CHINA'S CRISIS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 434, 17 February 1909, Page 7

CHINA'S CRISIS.

DISMISSAL OF YUAN SHIHKAI. CHINESE INCENSED AOAINST THE I MANCHUS. "IMPERIAL SYMPATHETIC FEELINGS."; ■ 1 [FEOM ooh OWN COnRESrONDENT.] Hongkong, January 6. Awohderod Swhat;; would; happen as : .the result of, the'appointment of tho now rulers: of the 'Chinese Empire. . There.. was first tho-fooling that tho Chinese would resent'tho fact tnat'thoy wcro still; to bo coil-. trolled Ky the Manclms as tho,occupants of tho Throne'. But at tho outset of the Princo Regent's.'roicii, tho Chinese ; slidwod;their ! acceptance or tho succession of tho infant: Emperor by abiding "by tho orders for obsorvanoo of all tho rites for. mourning. and for the.welcoming of ; tho.new ruler. This was.,'- very ; probably ' : theii\;. w'ay' :of ' showing, their, appreciation of-vthe fact that the? great Cluneso statesman, General Yuan Shihlcai —a "member; of,;:the...Priv'y.: Council.^and -President of the Eoard< of Foreign Affairs—-w,as still retained. in a position of authority.;,at'- :tlie;, Palace at and. was even. given ? new, honours by tho Prince: Regent.lt.' is in; G en- ! ■.eralV.Tuiw'-'-.ttndV.-hU^'foHQwersV-.that^tlio. advanced . party .ofVtho : patriotic ■; Chincso have pkred .tneir hopes ;fbnthe; awakening of the flhnpire'to jits'real ,destffiy.^ ; Now',- this party must not be corifused'with tho Reform party. ;Nor ; are-'.their.Udcals . 'akin;-: to ; those ,of ; the recalcitrant,Self-Govornmeiit' Association of the Canton Province. The. party that litis as it-s.objective a constitution for China,', the party ,'thatdesires; to; see . the; Empire adopt all: in the" West-that .is!for .'-'the'.-good of tho {.Chinese," the ; men ' who" wish; to see the officials; paid ;a regular salary and the corruption that now, oxisfyi done . away with, ana the establishment or 'amicable: relations" with the .rest' Vpf. the - .world—these.; are tho meii : Who": to-dav are indignant; at the way the old Generil.-has. been ,treated by tho, new-jie-ad "•'of .this '.much-troubled -and portion of'the. globe. It is true that the ' late - Stand Coiiilollordid not attain his ',i-or:, rather;. past--high-.office; by means-..that able.-' It will bo remembered that lie:-; was lent for by I the late Emperor at what -was -.to;be, the great period- of ..reform, in 1898, and if as':-instructed."to; place' /his' ; foreign-drilled toops -as a guaTd on tho late Dowager . Empress;lnstead, ho had an interview .with hat wonderful old lady, and the-result .was j h-at'until- tho dato 'ofihis .death the,late Em-, was for all tho power ho could exereiso only a, glorified prisoner. But the Dow- . ager'. Empress did not' -forget the man. who' .■haditold;her.,of!-t-he- p_lot to rob her, of the much .enjoyed'usingi ; and thero were big : rewards: for Yuan Shihkai. Ho was Boon one of the most powerful of the ministers at Peking, and was the; si;y?.'Wr of the late Li Hung' Chang, as the v iceroy of Chili v ; .Though 'he- had'.frustrated; th'e; : coup if : the;;Emperbr, :.Y.iian.'is a reformer of a m'oro. thorough typo .than ; tho,. first-named could ever liavo becl.i. Ho it was who reformed the northern army; and ho came to ' the;'assistance.,; of- tho Powers ; during :■ the Jkixor itroubles. by'restraining the troops under him--from joining in tho anti-foreign-fighting. Ho ■ favours tho-building of railways "arid;, adoption of' ail- that' will' help China to progress. But ho is a .Chinese and !not a.i'Manchu,: and "that -is the' real roason of the prcseut .trouble.' ; ft ■ ■

