5
4
foreign capital, it is true, and what is far more important than what has actually been achieved is the fact that the opposition to railways has given place to an unreserved recognition of their practical utility.
Telegraphs, which were non-existent when the Emperor came to the Throne, now extend to every city of the Empire; postal facilities have been brought within the reach of all, and the abolition of the old examination system has been followed by the establishment of schools on modern lines throughout the country.
But far the greatest asset of all is the awakening of a consciousness of nationality and the realization of the fact, which is daily preached by the vernacular press, that China must either "reform or perish." Public opinion, which was inarticulate during the greater part of the reign, is now making itself noisily felt through hundreds of newspapers, and the ery of China for the Chinese," although it may jar unpleasantly with many preconceived ideas, strikes a note of patriotism which the sobering influence of experience may yet convert into a beneficial instrument of national regeneration.
I have, &c.
(Translation.) Sir,
upon
(Signed)
Inclosure 1 in No. 1.
Prince Ching to Sir J. Jordan.
J. N. JORDAN.
Peking, November 14, 1908. ON the 13th November the following Imperial Decree was received :--- "I, the Emperor, have received the Decree of the Empress-Dowager, conferring
Tsai Fêng, Prince Ch'un, the office of Prince Regent."
It therefore becomes my duty to transcribe reverently a copy of the Decree for your Excellency's information.
I avail, &c.
(Translation.) Sir,
Inclosure 2 in No. 1.
Prince Ching to Sir J. Jordan.
Peking, November 15, 1908.
ON the 14th November the following valedictory Edict was received from His Majesty the Emperor :-
"Having set foot in our childhood upon the throne, as we succeeded to our great heritage in reverent devoutness we were fortunate to have in the person of Her Majesty the Empress-Dowager, our canopy and protector, a devoted guide who sacrificed laborious nights and days in discharging the duties of Government from behind the curtain (i.e., as Regent). When later, at her decree, we personally assumed the direction of affairs, we and looked on bigh for guidance to the ancestral precepts of the sacred ones before us, in devotion of our Government and love toward our people, made the fear of Heaven and the example of our forefathers the mainspring of every act.
"During four-and-thirty years we have looked up to the directions which we have craved from Her Majesty; we have in our day been concerned with a myriad of tasks, in all of which her counsel has been sought. With consciousness of the difficulty of our times, we have selected a middle course between Chinese and foreign rules of Govern- ment. We have reconciled the common people with the converts to Christianity. We have developed the establishment of schools. We have set in order the army. We We have revised the laws. We have have encouraged industry and commerce. prepared for the establishment of a constitution in the hope that all within our borders may equally profit thereby in peace and concord.
"When floods or famine have assailed the provinces and the high territorial officials have asked for contributions of relief or for remission of taxes, in no case has it been refused them. In this year, the Imperial Prefecture, and the Provinces of Chih-li and Manchuria, Hunan, Hupei, Kuangtung, and Fukien have all in turn suffered from disaster, and in each case the sufferings of our people have been borne in upon us so deeply that we have not been able to cat or sleep in peace,
"Our bodily constitution has always been weak. Since the autumn of last year we have been ill and under the treatment of physicians. But the sensations of fulness in the chest, of nausea, of pains in the loins, weakness in the legs, shortness of breath, together with frequent coughing, have enveloped our whole system and have become daily more pronounced. All our vital forces have been lacking and our maladies have crept on us without interruption. Such has been Heaven's will!
"But the divine vessel is our chief care, and our foremost duty is to transmit it to worthy hands. Her Majesty the Empress-Dowager has now graciously decreed that P'u Yi, the son of the Regent, Prince Tsai Fêng, shall enter upon the great inheritance and succeed us as Emperor.
“Our Imperial successor is virtuously disposed, and filial, and endowed with bright intelligence. He will not fail to merit with reverence the trust that has been bestowed upon him, and to exert himself continuously with anxious painstaking and diligence in holding steadfast for ever the foundations of our land.
"Ye Ministers and officers, metropolitan and provincial, civil and military, must cleanse your hearts and rid yourselves of old prejudices in faithful acceptation of the Decrees which have recently been promulgated, which laid down the preparatory steps to be taken year by year, and which must be loyally observed, in order that after the expiration of nine years a Constitution may be declared, and that the completion of the work which we now leave unfinished may afford solace to our spirit in heaven.
"Let mourning be worn in accordance with the old rule for seven-and-twenty days; and let those our words be published throughout the Empire that all may know.”
In communicating the above Decree to your Excellency, I avail, &c.
(Translation.) Sir,
Inclosure 3 in No. 1.
Prince Ch'ing to Sir J. Jordan.
Peking, November 15, 1908. I DEEPLY regret to inform your Excellency that on the 14th of this month, at 5 P.M., His Majesty the Emperor departed this life [literally, "ascended in the dragon chariot to be a guest of heaven"], to the great grief and sorrow of all his people. Your Excellency has doubtless heard of the sad event, and shares the sorrow of our affliction.
I have the honour to request your Excellency to make the necessary communications to His Britannic Majesty's Government,
I avail, &c.
Inclosure 4 in No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Prince Ching.
Your Highness,
Peking, November 16, 1908. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Highness' communication of yesterday's date, informing me of the death of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of China.
I hasten to assure your Highness of my respectful sympathy with the sorrow in which your Highness and the Chinese people are plunged by the untimely death of the Sovereign who has guided the destinies of the nation for thirty-four years.
As requested by your Highness, I have not failed to inform His Majesty's Government of the sad event by telegraph.
[2049 q-1]
I avail, &c. (Signed)
J. N. JORDAN.
* Translator's Note.-Classical metaphor for the Throne.
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