ABSTRACT
Besides the Tsung Li Yamen, the government had nothing, in 1898, as an addition to the old structure. Aside from the Hundred-day Reform, the program was never a consequence of honest conviction or promoted with sincerity. With all the changes in appearance the operation of the government remained unaltered. While the competitive literary examinations for provincial and metropolitan graduates were abolished, competitive examinations for senior licentiates Yiu Kung and Pi Kung took place as late as 1910. In the ninth year of preparation, 1916, the government was to promulgate the constitution, provide for ceremonies for the adoption of the new constitution and to promulgate parliamentary laws. Finally, this impotent body was denied many of the ordinary rights of a legislature. It did not have the right to petition the emperor. The president and the vice-president of the Council had it, but the government could reject or ignore their petitions.