A Warm Partisan. s There is little doubt .that the Prince. Regent , is a warm partisan of the' Hanchus. It is . .currently, reported, and it was a report that was circulated before the dismissal of Yuan,. that at the funeral services of tho late rulers thoi Princo Regent asked that the Manchus should have, the left side, and tho Chinese tho right side—be it: remembered that the -left-hand ;sido-,js tlio Bide, of honour-accordmg to Chin'eso: otiquotte. Ho - also wanted tho - ; Manchu : ; la'nguage ;to bo",taugHt'jn tho colleges. These were tho first hints of tho Regent's feelings-towards the Chinese. Princo Ching, tho, uncle; of tho Regent, and a powerful man at the . Court, is, however, a great admirer of Yuan,' and he was retainod in the 1 of-ioffico.. as. 'one';of':' tho 1 Grakd'Council.; Tho edict dismissing tho' General camo like a : thunderbolt on tho Chinese and;the foreign, ; Princo' Ching must have been surprised, too, for he sent in':his resignation at. oncoi The edict is ; a quaintly-worded docur mcnt, and as it': is,:likely. to .be. far-reaching ' iriV its- consequences. it'iis possibly worth-while ,my sending you!a full,translation. 'Ibo edict road as. follows Yuan Shihkai, .the' Grand Councillor,! mid -President of tho Board of Foreign ■ ' . Affairs,' has been continuously appointed ■' - ;;;;. r to;important offices, by the late . and .he also has Wen highly rewarded • ; after my ascendingtho.Throne.' This was for his ability and for his services. Un- '• expectedly .ho suffers from a disease of. tho leg, and has found it difficult to walk,' • and .is unable to attend'to his duties. Yuan Shihkai iB : hereby . . authorised to ceaso all his duties, and return to liis ' ' native country to treat his disease. This is a token, of the Imperial sympathetic ' feelings. >- 7 The irony of the ediot is in the last clause, for the. order was followed by the appoint mont of Na Tung—a Manchu, arid a Conservative —as tlio , of' ■ the Liberal 'iGeneral Yuan Shihkai. The edict waß immediately followed by another, apparently aim:'jng ;'at;;the.;:pacificationi ! of ; the .. Chinese, for ... it said -; "The Imperial Government shows no ;partiality.':i;-Weak: men;will;be; dismissed and weeded out, and capable mon' installed in their places." . ■ ■ V,-:7 ;; The interest of-the rest of the world in what will ■ become oft the. dismissed coun■mt hut what will bo the result in China. There, is tlus';c6rtain; : Shihkai hias ; beon deposed bccausc/Ee is' a Progress?vist, .andthe.nian placed in his place is one of the .old; Conservatiro element. ■ . The 'Chinese are' - very, much iuconsc-d, but.tho circumstances ; 6f polit.c.-il life in China are, such that no man can_ toll jußt« what will ever happen. Yuan : Shihkai/lias retired- to-his-home,.and appar-' ent)y considers . that , fate 'has decreed Iliß retirement from: public .life as inevitable. Many men in tho history, of his '.Government have experienced the same fate. :Prince Ohing, his admirer, Ims asked that ho, too,. be allowed to ..cease .the..duties",of office, and' urges ill- . health—the. polite the Chinese official ; puts forward when resigning.'- Yuan lias been the means pf.phicmg.many.Cantoncse in high .offices in_the. sorvico of China,'and■ it is to-' day openly said . that theso ' people mil be ;"• BS f.9?-.vi°- '-'psignior! they; v will> considei- it politic to resimi, witliin a very early period. : liut if one ,iudges: from what- one. can' gather ' from' authoritative sources, there is not" likolv : :te;,be;.anj; .rebelhon';orvOTtbreaki - Tho most : serious thingvis that.the Powers have decided in view of the dismissal of Yuan, to retain tlio : lepcation's guards at their full strength for ;' the present. •A : :, ; '~ - Soveral censors, havo. donounced- the o x-' Privy;, Councillor,- but that'signifies little in t Cliina.' t The'charges, hnvo not been gone into and ; there is -vory little likelihood" of theni being ever heard of 'again unless, the 'Powers. lake some action for: the. restoration "of him to office. ':7 :