CHINA AND ITS OPEN PORTS.
Reigning Sovereign and Family.
Kwang Shui, Emperor of China, is the son of Prince Ch'un, the seventh son of the Emperor Tao Kwang, hence he is cousin to the late Emperor Tung Chi, who died without issue on the 12th day of January, 1875, from small-pox.
as
The proclamation announcing the accession of the present sovereign was follows:-"Whereas His Majesty the Emperor has ascended upon the Dragon to be a guest on high, without offspring born to his inheritance, no course has been open but that of causing Tsai-Tien, son of the Prince of Ch'un, to become adopted as the son of the Emperor Wên Tsung Hien (Hienfung), and to enter upon the inheritance of the great dynastic line as Emperor by succession. Therefore, let Tsai-Tien, son of Yih Hwan, the Prince of Ch'un, become adopted as the son of the Emperor Wên Tsung Hien, and enter upon the inheritance of the great dynastic line as Emperor by succession."
The present sovereign is the ninth Emperor of China of the Tartar dynasty of Ta-tsing, "The Sublimely Pure," which succeeded the native dynasty of Ming in the year 1644. There exists no law of hereditary succession to the throne, but it is left to each sovereign to appoint his successor from among the members of his family. The late Emperor, dying suddenly, in the eighteenth year of his age, did not designate a successor, and it was in consequence of a palace intrigue, directed by the Empress Dowager, widow of the Emperor Hienfung, predecessor of T'oung-chê, in concert with Prince Ch'un, that the infant son of the latter was made the nominal occupant of the throne.
Government and Revenue.
The fundamental laws of the empire are laid down in the Ta-tsing-hwei-tien, or "Collected Regulations of the Great Pure dynasty," which prescribe the government of the State to be based upon the government of the family. The Emperor is spiritual as well as temporal sovereign, and, as high priest of the empire, can alone, with his immediate representatives and ministers, perform the great religious cere- monies. No ecclesiastical hierarchy is maintained at the public expense, nor any priesthood attached to the Confucian or State religion.
The administration of the empire is under the supreme direction of the "Interior Council Chamber," comprising four members, two of Tartar and two of Chinese origin, besides two assistants from the Han-lin, or Great College, who have to see that nothing is done contrary to the civil and religious laws of the empire, contained in the Ta-tsing-hwei-tien, and in the sacred books of Confucius. These members are denominated "Ta-hyo-si," or Ministers of State. Under their orders are the Li-poo, or six boards of government, each of which is presided over by a Tartar and a Chinese. They are:-1. The board of civil appointments, which takes cognisance of the conduct and administration of all civil officers; 2. The board of revenues, regulating all financial affairs; 3. The board of rites and ceremonies, which enforces the laws and customs to be observed by the people; 4. The military board, superintending the administration of the army; 5. The board of public works; and 6. The high tribunal of criminal jurisdiction.
Independent of the Government and theoretically above the central administra- tion, is the Tu-chah yuen, or board of public censors. It consists of from 40 to 50 members, under two presidents, the one of Tartar and the other of Chinese birth.
By the ancient custom of the empire, all the members of this board are privileged to present any remonstrance to the sovereign. One censor must be present at the meetings of each of the ṣix government boards.