his Docurrent is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
FAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
77]
[January 16.]
3447
SECTION 2.
EC?
No. 1.6 3 FER ||
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received January 16, 1911.) 6.471.)
Peking, December 29, 1910. THE agitation for the carlier opening of Parliament, which has throughout this r been taking place, was thought to have subsided on the issue of the Imperial ree of the 4th November which curtailed the period originally determined on by r years, i.e., fixing 1913 as the year in which a Parliament was to be convened.
The province of Feng-tien, however, was not satisfied with the decree and anised a remarkable demonstration in Mukden, which took the form of a Session of 10,000 persons to the Viceroy's yamên on the 6th December. The ders of the movement were members of the Provincial Assembly, and a large aner was borne with the procession, upon which words demanding the immediate ening of a Parliament were written in human blood. The president of the vincial Assembly and other spokesmen had an audience with the Viceroy, who eded to their demands that he should make representations to Peking in the se desired, whereupon the procession quietly dispersed. Meanwhile, repre- latives of the Mukden agitators arrived in Tien-tsin and stirred up people by sonal appeal and exhortation. The movement was enthusiastically taken up by e student class, who conducted a demonstration on the 20th instant and succeeded persuading the Viceroy to forward their petition to the Throne. Interesting ounts of this demonstration and of the Throne's reply to the Viceroy are contained Mr. Consul-General Fulford's despatches Nos. 54 and 55 of the 22nd and
December respectively, copies of which I have the honour to enclose.*
Not content with their efforts in Tien-tsin, the representatives of the Mukden itators proceeded to Peking and commenced to make themselves obnoxious to the overnment by raising a clamour round the Palace of Prince Ching for the immediate ening of Parliament.
On the whole they did not meet with much popular support nor did the Senate e the matter up, and, consequently, the Prince-Regent felt emboldened to issue an perial decree, copy of which is enclosed, ordering the Manchurian representatives ck to their homes. The Board of the Interior and the commandant of the darmerie were instructed to depute officials to convey the agitators back to anchuria.
The commands of the Throne were accordingly carried out, and police escorted e agitators by train to Manchuria. Since this was done the agitation has for the he subsided.
I have, &c.
J. N. JORDAN.
ranslation.)
Enclosure in No. 1.
Imperial Decree, dated December 24, 1910.
SOME time since Hsi Liang presented a memorial embodying the request of the il population of Feng-t'ien that next year the national Parliament should be ened forthwith. Thereupon we minuted our commands that, the contraction of the iod for the establishment of Parliament having already been carefully considered Court deliberations, and our decree having been promulgated and notified for neral information, there must be no further memorials.
Next Ch'en Kuei Lung addressed a telegraphic memorial, stating that the esident and members of the Chibli Provincial Assembly had again formulated a quest for the speedy opening of the national Parliament. We replied by telegraph, dering the publication of a strict notification forbidding a repetition of the collection signatures to demands and of importunate memorials; at the same time we issued
[1850 q-2]
* Not printed.
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