30
Chapter X-Expenditure.
Art. 53. The Viceroy or governor shall provide funds for the expenditure of the assembly as follows:---
(1.) Travelling expenses of members.
(2.) Public expenses of the president, vice-presidents, and standing committee. (3.) Salaries of the secretariat.
(4.) Miscellaneous expenses,
(5.) Advances on account of expenditure.
Art. 54. The amounts of (2) and (3) of article 53 shall be fixed by the Viceroy or governor. Estimates of the other items shall be prepared by the assembly, and submitted for decision to the Viceroy or governor.
Art. 55. The accounts shall be examined by the president and vice-presidents monthly, and a report laid before the assembly at the opening of each ordinary session.
Chapter XI-Disciplinary Punishments.
Art. 56. There are two disciplinary punishments (1) suspension for not more than ten days, and (2) expulsion.
Art. 57. Suspension may be inflicted by joint decision of the president and vice- presidents; expulsion by vote of the House,
Art. 58. A member who frequently transgresses the rules of the assembly, or whose speech or conduct is objectionable, may be suspended, or, in a gross case, expelled.
Art. 59. A member who absents himself from the sessions without due reason, or who absents himself from the sittings of the assembly for ten days or more without due reason, shall be expelled.
Art. 60. A member making irregular use of his position in the assembly shall be suspended, or, in a gross case, expelled.
Chapter XII-Supplementary Rules.
Art. 61. The above rules shall come into force on the date of the Imperial decree authorising them.
Art. 62. Deficiencies in these rules shall be met by the provisional assembly concerned submitting draft proposals through the Viceroy or governor for the joint consideration of the constitutional Government committee and the Senate.
(To the above is appended an elaborate Election Law in seven chapters and 115 articles.)
[1905]
No. 9.) Sir,
Annex 1.
Consul Fox to Sir Edward Grey.~(Received January 17, 1910.)
Wuhu, December 23, 1909. UNDER instructions from His Majesty's Minister in Peking I have the honour to forward, for your perusal, duplicate copies of a short report on the recent provincial assembly held at Anking.
Enclosure.
I have, &c.
HARRY H. FOX.
31
This province, with an estimated population of 23,500,000, nominated in April of this year 80,000 electors," from whose ranks the eighty-three delegates to the assembly were subsequently chosen by ballot.
The management of both elections appears to have been in the hands of the local officials, who distributed voting papers at their discretion among the principal landholders, shop-keepers, and literary graduates in their respective districts. The process was rather one of "selection" than "election,"
**
The majority of the delegates are, I am told, members of what are termed the gentry" of the province, i.e., retired officials and land-owners.
The session of the assembly lasted forty days, meetings being held about once a week.
A representative of the governor was invariably present at these meetings.
Owing to the non-existence of newspapers in this province the proceedings of the Anhui Assembly have not been given that publicity which similar assemblies have received in other parts of China, and I have in consequence been unable to obtain any precise information on the subject of the assembly's deliberations. Very little interest appears to be taken in the new institution by the people of Wuhu, the usual reply to my enquiries being that the delegates talked a great deal, but decided nothing. As regards the common people, their attitude towards the assembly is aptly summed up by one of my missionary correspondents, who writes to say that in his district," there is no popular enthusiasm for free institutions; the people resent any In the innovation that is likely to interfere with their daily struggle for existence." words of another of my informants "the people are quite content to have their representatives take a share in the government of the province as long as they are not asked to pay for the privilege."
There appears to be a growing feeling of uneasiness among the lower classes that the various projects of reform now in the air will entail additional taxation.
The following is a list of subjects which were, i understand, discussed at the assembly:-
1. Currency reform: to place the various silver dollars current in the province on a par, and to fix their value in relation to the copper coinage. To arrange that the land tax be paid in copper cents at their face value, i.e., 100 cents ≈ 1 dollar.
[Note. There are six or seven different silver dollars current in this province: the Spanish "Carolus," the Mexican, and the Chinese provincial dollars of Kiang Nan, Hupei, Anhui, &c., all of different and fluctuating values in relation to copper cents. 152 cents; For instance, the rates of exchange at the time of writing are: Carolus Mexican = 126 cents; Chinese 123 cents.]
P
2. To reform the administration of the salt gabelle, i.e., to effect a reduction in
the retail price of salt by reducing the expenses of collection.
3. The encouragement of local industries and manufactures.
4. To raise funds for the purpose of introducing educational and administrative reforms, such as the establishment of schools and technical institutes, courts of law, municipal councils, &c.
5. To suppress gambling, prostitution, and superstitious religious obscrvances.
6. To put an end to the practice of foot binding.
7. To regulate theatrical performances and to prohibit idol processions.
8. To exploit the province's coal mines.
In reply to my enquiry as to why opium and railways were not included in this list, my informant, an intelligent scholar of the old school, said that, as the suppression of opium smoking had been definitely decided upon by the Government and people of China, the question required no further discussion, and that as regards railways, they involved complicated questions of finance which the delegates thought it prudent to leave the Government to deal with!
HARRY H. FOX.
Wuhu, December 22, 1909.
Report by Consul Fox on First Provincial Assembly of Anhui.'
THE first provincial assembly of the elected representatives of the people of Anhui met at Anking, the provincial capital, on the 14th October last, the assembly being opened by the governor, his Excellency Chu Chia Pao, in person.
[2605 7-2]
K
158