Art. 112.  Should there be any doubt as to the meaning of the text of the Constitution, it shall be interpreted by the National Constitutional Conference.

Art. 113.  The National Constitutional Conference shall be composed of the members of the National Assembly.

Unless there be a quorum of two-thirds of the total number of the members of the National Assembly, no Constitutional Conference shall be held, and unless three-fourths of the members present vote in favour, no amendment shall be passed.  But with regard to the interpretation of the Constitution, only two-thirds of the members present is required to decide an issue.

Art. ...  The National Constitution shall be the Supreme Law of the land and shall be inviolable under any circumstances unless duly amended in accordance with the procedure specified in this Constitution.

[V] A Chapter on Provincial or local organization is to be inserted under Chapter ... providing for certain powers and rights to be given to local governments with the residual power left in the hands of the central government.  The exact text is not yet settled.

Note:  The Mark (*) indicated that the article has already been formally adopted as a part of the finished Constitution.

The mark (V) indicates that the article has not yet passed through the second reading.

Those without marks have passed through the second reading on May 28th, 1917.  Articles bearing no number are additions to the original draft as presented to the Conference by the Drafting Committee.

 The local system

DRAFT SUBMITTED TO PARLIAMENT

The following Regulations on the Local System have been referred to the Parliamentary Committee for consideration:—­

Article 1.  The Local System shall embrace provinces and hsien districts.

Any change for the existing division of provinces and hsien districts shall be decided by the Senate.  As to Mongolia, Tibet, Chinghai and other places where no provinces and hsien districts have been fixed, Parliament shall enforce these regulations there in future.

Art. 2.  A province shall have the following duties and rights:  (a) To fix local laws. (b) To manage provincial properties, (c) To attend to the affairs in connexion with police organization, sanitation, conservancy, roads, and public works, (d) To develop education and industry in accordance with the order and mandates of the Central Government. (e) To improve its navigation and telegraphic lines, or to undertake such enterprises with the co-operation of other provinces, (f) To organize precautionary troops for the protection of local interests, the method of whose organization, uniforms and arms shall be similar to those of the National Army.  With the exception of the matter of declaring war against foreign countries, the President shall have no power to transfer these troops to other