t them to be obeyed? The people will say "he
started in righteousness but ended in self-seeking: how can we trust
our lives in his hands, if he should choose to pursue even further
his love of self-enrichment?" It is possible for Ch'i-chao to
believe that the Great President has no desire to make profit for
himself by the sacrifice of the country, but how can the mass of the
people--who believe only what they are told--understand what
Ch'i-chao may, perchance, believe?

The Great President sees no one but those who are always near him;
and these are the people who have tried to win his favour and gain
rewards by concocting the alleged unanimous petitions of the whole
country urging his accession to the Throne. In reality, however, the
will of the people is precisely the opposite. Even the high
officials in the Capital talk about the matter in a jeering and
sarcastic way. As for the tone of the newspapers outside Peking,
that is better left unmentioned. And as for the "small people" who
crowd the streets and the market-places, they go about as if
something untoward might happen at any moment. If a kingdom can be
maintained by mere force, then the disturbance at the time of Ch'in
Chih-huang and Sui Yang Ti could not have been successful. If, on
the other hand, it is necessary to secure the co-operation and the
willing submission of the hearts of the people, then is it not time
that our Great President bethinks himself and boldly takes his own
stand?

Some argue that to hesitate in the middle of a course after
indulging in much pomp and pageantry at the beginning will result in
ridicule and derision and that the dignity of the Chief Executive
will be lowered. But do they even know whether the Great President
has taken the least part in connection with the phantasies of the
past four months? Do they know that the Great President has, on many
occasions, sworn fidelity before high Heaven and the noon-day sun?
Now if he carries out his sacrosanct promise and is deaf to the
unrighteous advice of evil counsellors, his high virtue will be made
even more manifest than ever before. Wherein then is there need of
doubt or fear?

Others may even suggest that since the proposal was initiated by
military men, the tie that has hitherto bound the latter to the
Great President may be snapped