胡適留學日記卷十一六、論袁世凱將稱帝

卷十一六、論袁世凱將稱帝

　　（八月十八日）

　　報載袁世凱將複帝制，美儒古德諾（Frank J. Goodnow）贊翊其說，不知確否？昨下午紐約《外觀報》（The Outlook）以電相告，謂其社中記者將據報載消息立言，並詢餘意見。餘為作短文論之。

　　CHINA AND DEMOCRACY

　　It is quite unnecessary either to affirm or to deny the truth of the news from Peking that the project of proclaiming himself Emperor is being deliberately considered by President Yuan Shikai, and that Professor Frank Johnson Goodnow, President of Johns Hopkins University and Constitutional Adviser to the Chinese Government, has approved the project. Unnecessary it is, because neither its truth nor its falsehood affects the real question—namely, the question of the present status and future prospect of democracy in China.

　　Let us first consider what the effects would be if the report were true. Will the assumption of an imperial title enhance Mr. Yuan's dictatorial powers, or will his refusal to call himself Emperor leave China more democratic? My answer is, No. For it is safe to say that under the present constitution the president of the Chinese Republic has more power than any other ruler in the world, not excluding the Kaiser or the Czar. I make this statement advisedly. For under the present constitution, in the making of which, we are told, Professor Goodnow has had no little influence, the president represents the nation, summons and dissolves the Li-fa-yuen, proposes legislation and presents budgets in the Li-fa-yuen, executes the law, issues ordinances equivalent to national laws, declares war, negotiates peace, appoints and dismisses civil and military officers, has power to pardon or commute penalties, is the Commander-in-chief of the army and navy, receives Ambassadors and Ministers, and makes treaties with foreign nations. What more can a monarchical title add to this long list of governmental powers?

　　What is more important is the length of the Presidential term of office and mode of election. The "Procedure of Presidential Election" passed by the Constitutional Convention last December contains these unique provisions:

　　1．The president shall hold office for a term of ten years, and is eligible for reelection.

　　2．Fifty members of the Council of state, and fifty members of the Lifa-yuen, to be elected among themselves, shall constitute the Electoral College.

　　3．Preceding every presidental election, the present President, representing the will of the people, shall nominate three men to be candidates to succeed himself.

　　4．On the day of electionthe president shall announce to the Electoral College the names of the three nominees.

　　5．Besides these three Candidatesthe Electoral College may also vote for the present President.

　　6．If during the year of presidential election the members of the Council of state deem it a political necessity to have the present president remain in office, they may make proposals to that effect by a two-thirds vote of that body. The proposal thus made shall be proclaimed to the whole nation by the president.

　　Thus, under this unique law, the Chinese president may remain in office for life, he alone is entitled to nominate his own successors and that does not prevent the electors from reelecting him, nor is he legally preclued from nominating his own son or grandson. What more can the nominal change from "President" to "Emperor" bring to him?

　　Not only will this change bring no real increase of power or dignity to the occupant of the Presidential Chair, but any such more will inevitably result in his ultimate ruin. Those of us who have had some experience with the working of the average mind realize that there is a great deal in a name. However dictatorial President Yuan has become, he has had common sense enough to avoid all "words" that may be objectionable to the vast younger generation who have long dreamed republican dreams without knowing exactly what republicanism means, he has even publicly declared his resolution never to aspire to the imperial throne, and has banished several men who have attempted to advocate monarchism. If Mr. Yuan is really such a shrewd politician as his Western Critics portray him to be, he ought to be able to see that his assumption of the imperial title will immediately expose him to the utter distrust of the whole world and even to the most probable danger of assassination.

　　The question of a titular change, however, is of very little importance in the minds of the true republicans of China. The Chinese democracy, they realize, now exists only in name, for almost two years the country has had no parliament, no provincial legislatures, no district councils. There are no political parties, no freedom of press, no freedom of speech. Many a youth has been exiled or executed or assassinated for no other crime than that of holding a radical political philosophy. To be sure, there is a constitution, but a constitution that exalts the chief executive beyond the reach of the law, the parliament, and the people；a constitution which makes the presidency indefinitely long, practically self-elective, and almost hereditary!

