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On his Excellency's departure the president and vice-president accompanied him to the courtyard of the main hall, bowed, and waited until he had entered his chair; and afterwards the rest of the executive officials departed in order of rank, while the president and vice-president waited and bowed to cach."
Composition of Assembly.-The members of the Hupei assembly are said to be mostly reformers, and almost all have either official status or literary degrees. Thus the president is an expectant taotai and the two vice-presidents are Hanlin graduates. The Viceroy's opening speech impressed on the members the need for public spirit, and cautioned them against encroaching on the sphere of the executive officials.
Programme of Business.-The programme of the assembly at the close of October contained five subjects-
1. Extension of education and financial provision therefore.
2. Prevention of fires.
3. Encouragement of agriculture and forestry.
4. Provision of funds to meet cost of self-government.
5. Opium repression.
HUNAN.
The report by Mr. Hewlett, His Majesty's consul at Changsha on the provincial assembly of Hunan is quoted :-
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Elections." In accordance with instructions issued by the governor through the director of education in April last, elections were held throughout the province with At the end of June a a view to appointing members for the first Hunan Parliament. meeting was held in Changsha, at which a programme was discussed, and the reasons for forming a Parliament given; a report of this meeting was drawn up by the industrial taotal, and was sent to all the local authorities in the province. By the beginning of September the elections were completed, and by the end of the month the members elected, eighty-two in all, assembled in Changsha in preparation for the opening of Parliament, which was fixed for the 14th October. Mr. Tang Yen-k'ai was elected president of the Parliament.
Opening; Governor's Speech." On the 14th October the governor opened the first Parliament in person. His Excellency read an address in which the duties of the members as representing the public opinion of the whole province of Hunan were briefly enumerated, and in which the importance of a constitution for China was carefully explained. He exhorted them to work in unison; to be sincere in the fulfilment of their duties; to cast aside private differences; to practise what they preached, and zealously to support the officials in promoting the best interests of Hunan, and in eradicating abuses.
President's Reply.-"Mr. Tang Yen-k'ai's reply was slightly patronising. He declared that the Parliament would always serve the best interests of Hunan, and that as Ilunan had saved the Chinese Empire in the days of the Tai Ping rebellion so now and in the future they would assist the officials to stamp out abuse, and by unanimity of purpose secure the fullest advantages for Ilunan.
"Two members stand out prominently in the Parliament, Mr. Tang Yen-k'ai and Mr. Chen Wen-wei. The former is the political authority, and commercial matters are practically entirely in the hands of the latter, but as far as the others are concerned the majority have never crossed the borders of Hunan, and for some the present occasion is the first visit to Changsha.
Political Associations; Attitude of Interference in Foreign Cases.-The two men mentioned above rule the counsels of the political association (the Yen Chiu Hui) whose members are all members of Parliament. This association has, (even at this early date, made it clear to the provincial authorities that they intend to be consulted on every question, political or municipal, affecting Hunan, and they base their right on the power they possess of appealing directly to the political institutions in Peking. The customs taotai has told me quite frankly that he dare not take any action which promotes foreign interests in Changsha without the permission of this association, even if the foreign demand is strictly in accordance with treaty provisions. The association has already interfered in two cases, which are still unsettled, în a very definite manner, and it still remains to be seen whether the governer has the strength of will to withstand the unwarrantable interference of this body of men in questions affecting foreign relations, seeing that they are totally ignorant of the solemn obligations incurred by China under the various treaties, obligations which the association considers can be set aside merely because they prove distasteful to Hunan.
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The provincial treasurer tells me in confidence that several tens of petitions have already been received demanding the dismissal of about 60 per cent. of the representatives, but up to the present only two have been dismissed.
"The remaining political institution in Changsha-the Tiao Ch'a Chu-has met with keen opposition in the exercise of its functions, chiefly as regards the census and the assessment of property. The members of the gentry who were not elected to the Parliament encourage the opposition, and it will be some time before this conservative province agrees to a close scrutiny of what its population consider questions which affect themselves alone as private individuals.”
SZECHUAN.
The following is from a report by Mr. W. Stark Toller:-
Elections; Distribution of Seats." The elections for the provincial assembly took place at the appointed date---on the 15th day of the 6th month (the 31st July)- though in several cases it was not until two or three days later that the election was completed. The number of members elected for the whole of Szechuan was 105, the numbers from each prefecture being as follows:---
Chengtu Mien-chou Laing An-fa Mao-chou..
Ta chon Ning Yuan.. Cuiating Mei-chou Chinng-chou Chung king.
K'uei-fu Hsu Ting Chung-chon
Yu Yang-chon Paoning
Shun Ching.. Tung Chuan Esu-chou-fu (Suifu) Hsu Yung Ting
Lu-chou Tzu-chou
Total
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4.
1
105
"To this number must be added the two extra members elected to represent the banner garrison in Chengtu, thus bringing the total up to 107. There were also elected 54 expectant members, to fill any vacancy that might occur. These expectant members were elected by a separate ballot after the election of the sitting members, which explains the otherwise remarkable fact that the expectant members have almost invariably a greater number of votes recorded in their favour than have the sitting members.
Want of Enthusiasm in Electorate." In the June quarter's intelligence report Mr. Smith mentioned that at the first, or direct, election in the two districts of the city of Chengtu the number of men who obtained the fixed minimum of votes fell very far short of the quota to be elected by each district magistracy, the deficiency in the Chengtu Hsien being 9, and in the Hua Yang Hsien 14. A supplementary election was therefore held a few days later, at which the requisite number of men were elected. In the Chengtu Hsien 63 votes was sufficient to secure qualification for the second and final election, while the lowest number obtained by a successful candidate in the Hua Yang Isien was 70 votes. When so little interest is shown in the capital, it does not seem reasonable to expect great enthusiasm in the external cities, and such information as I have been able to obtain tends to confirm this view.
Composition of Assembly," The greater part of the elected members of the provincial council are either bolders of some official rank or are graduates under the old system of examinations. Of the total of 161 sitting and expectant members, there are only six who possess neither of these qualifications, and these are all elected under the property qualification (5,000 dollars). A large proportion of the members elected are returned Japanese students. I am told that fully 30 per cent. of the whole, including the president (I Chang) come under this category.
"An examination of the official list of members shows the average age to be
150