ous measure? If the South rises in arms
against this measure, what explanation can the Central Government
give? It will only serve to hasten the split between the North and
the South. From a legal point of view, the Power of Government is
vested in the Provisional Constitution. When the Government
exercises power which is not provided for by the Constitution, it
simply means high treason.

Some one has suggested that it would not be an illegal act for the
Government to dissolve Parliament, since it is not provided in the
Provisional Constitution as to how Parliament should be dissolved,
nor does that instrument specifically prohibit the Government from
dissolving Parliament. But this is a misinterpretation. For
instance, the Provisional Constitution has not provided that the
President shall not proclaim himself Emperor, nor does it prohibit
him from so doing. According to such interpretation, it would not be
illegal, if the President were to proclaim himself Emperor of the
country.

In short, the action taken by Ni Shih-chung and others is nothing
short of open rebellion. From the legal point of view, any
suggestion of compromise would be absurd. It has already been a
fatal mistake for the President to have allowed them to do what they
like, and if he again yields to their pressure by dissolving
Parliament, he will be held responsible, when the righteous troops
rise and punish the rebels. If the President, deceived by ignoble
persons, take upon himself to dissolve the assembly, his name will
go down in history as one committing high treason against the
Government, and the author of the break between the North and the
South. The President has been known as the man by whose hands the
Republic was built. We have special regard for his benevolent
character and kind disposition. We are reluctant to see him
intimidated and misled by evil counsels to take a step which will
undo all his meritorious services to the county and shatter the
unique reputation he has enjoyed.

The unrolling of these dramatic events was the signal for the greatest
subterranean activity on the part of the Japanese, who were now
everywhere seen rubbing their hands and congratulating themselves on the
course history was taking. General Tanaka, Vice-Chief of the Japanese
General Staff, who had been on an extensive tour of insp