osed to
great personal danger. If he is broadminded, he will further
recognize the fact that if no constitutional form of government is
introduced, his policy will perish after his death. Therefore I say
that before the adoption of the constitutional form of government, a
monarchy should be established. William I. of Germany and the
Emperor Meiji of Japan both tried the constitutional form of
government and found it a success.

Mr. Ko: Please summarize your discussion.

Mr. Hu: In short, the country cannot be saved except through the
establishment of a constitutional form of government. No
constitutional government can be formed except through the
establishment of a monarchy. The constitutional form of government
has a set of fixed laws, and the monarchy has a definite head who
cannot be changed, in which matters lies the source of national
strength and wealth.

Mr. Ko: What you have said in regard to the adoption of the
constitutional monarchy as a means of saving the country from
dismemberment is quite true, but I would like to have your opinion
on the relative advantages and disadvantages of a republic and a
monarchy, assuming that China adopts the scheme of a monarchy.

Mr. Hu: I am only too glad to give you my humble opinion on this
momentous question.

Mr. Ko: You have said that China would be devastated by contending
armies of rival leaders trying to capture the presidency. At what
precise moment will that occur?

Mr. Hu: The four hundred million people of China now rely upon the
President alone for the protection of their lives and property. Upon
him likewise falls the burden of preserving both peace and the
balance of power in the Far East. There is no time in the history of
China that the Head of the State has had to assume such a heavy
responsibility for the protection of life and property and for the
preservation of peace in Asia; and at no time in our history has the
country been in greater danger than at the present moment. China can
enjoy peace so long as His Excellency Yuan Shih-kai remains the
President, and no longer. Should anything befall the President,
every business activity will at once be suspended, shops will be
closed, disquietude will prevail, people will become panic-stricken,
the troops uncontrollable, and foreign warships will enter o