To the President:  Our previous memorandum to Your Excellency must have received your attention.  We now beg further to inform you that the rebels are now practically in an embarrassing predicament on account of internal differences, the warning of the friendly Powers, and the protest of the South-western provinces.  Their position is becoming daily more and more untenable.  If Your Excellency strongly holds out for another ten days or so, their movement will collapse.

Some one, however, has the impudence to suggest that with the entry of Chang Hsun’s troops into the Capital, and delay in the settlement of the question will mean woe and disaster.  But to us, there need be no such fear.  As the troops in the Capital have no mind to oppose the rebels, Tsao Kun and his troops alone will be adequate for their purposes in the Capital.  But now the rebel troops have been halting in the neighbourhood of the Capital for the last ten days.  This shows that they dare not open hostilities against the Government, which step will certainly bring about foreign intervention and incur the strong opposition of the South-western provinces.  Having refused to participate in the rebellion at the invitation of Ni Shih-chung and Chang Tso-lin, Chang Hsun will certainly not do what Tsao Kun has not dared to do.  But the rebels have secret agents in the Capital to circulate rumours to frighten the public and we hope that the President will remain calm and unperturbed, lest it will give an opportunity for the rebel agents to practise their evil tricks.

Respecting Parliament, its re-assembly was one of the two most important conditions by means of which the political differences between the North and the South last year were healed.  The dissolution of Parliament would mean the violation of the terms of settlement entered into between the North and the South last year and an open challenge to the South.  Would the South remain silent respecting this outrageous measure?  If the South rises in arms against this measure, what explanation can the Central Government give?  It will only serve to hasten the split between the North and the South.  From a legal point of view, the Power of Government is vested in the Provisional Constitution.  When the Government exercises power which is not provided for by the Constitution, it simply means high treason.

Some one has suggested that it would not be an illegal act for the Government to dissolve Parliament, since it is not provided in the Provisional Constitution as to how Parliament should be dissolved, nor does that instrument specifically prohibit the Government from dissolving Parliament.  But this is a misinterpretation.  For instance, the Provisional Constitution has not provided that the President shall not proclaim himself Emperor, nor does it prohibit him from so doing.  According to such interpretation, it would not be illegal, if the President were to proclaim himself Emperor of