9.  If the Premier, on being impeached by Parliament, does not dissolve Parliament he must resign but one Cabinet shall not be allowed to dissolve Parliament more than once.

10.  The Emperor shall assume direct control of the army and navy, but when that power is used with regard to internal affairs, he must observe special conditions, to be decided upon by Parliament, otherwise he is prohibited from exercising such power.

11.  Imperial decrees cannot be made to replace the law except in the event of immediate necessity in which case decrees in the nature of a law may be issued in accordance with special conditions, but only when they are in connection with the execution of a law or what has by law been delegated.

12.  International treaties shall not be concluded without the consent of Parliament, but the conclusion of peace or a declaration of war may be made by the Emperor if Parliament is not sitting, the approval of Parliament to be obtained afterwards.

13.  Ordinances in connection with the administration shall be settled by Acts of Parliament.

14.  In case the Budget fails to receive the approval of Parliament the Government cannot act upon the previous year’s Budget, nor may items of expenditure not provided for in the Budget be appended to it.  Further, the Government shall not be allowed to adopt extraordinary financial measures outside the Budget.

15.  Parliament shall fix the expenses of the Imperial household, and any increase or decrease therein.

16.  Regulations in connection with the Imperial family must not conflict with the Constitution.

17.  The two Houses shall establish the machinery of an administrative court.

18.  The Emperor shall promulgate the decisions of Parliament.

19.  The National Assembly shall act upon Articles 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 18 until the opening of Parliament.

 Edicts of abdication

I

We (the Emperor) have respectfully received the following Imperial Edict from Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager Lung Yu:—­

As a consequence of the uprising of the Republican Army, to which the different provinces immediately responded, the Empire seethed like a boiling cauldron and the people were plunged into utter misery.  Yuan Shih-kai was, therefore, especially commanded some time ago to dispatch commissioners to confer with the representatives of the Republican Army on the general situation and to discuss matters pertaining to the convening of a National Assembly for the decision of the suitable mode of settlement has been discovered.  Separated as the South and the North are by great distances, the unwillingness of either side to yield to the other can result only in the continued interruption of trade and the prolongation of hostilities, for, so long as the form of government is undecided, the