　　*

　　Under such circumstance, what difference will it make whether the "supreme" ruler be called "president" or "emperor"?

　　Whether or not Mr. Yuan will become Emperor does not affect the course of Young China（by which I do not mean any particular political faction）, which is struggling hard for the establishment of a genuine democracy in China. Young China believes in democracy；it believes thatthe only way to have democracy is to have democracy. Government is an art, and as such it needs practice. I would never have been able to speak English had I never spoken it. The Anglo-Saxon people would never have had democracy had they never practiced democracy. This is a kind of political philosophy which is incomprehensible to men like Professor Croodnow. Professor Goodnow and many other well-meaning constitutional authorities think that the Oriental people are not fit for the democratic form of governmentbecause they have newer had it before. On the contrary, Young China believes that it is precisely because China has not had democracy that she must now have democracy. It believes that if the first Chinese Republic had had a longer life democracy would have by this time established a fairly strong hold in China, and the political experience of four years' democratic government, however imperfect that experience might have been, would have by this time enabled a vast number of the Chinese people to understand what republicanism really means.

　　But, alas! The conservatives and the reactionaries have found hearty supporters in our foreign critics who have neither faith nor patience. They have found their spokesmen in such great constitutional authorities as Professors Ariga, of Japan, and Goodnow, of the American Republic. It is conceivable that Professor Ariga should oppose Young China. But when a great scholar from the American Republic came out with the declaration that the Oriental people were by history and tradition disqualified to have representative form of government, the blow was decisive and fatal. These great scholars have wrought their "Authoritative" opinions into the new constitution of the Chinese Republic, and are now on the eve of being decorated by the Chinese Emperor whom they have helped to make.

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　　The procedure of presidential election is a part of the constitution.

　　〔中譯〕

　　中國與民主

　　據北京傳聞，袁世凱總統經慎重考慮，將複帝制；約翰霍布鏗大學校長兼中國政府制憲顧問弗蘭克·約翰遜·古德諾教授已經贊同此項計劃。對於此則傳聞之確實與否，實在沒有必要調査。之所以無此必要，原因在於，不論此傳聞是真是假，均無關乎這一根本問題——即，中國民主之現狀和未來。

　　倘若此報道確實，讓我們先來看看其影響如何。採用皇帝之頭銜將強化袁先生之獨裁統治乎？或者，袁先生拒絕稱帝將給中國帶來更多的民主乎？餘之回答是：否。因為按照現行憲法，可以保險地說，除愷撒和沙皇之外，中華共和國總統所擁有之權力，要比世界上其它任何一個統治者大得多。餘並非虛言，而是確有把握。據說，古德諾教授對現行憲法之制定不無影響。依照此憲法，總統代表國家，有權召集和解散立法院，有權在立法院提議立法和提呈預算，有權簽署法律，有權頒佈相當於國家法律之法令，有權宣戰締和，有權任免文武官員，有權赦免或減刑，總統還兼任陸軍和海軍之總司令，總統還有權接見各國大使和大臣，有權與外國簽訂條約。在這張長長的政府權力單上，一個君主頭銜還能在其上再添加些什麼呢？

　　然而，更為重要的乃在於總統之任期與選舉之方式。去年十二月，立憲大會通過《總統選舉程序法》。該法包含如下獨特之條款：

　　1．總統每屆任期十年，可以連選連任。

　　2．

　　3．在每一屆總統選舉之前，現任總統因其代表人民之意志，可提名三位總統候選人，以承其位。

　　4．總統將于選舉之日向選舉院宣佈他所提名之三位總統候選人。

　　5．除此三名候選人之外，選舉院還可提名現任總統為候選人。

　　6．在總統選舉年，倘若國務院有成員認為，因當前政治形勢所需，有必要請現任總統留任，他們便可向選舉院提出此建議。該建議只需獲得選舉院三分之二的票數即可通過。最終結果可由總統向全國宣告。

