The Fight for the Republic in ChinaPutnam Weale, B. L. (Bertram Lenox)
History
The Fight for the Republic in China
Putnam Weale, B. L. (Bertram Lenox)
China -- History -- Republic, 1912-1949; China -- Politics and government
Mr. Hu: If you want to know them in detail I recommend you to read
the Constitutions of Prussia and Japan. But I can tell you this
much. Needless to say that such stipulations as articles
guaranteeing the rights of the people and the power of the
parliament will surely be worked into the future constitution. These
are found in almost every constitution in the world. But as the
former Provisional Constitution has so provided that the power of
the parliament is unlimited, while that of the president is very
small, the Chief Executive, besides conferring decorations and
giving Orders of Merit, having almost nothing to do without the
approval of the Senate, it is certain that nothing will be taken
from that instrument for the future constitution. Nor will the
makers of the future constitution take anything from the nineteen
capitulations offered by the Manchu Government, which gave too much
power to the legislative organ. According to the Nineteen Articles
the Advisory Council was to draw up the constitution, which was to
be ratified by the parliament; the Premier being elected by the
parliament; whilst the use of the army and navy required the
parliament's sanction; the making of treaties with foreign countries
have likewise to be approved by the parliament, etc., etc. Such
strict stipulations which are not even known in such an advanced
country in matters constitutional as England were extorted from the
imperial family by the advisory council. Therefore it is most
unlikely that the makers of the future constitution will take any
article from the nineteen capitulations of "confidence." They will
use the Constitutions of Japan and Prussia as joint model and will
always have in their mind the actual conditions of this country and
the standard of the people. In short, they will copy some of the
articles in the Japanese constitution, and adopt the Prussian method
of procedure for the making of the constitution.
Mr. Ko: What do you mean by honesty?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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