File No. 893.00/2383
[Untitled]
Peking, April 24, 1916, 6 p.m.
The President has issued mandate declaring that hereafter the administration is to be carried out by a responsible Cabinet, responsible in the sense of managing financial and military affairs, without personal control of the President who yields his administrative power to the Cabinet; also responsible to the Parliament to be elected within three months.
The following are appointed:
Tuan Chi-jui, Premier and Minister of War; Sun Pao-chi, Minister of Finance; Tsao Ju-lin, Minister of Communications, etc.; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Marine and Minister of Justice unchanged.
The Cabinet represents cooperation among such influential men as Feng, Tuan and Liang Shi-yi and their adherents.
Over against this organization in the Central Government there is nothing on the revolutionary side that could inspire confidence. Lack of policy, the attempted assassination of (?) Chi-jui, discord among leaders, and the noisy utterances of men of questionable reputation like Tang Shao-yi, foreshadow chaotic conditions should the Central organization fail. Hope for reconstruction which will avoid foreign interference would seem to lie with the Government (itself?).