Dai Hongci's inspection of constitutionalism includes a visit to parliaments of various countries, an inspection of local autonomy and a conversation with some experts from various countries. 1 1 parliaments are mentioned in the diary. Almost every country has visited the parliament building. Of course, it also highlights the purpose and mission of Dai Hongci's trip. He is one of the "examiners".
The delegation mainly visited the parliaments of the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and other countries. Dai Hongci mainly recorded the following aspects: First, the structure of parliament. He learned that most parliaments in various countries are divided into upper and lower houses. In the United States, "senators in the upper house are elected by provinces ... two in each province ... with a term of six years ... senators in the lower house are elected by local governments." In the house of lords, the vice president is the speaker, mainly because there are many people discussing the law, while in the house of commons, there are many people choosing the speaker, mainly because there are many people raising money. 2. Qualification, number, term of office and election method of members. Various countries have regulations on the qualifications and methods of interpreters' election, and Hongci has also investigated this. Third, the procedure of the House of Representatives. After investigation, Dai Hongci found that all countries have their own methods and rules, but the basic principle is to maintain checks and balances of power and separate the legislative, executive and judicial powers, that is, "separation of powers." He thinks this method is the best. As the saying goes, "European countries have their own political systems and perfect laws." However, Dai Hongci only gave a rough description of the parliamentary system of the countries he visited here, and said, "His book is more detailed, so I will briefly describe it for reference." "His book" refers to the memorial of the delegation after returning to China and the book "Parliamentary System in Various Countries" written by Dai Hongci and Duan Fang, which will be mentioned later.
economy
The content of economic survey is more extensive. The diary mainly includes the inspection of banks and finance, and the inspection of industries and factories in various countries. Dai Hongci was the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Finance when he went abroad, and was promoted to minister of the Ministry of Finance during his inspection tour. The Ministry of Finance is the "purse" and household registration management department of the imperial court. Dai Hongci naturally attached great importance to this aspect, so some records at that time said that "Minister Dai went to see bankers and specialized in finance".
Hongci generally checks the main facilities, working principles and safety measures of banks. When I was in Japan, I recorded the structure and facilities of each floor of Yokohama Zhengyin Bank in my diary, and even mentioned the supervision measures for staff efficiency. On the second floor of the bank, you can observe the working status of employees through your eyes. "Whoever is diligent and lazy has nowhere to run." He was very encouraged. He believes that "any government office should take this as a good way for teachers, not banks." In other words, other government agencies can adopt this way to supervise employees and ensure work efficiency. Dai Hongci also visited many banks, and they all paid great attention to supplement their understanding and opinions from time to time, so as to make some choices when returning to China.
When he was in the United States, Dai Hongci invited Jing Qi, a professor of economics at a university, to talk about the essentials of financial management, and divided the income into six aspects, namely, "first, set the weight of flat color; Second, it is advisable for each province to set up a separate bureau, so that the conversion can be cheap and direct, and the names of the provinces should not be used; Third, according to people's consumption level, determine the casting quantity; On the fourth day, it is advisable to set the pound price first to avoid losses; Fifth, it is appropriate to imitate the deposits of various countries as the standard; On June 6, it is advisable to borrow money to cast gold coins, supplemented by paper money. " Dai Hongci wrote all this information down for the actual development after returning to China.
industry
As for industrial inspection, Dai Hongci has visited many factories and companies in any country. Among the factories in various countries, Dai Hongci mainly inspected a factory from the following aspects: 1. Scale and facilities; Second, the workflow; III. Staff welfare and logistics services. In order to better explain and compare, Dai Hongci also listed detailed tables, such as comparing textile mills and weaving companies in the eastern United States; Some large civilized companies in the world are described in detail, hoping to understand the reasons for the prosperity of large foreign companies, so as to provide valuable experience for setting up factories in China after returning home.
education
In general education, they visited some primary and secondary schools in various countries. Dai Hongci believes that "German education administration is well prepared, highly specialized, and the teaching concept is widely popular, so it is known as the academic leader in Europe." So he paid more attention to German education and led a delegation to visit many schools in Germany. Through the inspection, he realized: "it is very important for all countries to inspect the education systems of eastern and western countries ..." Ordinary people cultivate not a few talents, but most people. ..... Today, China is revitalizing its academics, and it is appropriate to attach importance to ordinary learning. " It can be seen that general education is to improve the cultural level and quality of the whole nation, and Dai Hongci put the investigation of general education in the most important position.
