A New Start in China

Horowhenua Chronicle, 25 November 1916, Page 3

A New Start in China

i'lU'Sii i'Ail.. i A.'ik.Vi iij.oJ'l.'-.-.-J. iilC.-lilf.lv Ul'' MiLiiAlii IM'JiH VlAl iO'.S. (I.oirkn Times 'Coi'res-p'jiulL'iit.J l'ekuig, Aug. 2. 1 wi i lie-SL-d the ul 11 ucmv ie.:.i iu tiio hi-,toiy ot On-ina. L.i 1 uaii-hiing opened I'ariiaiiu nt, and in presence i l tno members declared his .lite..t on o-l (loi ng h.s duLy as J.*i\sident according to the terms of i.ie i_uj.i t ill.Ki.i. J hese happenings may prove ti be mere incidents, having liti'lc bearing on the eoin.se ol future iit-n.s i.i LJin.a. i_.ii tiie oilier naiui, they may const.tnte a real tuni'ugpom i, ironi wuioji Lluna lieieauui-nia-y pj , o^i - c.-.s on Jii-uueru lilies. itavi-.ig opened tiie Lower jtioiuo today in person, and, following tliat ceremony, declared his adherence to tlio Uonstituition ttimpjy and inio-nnaily i.i Yuan-hung took up a position ainidsi the Cabinet and the -Parliament members assembled and submitted to the inevitable right of photography. Instead of ceremoniously retiring lo the rear thereafter, he waved his officers aside and walked informally through the crowds of Rpectat./rs to the gate where his carriage waited. He wore, not- unrforni, like Yuan, but an ordinary frock co.it and tall hat.

Ol" the man himself it is difficult to speak. His beginning was humble, lc.r when tile pnsent Miibistjr .for the Navy c.jmiuamie.l a ci-uiser during the Chino-Japan war Li Yuan-hung was third engineer in the same vesse:. ' V\ hen the revolution broke out ho was colonel of a battalion of infantry, and by accident found himself thrust into piominenee. Since then his career us unknown. His experience or affairs is decidedly limited, and great ability has never been attributed to him. lint he consistently, from the beginning, disapproved <ii the monarchy raove- | liicnt, and thereby endangered hi.life. That he was not without character is suggested by the following /incident. When he was military governor at Wuchang, lie .showed a foreign caller a pool of blood in one of the compounds of the Yamen. Here, he sai'd regretfully, is where so-and-so was shot half an hour ago. Sso-and-so was a premising young officer on li'fi staff who had been discovered in a "squeeze" wh eh Lii had forbidden. Thus we seem to see in Li Yuan Hung the intention not to scheme for his own hand, the intention to he honest, and the intention to impose honesty on others. If there were 100 men of that stat in China the future would he less obscure—even if there were 50, or even 10. PARLIAMENT AND THE GENERALS. The Parliament re-opened to-day after an interval of nearly three years has a poor record. Practically it did no more than two pieces of work, one the voting to its members of an annual salary of £000, and the other the ejection! as pvosident oi Yuan Shih-kai. According to the letter of the Constitution th.s Parliament, apart from is arbitrary dissolution by Yuan iSh.ilikai, is time-expired long ago. It has in reality no constitutional existence, and its reincarnation is ere!y a i_\ ;i----region, in the .uteres:; o! T.i the demands of the noisiest party in the .State, the revoiutiionai'.es, or, more, particularly, the lvuomintaiig. It is, therefore, very much on its trial tor behav'.Giis that would justify immediate dissolution. It .sou its trial, also, for another reason. The most tangible thing in China it the present moment is military .'orce, and although there is now a Parliament, and a democratic president, and. all the appearances of a constitutional .regime, nothing alters the the tact that the whole situation is at the mercy of the generals who control arge botlUts ol troops. Certain of these general including the Premier, Tuan Diii-jui, are believed to be in agreement. They are willing to give Parliament an opportunity to establish itself as a useful linstiJtutiou. It is supposed that if the resuscitated Parliament fails to conduct itself with sense and propriety they will immedi- • itely dissolve it and summons another )n a greatiy restricted basus. The lenerals in question are believed to lave the patriotic intention to do their 3est for the country. Hut there aTe 'other generals whose natives are not so clear, and whoso ictrons at the present time appear the •everse of patriotic. Thus military ntervention wouldi be liable to have lisastrouis consequences, for it could lot be foretold how tar it might go., »r whom it might involve. Military ntervention, in fact, might result in ;lie loosing of the winds and the creition of indescribable chaos. China, indeed, is now on the verge )f such a situation, and there is no lertain insurance against it. The 'orces of disorder may he defeated inly if the Government and the Parianient will work together and earn luthority for themselves throughout , :he country.