mercifully wiped out by the simple and
admirable method of invoking the help of the kitchen-fires. And in
this appropriate way does the monster-play end.
CODE TELEGRAM DATED DECEMBER 21, 1915, FROM THE NATIONAL
CONVENTION BUREAU, ORDERING THE DESTRUCTION OF DOCUMENTS CONNECTED
WITH THE ELECTIONS
To the Military and Civil Governors of the Provinces, the Military
Commissioners at Foochow and Kweiyang; the Military Commandants at
Changteh, Kweihuating, and Kalgan; and the Commissioner of Defence
at Tachienlu:--
(To be deciphered with the Hua Code)
The change in the form of the state is now happily accomplished.
This is due not only to the unity of the people's minds, but more
especially to the skill with which, in realizing the object of
saving the country, you have carried out the propaganda from the
beginning, managed affairs according to the exigencies of the
occasions, and adapted the law to suit the circumstances. The
people have, to be sure, become tired of the Republic; yet unless
you had taken the lead, they would not have dared to voice their
sentiments. We all appreciate your noble efforts.
Ever since the monarchical movement was started, the people as
well as the high officials in the different localities have
repeatedly petitioned for the change, a fact which proves that the
people's will is in favour of it. In order to enable the people to
express their will through a properly constituted organ, the
General Convention of the Citizens' Representatives has been
created.
Since the promulgation of the Law on the Organization of the
Citizens' Representatives, we, who are devoted to the welfare of
the state, desire to see that the decisions of that Convention do
not run counter to the wishes of the people. We are so anxious
about the matter that we have striven so to apply the law to meet
the circumstances as to carry out our designs. It is out of
patriotic motives that we have adopted the policy of adhering to
the law, whenever possible, and, at the same time, of yielding to
expediency, whenever necessary. During the progress of this scheme
there may have been certain letters and telegrams, both official
and private, which have transgressed the bounds of the law. They
will become absolutely useless after the affair is finished.
Moreover, no matter how carefully their secrets may have been
guarded, still they remain as permanent records which might
compromise us; and in the event of their becoming known to
foreigners, we shall not escape severe criticism and bitter
attacks, and, what is worse, should they be handed down as part of
the national records, they will stain the opening pages of the
history of the new dynasty. The Central Government, after
carefully considering the matter, has concluded that it would be
better to sort out and burn the document so as to remove all
unnecessary records and prevent regrettable consequences. For
these reasons you are hereby requested to sift out all telegrams,
letters, and dispatches concerning the change in the form of the
state, whether official or private, whether received from Peking
or the provinces (excepting those required by law to be filed on
record), and cause the same to be burnt in your presence. As for
those which have already been communicated to the local officials,
you are likewise requested to order them to be returned
immediately; to commit them to the flames; and to report to this
Bureau for future reference the total number of documents so
destroyed.
The present change in the form of the state constitutes the most
glorious episode of our national history. Not only is this far
superior to the succession of dynasties by right of conquest or in
virtue of voluntary transfer (as in the days of Yao and Shun), but
it compares favourably with all the peaceful changes that have
taken place in western politics. Everything will be perfect if
whatever mars it (meaning the documents) is done away with.
All of you have acquired greatness in founding the dynasty. You
will doubtless concur with us, and will, we earnestly hope, lose
no time in cautiously and secretly carrying out our request.
We respectfully submit this to your consideration and wait for a
reply.
(Signed) NATIONAL CONVENTION BUREAU.