　　因此，按照這部獨一無二之法律，中國總統可以終生連任，唯獨只有他才有資格提名總統之繼任人。然而，這並不妨礙選舉委員再次選舉他連任，也並不排除此種可能性：他可以合法地提名他兒子或孫子為總統候選人。那麼，在名義上，將「總統」改為「皇帝」，這能給他多帶來些什麼呢？

　　不僅上述名號之變更，不會給總統所擁有之權力或尊嚴帶來任何實質性之增長，而且，任何多此一舉之做法，將不可避免地造成他最終之垮臺。吾等皆具正常之智質水平，亦有些許生活經驗，皆明白：一個名稱包含有豐富之內涵。不管袁總統之獨裁達到何等程度，他還有一般的常識，知道應當避免使用某些「字詞」，因為那會遭致青年一代之反對。儘管這些青年完全不知道共和主義到底是什麼，但他們夢想共和卻是由來已久。袁總統曾公開聲稱，他決無稱帝之野心，甚至還將幾個企圖鼓吹帝制之人削職。倘使袁先生真如西方評論家所形容的那樣，他是一位精明之政治家，那麼，他就該明白，只要他採取帝制，立刻就會在全世界人面前信譽掃地，言行不一，甚至極有可能遭致暗殺之危險。

　　然而，在中國真正的共和主義信徒之眼中，名號之變更是無關緊要的。他們認識到，目前中國之民主已是名存實亡。在差不多兩年時間裡，國家沒有召開過議會，沒有地方立法機關，沒有地方議會；也沒有政黨，沒有出版之自由，沒有言論之自由。不少青年被流放、被處死或被暗殺，沒有別的罪名，正是因為他們抱有一種激進之政治哲學。誠然，憲法是有的，可是該憲法將最高行政長官置於法律、議會和人民之上；該憲法還將總統任期無限延長，實際上是自己選自己當總統，幾近於世襲制！在此種情形下，「最高」統治者被稱為「總統」，或是「皇帝」，又有何區別呢？

　　不管袁先生當不當皇帝，這並不影響少年中國之進程（餘在此並不是指任何特定之政治派別）。少年中國正在為中國建立真正之民主而努力奮鬥。它相信民主；而且相信：通向民主之唯一道路即是擁有民主。統治是一門藝術，照此，統治需要經過實踐之鍛煉。倘若餘不開口說英語，那餘決學不會講英語。倘若盎格魯—撒克遜人從不實行民主，那他們決不會擁有民主。這是一種政治哲學，古德諾教授之流是不會理解的。古德諾教授和許多其它善意之制憲權威認為，東方人不適於民主政體，因為他們以前從不曾有過。與此相反，少年中國認為，恰恰因為中國不曾有過民主，所以她現在必須擁有民主。少年中國認為，倘若第一個中華共和國之壽命更長一些，那麼，此時中國之民主將會有一個相當扎實的根基了。至此，四年民主政體之經驗，已能讓許許多多中國人明白共和主義到底是什麼，不管此經驗是多麼的不完善。

　　悲哉，嗚呼！保守派與反動派皆已在外國評論家那裡，找到了熱心之支持者，而這些支持者，既無一絲誠意，亦無一點耐心。他們已經在一批偉大的制憲權威之中找到了自己之代言者，諸如日本之有賀教授、美國之古德諾教授。有賀教授反對少年中國尚可理解。可是，當一位來自美利堅合眾國之大學者站出來宣稱，東方人就其歷史和傳統來說，不配享有代議制民主政體時，這個打擊無疑是很沉重的，是致命性的。這些大學者們用他們的「權威性」意見，炮製了這部中華共和國之新憲法。此刻由於他們的功勞，中國皇帝將要為他們授勳頒獎。

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　　總統選舉程序法乃憲法之一部分。

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