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(Translation.) Sir,
Inclosure 5 in No. 1.
Prince Ch'ing to Sir J. Jordan.
Peking, November 15, 1908. I HAVE the honour to inform your Excellency that I have received the following Decree of Her Imperial Majesty the Empress-Dowager :--
"P'u Yi, son of the Prince Regent, entered upon the great inheritance as Emperor by succession. The Prince Regent, Tsai Feng, will superintend the State. All military and Government affairs whatsoever shall be executed in obedience to our advice, instructions, and decisions until the Emperor by succession has grown up and completed his education, when the Emperor by succession will himself make the decisions in all affairs of State.”
I have the honour to request that the above Decree may be communicated to His Britannic Majesty's Government.
Inclosure 6 in No. 1.
Prince Ch'ing to Sir J. Jordan.
I avail, &c.
into deep sorrow, and it becomes my duty to communicate the sad news to your Excellency, as a representative of a Power in friendly relations with China, and to request your Excellency to inform His Majesty's Government.
I avail, &e.
Inclosure 8 in No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Prince Ch'ing.
Your Highness,
Peking, November 17, 1908. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Highness' note of yesterday's date, in which you communicated to me the sad news of the death of Her Majesty the Empress-Dowager.
I have received this announcement with feelings of profound concern, and I hasten to offer to your Highness, and, through you, to the Government and the Imperial family, my respectful sympathy in the great loss which the Chinese Empire and people have sustained in the removal of the illustrious lady who so long and so ably guided the destinies of the country.
I have not failed to communicate the mournful intelligence by telegraph to His Majesty's Government, who will, I feel sure, extend their sincere sympathy to China in the double calamity which has so suddenly befallen the nation.
I avail, &c. (Signed) J. N. JORDAN.
(Translation.) Sir,
Peking, November 15, 1908. THE following Imperial Decree was received on the 14th November :- "Between the hours of 5 and 7 on the afternoon of the 14th November the late Emperor, mounted on the dragon to become a guest on High.
"I have received the command of the Empress-Dowager to enter upon the great inheritance
[Here follows an eulogy of the deceased Emperor, who, for thirty-four years under the guidance of the Empress Dowager, gave all his energies to the State, and was inspired in all his rule by love of his people, seeking to reform and strengthen the Empire.]
"All living men will regret his loss, while I, with tears of blood and beating my breast, have no word to express my sorrow. This heavy responsibility having been placed upon my young person, I can only rely on all officials, great and small, uniting in a bond of loyalty to assist me. Viceroys and Governors must comfort the minds of the people, and set in order all duties confided to their charge, in order that the deceased Emperor's spirit may be consoled.
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Though the deceased Emperor ordained only twenty-seven days' mourning, I could not rest satisfied with that period. It is necessary that the old rule be followed, and that three years' mourning be observed.
"The sacrificial observances at the Temple of Heaven, and of earth, and of the Imperial ancestors, &c., must not, however, be neglected, and the Yamens concerned must examine precedents and memorialize for my information.
"Let the people observe mourning according to the prescribed rules. "Let this Decree be published for the information of all."
(Translation.) Your Excellency,
Inclosure 7 in No. 1.
Prince Ch'ing to Sir J. Jordan.
I avail, &c.
Peking, November 16, 1908.
I DEEPLY regret to inform your Excellency that the exalted Empress-Dowager Tz'u« hsi-tuan-yu-k'ang-yi-chao-yü-chuang-ch'êng-sbou-kung-ch'in-hsien-ch'ung-hsi departed this life [lit. "ascended to the empyrean in the chariot of the immortals" on the 15th November, at 3 P.M. The Government and people of China are thereby plunged
Inclosure 9 in No. 1.
Prince Ch'ing to Sir J. Jordan.
(Translation.) Your Excellency,
Peking, November 16, 1908. I HAVE the houour to inform your Excellency that on the 15th November the following testamentary announcement of Her Majesty the Empress-Dowager Tz‘u-hsi, &c., was reverently received
"Of little worth, I was the respectful recipient of the Emperor Hsien-fèng's commands appointing me to a position in the Palace. Later, the Emperor T'ung-chih succeeded to the Throne in his infancy, at a time when rebellion was rife and there was a crisis of disorder, the Taiping and Nienfei rebels, Mahommeians and Miao tribes, devastating the land, while the sea coast was harried. The people were destitute and suffering net the eye everywhere. In accordance with the Emperor Hsien-fêng's dying mandate, I and the Empress-Dowager Hsiao Chên Hsien [the first Consort Empress of Hsien-fêng Translator] with united hearts soothed and consulted, night and day cared and laboured, urging on the servants of State and great war leaders throughout the Empire to measures of good government, and listening to the remonstrances of the wise to retrieve disaster and assuage the afflictions of the people. Eventually, with the favour of Heaven, the great dangers were removed, and peril became safety. Then the Emperor Tung-chih passed away, and when the Emperor lately deceased ascended the Throne difficulties increased with the greater burdens of the people. Internal troubles and external calamities crowded upon us, and I had no course left but to resume the helm of State. The year before last a Proclamation announcing the preparation for a Constitution was published, and this year the limit of time for the completion of this preparation was made known to all. My energies were wholly spent in devotion to the myriads of affairs, but I was fortunately possessed of a constitution sufficiently strong to sustain the toil. From the summer and autumn of this year, however, State events of great importance were constantly occurring, which left me no rest, and sleep and nourishment failed me. Though, as the days wore on, my forces were gradually weakening, I dared not withdraw myself one day from the burden. Suddenly plunged into the sorrow of the death of the Emperor on the 14th of this month, I felt unable to sustain the blow, and my illness was aggravated beyond hope of recovery. Looking back on the anxieties and misfortunes of the last fifty years, I recall that there was no time when I was free from alarm. Now there is some prospect of reform in the State, and the infancy of the Emperor in succession affords full scope for advance in the right path. The Prince Regent and the high officers of the Empire should combine their
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