Page:The Truth about China and Japan - Weale - 1919.djvu/84

 troops, his nerve failed him at the psychological moment; and illegally he dissolved Parliament after diplomatic relations with Germany had been broken off, but before any formal declaration of war had been made. At the same time adding folly to his great mistake, he had called to Peking the illiterate General Chang Hsün, who carried out a burlesque restoration of the Manchus—a mockery which was dissipated by a brief fusillade. The result was to leave North and South worse divided than ever; the Northern military party being once more in firm control of Peking, whilst the fugitive Southerners were once more forced back to the home of the Revolution—Canton. For eighteen months the situation has continued like that, with fitful fighting along the northern edge of the seven south-western provinces, and with the foreign Powers looking on helplessly and wondering whether it would ever end.

Whilst the expression "the foreign Powers" is still in general use to signify the whole group of nations in treaty relations with China, recent events have proved that the proper way of expressing foreign political activities should be "the foreign Powers and Japan". For although Japan is an ally of the Allies, and although since her first treaty of alliance with