CO129-382 - Public Offices - 1911 — Page 265

[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.

AFFAIRS OF CHINA.

CONFIDENTIAL

[46845]

[December 29.]

SECTION 2.

C

3447

No. 1.

D

G

Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received December 29.)

(No. 442.) Sir,

WITH reference to Mr. Max Müller's despatel No. 407 of the 11th ultimo, I

Peking, December 9, 1910. have the honour to transmit to you herewith translation of an Imperial decree issued on the 6th instant, commanding the Constitutional Government Committee to draw up and submit to the Throne without delay a detailed list of the various measures of reform to be carried out progressively prior to the opening of the National Parliament, the date for which has now been fixed for 1913.

The Constitutional Government Committee is a committee of the Reform Council, to which was entrusted by Imperial decree of the 18th August, 1907, the charge of the various measures for the establishment of a constitution and representative government. The original scheme submitted by this committee gave a detailed list of the various reform measures, such as the institution of the provincial assemblies, the formation of local self-government societies and municipal councils, the encouragement of education, &c., which were to be carried out seriatim with a view to educating the masses of China's people up to a standard of national civilisation compatible with the inauguration of a Parliament, the date for the opening of which was then fixed for 1917.

The present decrce commands the Constitutional Government Committee to draw up a fresh list of such reforms, presumably on the same lines as the original programme, but with the alterations necessitated by the recently sanctioned reduction of the preparatory period by four years.

On the 12th ultimo a decree, couched in somewhat similar terms, was issued by the Emperor, charging the various metropolitan Ministries to hasten on the necessary preliminaries to the opening of Parliament and specifying their several spheres of activity as follows :-

Board of the Interior: Census and police.

Board of Finance: Financial reform and regulation of taxation, Board of Laws: Institution of assize courts.

Board of Education: Extension of education.

On the above lines the boards were ordered to draw

the various measures of reform which they might deem it desirable to carry into up detailed programmes of effect.

Documents in response to the above decrees will, no doubt, be submitted to the Throne and published in due course.

Enclosure in No. 1.

I have, &c.

J. N. JORDAN.

Imperial Decree of December 6, 1910.

IN view of the reduction of the period for the inauguration of Parliament to the fifth year of Hsuan Tung, we have already pronounced our decree, laying the responsibility for the hastening on of the necessary preliminaries on the offices concerned with the settlement of such questions, and charging them with all speed to examine thoroughly and plan in detail the measures propounded, and to submit to us memorials on the various steps to be taken.

The procedure laid down in the list of preliminary measures to be carried out year by year by way of preparation for the constitutional Government was made the responsibility of the Constitutional Government Committee, whose duty it was to

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