airs of State
after resuming possession of the great power on the 13th day of the
5th moon of the 9th year of Hsuan Tung.

A new beginning will be made with our people. Hereafter the
principles of morality and the sacred religion shall be our
constitution in spirit, and order, righteousness, honesty and
conscience will be practised to rebind the minds of the people who
are now without bonds. People high and low will be uniformly treated
with sincerity, and will not depend on obedience of law alone as the
means of co-operation. Administration and orders will be based on
conscientious realization and no one will be allowed to treat the
form of State as material for experiment. At this time of exhaustion
when its vitality is being wasted to the last drop and the existence
of the country is hanging in the balance, we, as if treading on thin
ice over deep waters, dare not in the slightest degree indulge in
license on the principle that the Sovereign is entitled to
enjoyment. It is our wish therefore that all officials, be they high
or low, should purify their hearts and cleanse themselves of all
forms of old corruption; constantly keeping in mind the real
interests of the people. Every bit of vitality of the people they
shall be able to preserve shall go to strengthen the life of the
country for whatever it is worth. Only by doing so can the danger be
averted and Heaven moved by our sincerity.

THE NINE ARTICLES

Herewith we promulgate the following principal things, which we must
either introduce as reforms or abolish as undesirable in
restoration.

1. We shall obey the edict of Emperor Teh Tsung Chin (Kuang Hsu),
namely, that the sovereign power shall be controlled by the Court
(state) but the detailed administration shall be subject to public
opinion. The country shall be called The Empire of Ta Ching; and the
methods of other constitutional monarchies shall be carefully
copied.

2. The allowance for the Imperial House shall be the same as before,
namely, $4,000,000 per year. The sum shall be paid annually and not
a single cent is to be added.

3. We shall strictly obey the instructions of our forefathers to the
extent that no member of the imperial family shall be allowed to
interfere with administrative affairs.

4. The line of demarcation between Man (Man