Their survey of higher education is mainly about universities in the United States, Germany, Britain and other countries. Like general education, they conducted surveys on the number of students and teachers, school facilities and whether there are girls' schools. Dai Hongci recorded these aspects in detail in his diary, which shows that he did make a detailed investigation. In the aspect of special education, I mainly visited and inspected the technical schools, technical schools, agricultural colleges, electric power colleges, chemical colleges, naval colleges and military schools in various countries, and focused on the United States and Germany, trying to learn from the development and management experience of modern special education in advanced foreign countries.
As can be seen from the above, the main investigation contents of the delegation led by Dai Hongci are inseparable from the actual situation in China at that time. At that time, China's educational modernization had just started. Although it has long been known that "a rich country begins with learning" and that "since 1998, the imperial edict of the Ming court has promoted learning, and the world has gone from bad to worse", "there are various methods, inconsistent objectives, undecided macro regulations, and increasingly bad practices", we still need to know something about the education popularization, school opening, funds needed for setting up schools, the number of teachers, and the subjects taught in various countries.
Referee
Dai Hongci's inspection of judicial organs mainly includes his inspection of foreign courts, police stations and prisons. The court is now a court. In Germany, Dai Hongci visited the Prussian court, mainly from the internal settings, operating principles, criminal record methods and other aspects. Especially in the third aspect, Dai Hongci thinks that foreign compilation and recording are "orderly and effective". Although the criminal records of criminals have been separated for many years, as long as you check these files, "whether there is a backlog can be found out", so Hongci thinks this can be emulated and will study after returning to China. However, as the deputy director of the household registration department at that time, he immediately realized that China's household registration was very chaotic, and it was impossible to compile the files of such recidivists without compiling the household registration and counting the age column. So he thought that "the household registration is unclear and everything can't be started. It is better to investigate the case alone." Therefore, sorting out the household registration and establishing a reasonable household registration system has become the first thing to do.
When he visited the police station, he saw that foreign countries used fingerprints to make legal cases, and then he went to the registration office to visit. He saw that the household registration here is very detailed and the household registration management policy is relatively strict. Hongci saw the importance and urgency of sorting out household registration here. Shortly after they returned to China, the Qing government began to check the household registration.
Dai Hongci and others also inspected prisons in the United States, Germany, France and other countries, mainly in the following aspects: First, prison costs. Every time he visits the prison, Hongci will carefully write down the required expenses for reference when he returns to China. Second, the facilities and environment of the prison. Dai Hongci saw that every prison has high walls to isolate prisoners, and each prison is divided into different prison rooms according to the scale, with men and women separated, and a high platform is set in the center of the prison room to prevent prisoners from escaping. In the prison room, beds, tables and daily necessities are readily available, "the food is also clean, with beef, mutton, bread and water", and there is a medical room for prisoners to check up and treat diseases; Compared with the life of prisoners in China prison at that time, they lamented that "the prison has to suffer prisoners". Third, prison management methods. Management of prisoners: Basically, prisoners are allowed to study art and labor in every prison, so that they can master some skills after they get out of prison for future livelihood. Visiting system: prisoners can have the opportunity to meet their relatives and have a brief exchange. Reward and punishment system: for those who perform well, they can be released in advance according to the situation, while those who commit crimes again will be put in prison and their freedom will be bound. Fourth, examine the educational methods of criminals. This is also an important aspect, which Dai Hongci made a detailed investigation and record. There are classrooms in prison. "The subjects taught are German, religion, singing, industry and philosophy, ranging from three to four hours a day." V. Investigation of women's prisons. "Daiduan Group" visited American prisons and also visited women's prisons. Dai Hongci thinks that "quiet street" is no different from an inn. Female prisoners study art, and all classes are sewn with needles. "Maybe his narrative is a bit exaggerated, but at that time, women in China had no social status, and there were almost no real women's prisons in China. Compared with this, women's prisons in western countries are naturally much more advanced.
The inspection scope of Daiduan Group is very extensive, including military inspections of various countries, as well as inspections of theaters, museums, fire protection, transportation, newspapers, tourism resources and overseas Chinese. Dai Hongci recorded all the investigations in his diary and added his own views, which is of great reference value to the construction and development of these aspects after he returned to China. After returning to Beijing, Dai Duan, the minister, was summoned again and again on the 22nd and 23rd, and Dai Hongci signed a letter, with nine letters before and after, covering a wide range of contents, mainly including the requirement to decide the country quickly for the sake of security, to set up an establishment bureau to change the official system as a constitutional preparation, to advocate educational reform, to attach importance to military and political affairs, to establish good laws to guide the people according to each country, and to break the boundaries to maintain public order and to compile the constitution. In the compromise, they all said "the goodness of constitutionalism", especially Dai Hongci. At that time, newspapers and periodicals published "Zhang Lixian, the former owner, Dai Hongci, the minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Lin Juvenile, a foreign official, started with the revision of the official system and mostly based on their words". It can be seen that Dai Hongci was a well-known constitutional advocate among Beijing officials at that time, and he has been working hard for it since he returned to China.
