ppointed Provisional President by Nanking; in January he
published a manifesto to the people of China, bitterly attacking the
dynasty, promising that the republic would recognize treaty
obligations, the foreign loans and concessions, and declaring that it
aimed at the general improvement of the country, the remodeling of the
laws, and the cultivation of better relations with the Powers.

Meanwhile, the Dowager Empress and the Manchu princes had discussed the
position of affairs with Yuan Shih-kai, and the question of the
abdication of the dynasty was under consideration, but though the
situation was desperate there were some counsels of resistance. What
finally made opposition impossible was the presentation to the Throne
in the last days of January of a memorial, signed by the generals of
the northern army, requesting it to abandon any idea of maintaining
itself by force. This settled the matter. No other course being
practicable, terms were agreed to between Peking and Nanking, and on
February 12th imperial edicts, commencing for the last time with the
customary formula, were issued from the capital giving Yuan Shih-kai
plenary powers to establish a Provisional Republican Government, and to
confer with the Provisional Republican Government at Nanking, approving
of the arrangements which had been made for the Emperor and the
imperial family, and exhorting the people to remain tranquil under the
new regime. These edicts will remain among the most remarkable things
in history, and it can not be said that the passing of the Manchus was
attended by any want of that ceremonious calmness and dignity for which
China is famed. Two or three days later Sun Yat-sen in a disinterested
spirit resigned, and Yuan Shih-kai was unanimously elected President by
the Nanking Assembly; Yuan accepted the office, and thus north and
south were united in "The Great Republic of China." At the end of March
progress in the settlement of affairs was seen in the formation of a
Coalition Cabinet, comprising Ministers of both the Peking and the
Nanking Governments, those selected being men with a considerable
knowledge of Western life and thought, as, for instance, Lu
Cheng-hsiang, the Foreign Minister, who has lived many years in Europe
and speaks French as well as English. A further advance took place on
April 2d, when the Nanking Assembly agreed by a large majority to
transfer the Provisional Government to Peking, which thus resumed its
position a