districts to do as they please." How much oil would be cast on
how many troubled waters can only be realized by the unfortunate
priests and dismissed officials and people upon whom "there need
be no compulsion"!

Three days after the foregoing, on September 29th, she issued
another edict purporting to come from the Emperor, ordering the
punishment of Kang Yu-wei and others of his confreres. Now, if it
is true that Kang Yu-wei advised the Emperor to behead Jung Lu
and imprison the Empress Dowager, for no cause whatsoever, how
would you have been inclined to treat him supposing you had been
in her place? The decree says:

"All know that we try to rule this empire by our filial piety
towards the Empress Dowager; but Kang Yu-wei's doctrines have
always been opposed to the ancient Confucian tenets. Owing,
however, to the ability shown by the said Kang Yu-wei in modern
and practical matters, we sought to take advantage of it by
appointing him a secretary of the Foreign Office, and
subsequently ordered him to Shanghai to direct the management of
the official newspaper there. Instead of this, however, he dared
to remain in Peking pursuing his nefarious designs against the
dynasty, and had it not been for the protection given by the
spirits of our ancestors he certainly would have succeeded. Kang
Yu-wei is therefore the arch conspirator, and his chief
assistant is Liang Chi-tsao, M. A., and they are both to be
immediately arrested and punished for the crime of rebellion. The
other principal conspirators, namely, the Censor Yang Shen-hsin,
Kang Kuang-jen--the brother of Kang Yu-wei--and the four
secretaries of the Tsungli Yamen, Tan Sze-tung, Liu Hsin, Yang