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the schools. The ceremony lasted till the afternoon. Admittance was by tickets, of which only 200 or 300 were issued.
SHANSI.
Opening; English Missionaries take part in Ceremony. The provincial assembly was opened at Tai-yuan-fu on the 14th October, with considerable ceremony, in a special building, the erection of which was still uncompleted. The foreigners, mostly English missionaries and professors resident in Tai-yuan-fu, were invited to be present, and were formally introduced to the eighty-six members, who are favourably commented upon as men of education and standing. The president, Liang Shanchi, a Han-lin graduate, has a high reputation in Shansi, and his tendencies may be judged from the fact that he has sent his son to study engineering in the Birmingham University.
Speeches of Governor and Treasurer.-After the assembly was declared open by the governor in a formal address which was read for him, the provincial treasurer (who is now the governor as a result of the moves caused by Tuan-fang's downfall) made a carefully prepared speech, the object of which appeared to be to impress upon the members the limited nature of their powers. Congratulatory speeches were then made by Dr. Edwards, an English missionary, and a Japanese professor, and these were followed by a tactful address from the president inviting attention to the importance of the occasion in the political history of Shansi and China, thanking the Throne for the gift of popular representation, and specially recognising the debt A dinner of due to England "the friend of China and the mother of Parliaments." forty covers closed the proceedings.
Debates; Opium Question; Conflict of Opinion between Provincial and Central Governments.-The debates of the Shansi assembly are said to be conducted well and intelligently. One attended by some foreigners towards the end of October was on the opium question, in regard to which a difference of opinion had arisen between the province and the central Government. The thorough enforcement of the opium prohibition in Shansi by the provincial Government had caused a serious falling off in the revenue derived from opium, and the local bureau affected brought influence to bear upon the Board of Finance in Peking to overrule the provincial legislation against the importation of opium from other provinces. This, it seems, the Board of Finance attempted to do, and the province naturally hold that if they are forbidden to cultivate, it is unreasonable to ask them to keep an open market for opium from other provinces. The assembly and the provincial Government are at one in opposing the action of the Board of Finance.
SHENSI
Preliminary Steps; First and Second Elections, and Opening Ceremony.-A memorial from the governor appeared in the "Official Gazette" of the 5th November, reporting on the opening of the Shensi provincial assembly in Hsi-an-fu. According to this an organisation office was opened in November 1908 under the direction of the provincial treasurer, lists of electors were drawn up by May 1909, the first election of delegates took place in July, and the second election of the members, sixty-three for the province and three for the Manchu garrison of Iisi-an, was completed in August. In September the members collected in Hsi-an, and the assembly was duly opened on the 14th October. The president is a graduate who was formerly a district magistrate in Chihli, and the two vice-presidents are also graduates.
Governor's Speech.-The governor reports that he opened the proceedings in person, supported by the Tartar general of Hsi-an, and the provincial officials, and read the Imperial decree of the 13th October, which had just arrived by telegraph. He con- cludes by stating that he impressed upon the members the necessity of strictly confining themselves within the limits of the powers confided to them under the rules.
KANSU.
Preliminaries; Viceroy advocated Delay in opening Assembly; Removal of Viceroy.- According to a memorial of Sheng-yün, Viceroy of Shensi and Kansu, which was published in the "Official Gazette" of the 16th April, 1909, the preliminaries were modelled on what was being done in Nanking and Wuch'ang. He explained that the establishment of the organisation office was delayed by the necessity of sending officers to the Yang-tsze to make enquiries, and it was not till the 13th December, 1908, that this office was formed and the preparations for the elections commenced.
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In the course of the preparations Sheng-yün appears to have come to the conclusion that the convocation of an assembly in Kansu in 1909 would be premature, and he applied for permission to come to Peking to give his reasons to the central Govern- ment. This permission being refused, ho asked to be relieved of his post, and in a decree of the 23rd June he was censured and removed from office for dereliction of duty in regard to the preparations for popular representation.
No Information of Opening of Assembly yet received.-No information of the opening of an assembly at Lanchou has yet reached us.
KIANGSU.
The following is taken from a report by Mr. Goffe, His Majesty's consul at Nanking
Opening Ceremony at Nanking-The assembly was duly opened on the 14th October at 9 o'clock in the morning, when 112 deputies were present. The great majority of them belonged to the seventh, eighth, and ninth ranks (gold_buttons), a few to the fifth and sixth, and a very small number to the third or fourth; two or three wore no buttons, indicating that they had no official rank. The deputies were each provided with a number, and were seated at desks facing the presidential chair.
"The proceedings opened punctually at the appointed hour, and after being called to order, the deputies filed out of the hall, as their numbers were called out, to be presented to the Viceroy. After a short interval they returned, and the Viceroy and the governor of Soochow, accompanied by most of the high provincial officials, took their seats on the dais, to the left and right of the president respectively. The president rang his hell, and three speeches, suitable to the occasion, drafted respec- tively by the Viceroy, the governor and the president, were read by the secretaries. The assembly then adjourned till the 18th October, when the regular session began.
Foreign Consuls Invited.-"The foreign consuls were invited to be present at the ceremony, and were afterwards presented to the president; they are also allowed to attend the sittings and listen to the debates.
Proceedings; Debates." The proceedings, which were conducted in an orderly and impressive manner, were held in the Manchu guildhall, which will be utilised for the meetings of the deputies until the assembly house, which is now in course of erection, is ready for use. It is hoped to eventually make mandarin the language of the assembly; but, for the present, the deputies are allowed to speak in any dialect they please. Any deputy, however, who wishes to bring any proposal before the assembly must first deposit with the officials, in writing, a résume of its leading features; this document will then be printed and circulated amongst the deputies before the subject comes up
for discussion.
Debates Reported in the Press. The assembly meets every day at 1 P.M., and the sitting is continued until 5 or 6 o'clock; the press is allowed to report the proceedings, and a summary of the debates is appearing in a Nanking daily newspaper which has been published since the 20th of October.
The following subjects have been submitted by the Viceroy and governor respectively for the deliberation of the assembly:-
By the Viceroy---
Programme of Government Business Control and limitation of the coinage of copper 10-cash pieces and the extended use of silver coins to replace them.
"Census: The most effective method of taking it.
Dredging of the Huai River and the repair of its banks.
"Extension of the Nanking City Railway to Wula: In this connection the Viceroy states that the City railway has proved a most profitable undertaking, and that there are good prospects of an extension to Wuhu, à distance of some 200 li, which would pass through T'ai Ping-fu and many busy marts, proving equally remunerative. He regrets that the authorities have no funds at their disposal to undertake this work, and he recommends it to the earnest consideration of the merchants and gentry. The Viceroy states that the foreign manager of the Shangbae- Nanking Railway has claimed the right to build this line, as the railway agreement gives the company the option of constructing all railways within 100 h of the Shanghae line. But he dismisses this claim as inadmissible on the ground that the line in question is 200 ti in length, and does not come within the sphere of the company's agreement.
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