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""CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT, 1915 3322nd, but the leaders of the revolutionaries then demandedthat the President should retire.New An e^ort wasCabinetmade by the President tomeet the views of the revolutionaries on May6th. He appointeda Cabinet composed mainly of menwho had actively or passively opposed the proposal torestore the monarchy; promised to convoke a popularlyelected Parliament; to make the Cabinet responsible to theLegislature; to revive the Provincial Assemblies, and, in aword, to divest himself of autocratic power. The revolutionaries rejected all overtures; declared that the Presidenthad been guilty of high treason in accepting the crown,and that the legal President of China was General Li Yuanhung.They maintained that, by the provisions of theConstitution, if the President became disqualified he mustbe succeeded by the Yice-Presideut. The flaw in the argument was, of course, that the revolutionary leaders beingself-appointed,and at the best representative of only afraction of the people, had no legal authority to solveconstitutional questions. However, they claimed that powerand established a Military Government inKwangtung,with Canton as the Provisional Capital of China.Meanwhile the Military Governor of Kiangsuwith the aPP roval f the Central Govern.ment, summoned a conference of delegatesfrom the loyal provinces to meet at Nanking on May 15th tosettle the question whether President Yuan Shih-kai shouldcontinue in office. While this conference was being held theMilitary Governor of Szechuan announced that he had"severed his connection with the Great President," whichis apparently a new and original method of declaringindependence.In a Mandate issued on May 25th thePresident, inter alia, dwelt upon the unconstitutionalityof the action of the revolutionary leaders. This portion of the Mandate is well worthquoting. It read :The position and office of the Great President isbased on the election of the citizens of the five races ofthe whole country and; special provisions have beenA 4