he same time allow the
local life of the provinces to develop. Ethics, Righteousness,
Purity and Conscientiousness are four great principles. When these
four principles are neglected, a country dies. If the whole country
should come in spirit to be like "concubines and women," weak and
open to be coerced and forced along with whomsoever be on the
stronger side, how can a State be established? May the Great
President encourage principle, and virtue, stimulate purity of
character, reject men of covetous and mean character, and grant wise
tolerance to those who know no fear in defending the right. Only
then will the vitality of the country be retained in some degree;
and in time of emergency, there will be a reserve of strength to be
drawn upon in support of the State. All these considerations are of
the order of obvious truths and it must be assumed that the Great
President, who is greatly wise, is not unaware of the same. The
reason why Ch'i-chao ventures to repeat them is this. He holds it
true that a duty is laid on him to submit whatever humble thoughts
are his, and at the same time he believes that the Great President
will not condemn a proper physic even though it may be cheap and
simple. How fortunate will Ch'i-chao be if advice so tendered shall
meet with approval. He is proceeding farther and farther away from
the Palace every day and he does not know how soon he will be able
to seek an audience again. He writes these words with tears dropping
into the ink-slab and he trusts that his words may receive the
attention of the Great President.

So ends this remarkable missive which has become an historic document in
the archives of the Republic. Once again it was whispered that so great
an impression did this fateful warning produce on the Emperor-elect that
he was within an ace of cancelling the disastrous scheme which now
enmeshed him. But in the end family influence won the day; and
stubbornly and doggedly the doomed man pushed on with his attempt to
crush revolt and consolidate his crumbling position.

Every possible effort was made to minimize the effect of international
influence on the situation. As the sycophantic vernacular press of the
capital, long drilled to blind subservience, had begun to speak of his
enthronement as a certainty on the 9th February, a Circular Note was
sent to the Five Allied Powers that no s