political impasse was constantly discussed, the utmost concession the monarchists were willing to make was to turn China into a Federal Empire with the provinces constituted into self-governing units.  The over-issue of paper currency to make good the gaps in the National Finance, now slowly destroyed the credit of the Central Government and made the suspension of specie payment a mere matter of time.  By the end of February the province of Kueichow was not only officially admitted by the Peking Government to be in open revolt as well as Yunnan, but rebel troops were reported to be invading the neighbouring province of Hunan.  Kwangsi was also reported to be preparing for secession whilst in Szechuan local troops were revolting in increasing numbers.  Rumours of an attempted assassination of Yuan Shih-kai by means of bombs now circulated,—­and there were many arrests and suicides in the capital.  Though by a mandate issued on the 23rd February, the enthronement ceremony was indefinitely postponed, that move came too late.  The whole country was plainly trembling on the edge of a huge outbreak when, less than four weeks later, Yuan Shih-kai reluctantly and publicly admitted that the game was up.  It is understood that a fateful interview he had with the British Minister greatly influenced him, though the formal declaration of independence of Kwangsi on the 16th March, whither the scholar Liang Ch’i-chao had gone, was also a powerful argument.  On the 22nd March the Emperor-elect issued the mandate categorically cancelling the entire monarchy scheme, it being declared that he would now form a Responsible Cabinet.  Until that date the Government Gazette had actually perpetrated the folly of publishing side by side Imperial Edicts and Presidential Mandates —­the first for Chinese eyes, the second for foreign consumption.  Never before even in China had such a farce been seen.  A rapid perusal of the Mandate of Cancellation will show how lamely and poorly the retreat is made: 

DECREE CANCELLING THE EMPIRE (22D MARCH)

After the establishment of the Min Kuo (i.e. the Republic), disturbances rapidly followed one another; and a man of little virtue like me was called to take up the vast burden of the State.  Fearing that disaster might befall us any day, all those who had the welfare of the country at heart advocated the reinstitution of the monarchical system of government to the end that a stop be put to all strife for power and a regime of peace be inaugurated.  Suggestions in this sense have unceasingly been made to me since the days of Kuei Chou (the year of the first Revolution, 1911) and each time a sharp rebuke has been administered to the one making the suggestion.  But the situation last year was indeed so different from the circumstances of preceding years that it was impossible to prevent the spread of such ideas.