Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 3, 1907, (In two parts), Part I

File No. 1787/29–32.

Minister Rockhill to the Secretary of State.

American Legation,
Peking,August 15, 1907.

No. 697.]

Sir: I inclose herewith a copy of an imperial decree^a published on the 2d instant for the encouragement of trade and industries and offering extraordinary rewards to those among the people who contribute capital for agricultural and industrial enterprises, mining and commercial undertakings. The decree also directs the ministry of agriculture, commerce, and labor to make an annual report on trade and industries for the general information.

It may be noted that, like most of the reform decrees which have appeared during the last few years, this one attributes to the supineness and inefficiency of the officials throughout the Empire the absence of any recent evidence of progress among the people along the lines laid down by the Throne.

As a comment to the above I inclose copy of a leader published in the North China Daily News,^a of Shanghai, and beg leave to call your attention to the latter paragraphs, which are interesting.

I also send copy in translation of another imperial decree, dated August 13, 1907, ordering that “the office for the investigation of administrative methods,” created by decree of June 6, 1906, shall be henceforth designated as the “office to arrange for constitutional (i. e., representative) government,” and defining its duties. The decree appears to be among the first fruits of the memorial of Yüan Shih-k’ai, presented to the Throne on August 3, and which covered this point, he contending that the office for investigating administrative methods was not accomplishing the duties for which it was created.

I have, etc.,

W. W. Rockhill.

[Inclosure.—Translation.]

Imperial edict.

[Peking Gazette, August 13, 1907.]

We have received the commands of Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager Tzu-hsi, etc., as follows:

“I-l’uang, the Prince of Ch’ing, et al., have submitted a memorial to us requesting that the office for investigation of administrative methods be changed to one having special charge of questions of constitutional government, and that the duty of deliberating upon questions of administration be transferred to the grand secretariat.

“Sometime ago the office for investigation of administrative methods was established^b with the purpose originally of dealing with the question of constitutional government and preparing the necessary laws and regulations and to generally devise plans for the more important matters of administration; but in order to define official functions more exactly it is necessary to assign special duties, and therefore the office in question is hereby changed into an office to arrange for constitutional government; and until the establishment of a national parliament the prince and ministers of the grand council will superintend and direct the proctors originally appointed to that office in carefully investigating and devising plans which, it is hoped, may be put into operation in proper sequence. The matters heretofore left to the joint deliberation of the grand councilors, grand secretaries, and other ministers advising upon questions of administration are hereby left to be dealt with by the grand secretariat.”

So for the rest let it be as requested.

1. Includes public works.
2. Not printed.
3. See Imperial Edict of June 6, 1906.