In addition to the above, he also took the lead in compiling "Essentials of Politics in Europe and America and Politicians in Other Countries" and published the diary of his trip, namely "Diary of Nine Countries". Chapter 18 of Essentials of Politics in Europe and America lists the constitutional situation of European and American countries at that time according to the needs of the Qing government, covering a wide range. The book Politicians of Various Countries is divided into three volumes, with a total of 133 volumes. It lists the overall political situation of each country according to its categories, mainly focusing on political aspects. Diary of a Mission to Nine Countries was printed by the Printing Department of the Technical Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce in December of Guangxu Bingwu Year (1906) and issued by the First Bookstore. The diary is called Nine Kingdoms. In fact, they went to fifteen countries. This diary is very vivid. In addition to the daily narrative, it also includes the author's feelings and records of the local customs along the way. This is a work of great historical, literary and tourist value.
Dai Hongci was summoned many times to discuss constitutional issues with other ministers. After more than a month of argument and agreement, the Qing court issued a constitutional order on July 13, Guangxu 32 nd year, announcing that at this time, "only by timely and detailed examination and deliberation, imitating constitutionalism, unifying the imperial power and public administration, can we establish the foundation of the country's eternal morality." And decided to "start with the official system." As one of the "five ministers", Dai Hongci personally participated in the reform in the late Qing Dynasty, taking Shangshu as the minister who decided the official system. After the new official system was determined, he became the first minister of the Ministry of Justice. Finally, the reform in the late Qing Dynasty started with the establishment of the official system and decided to adopt the system of "separation of three powers" in foreign legislation, administration and justice. Wang Qing, who is recognized by the General Affairs Department of Civil Service Reform, believes that apart from the fact that the House of Representatives is responsible for legislation and the cabinet ministers are responsible for administration, "judicial power belongs to the Ministry of Justice, and Dali Court is a judge and supervised by the Ministry of Justice, all of which confront administrative officials without restraint". After the agreement was reached, the Qing government issued an imperial edict on the reform of the official system on September 20, changing the criminal department into the legal department as a full-time judicial administration; Dali Temple was changed to Dali Courtyard, which was in charge of judicial trial. Dai Hongci changed from the history of the Ministry of Rites to the history of the Ministry of Law, and Shen Jiaben was appointed as Zhengqing of Dali Academy.
On the one hand, the Qing government wanted to imitate the West and practice "judicial independence", with the Ministry of Justice as the most important department and Hongci as the first chief executive. On the one hand, it can be seen that being reused is becoming more and more important. On the other hand, it reflects his courage and innovative reform consciousness. Because "China is a habitual student, most of them don't want to be a criminal officer", Hongci knows that he lacks legal knowledge, but dares to take this responsibility and tries to lead a brand-new department to give everyone the image of the New Deal. Moreover, through the experience of overseas inspection, I have also improved my understanding and knowledge level, hoping to wholeheartedly contribute to the New Deal of the Qing government and make China embark on the road of prosperity.
First of all, Dai Hongci led the Ministry of Justice to clear the backlog of cases, formulate new laws and regulations, and safeguard judicial independence. The Ministry of Justice was changed from the Ministry of Punishment, which inherited all the old things, especially because the autumn trial system was implemented in the Qing Dynasty, and some death penalty cases were overstocked for prudence, and they were retried after the autumn. After a long time, a large number of uncleared cases have accumulated. Now the Ministry of Justice wants to introduce a new policy, and the first thing to do is to clean up the prison. To clean up these cases, first, standardize the trial methods to avoid accumulating more new cases. Dai Hongci's law popularization department changed the method of postponing the autumn trial, thinking that "postponing the trial is more complicated than the autumn trial" and it is better to "save trouble and retry the trial". In order not to form a new backlog, we should standardize the system at the beginning of the reform, reform the previous methods and adopt more effective methods; The second is to clean up the backlog of cases. Dai Hongci and others. The reason for investigating and dealing with criminals who have been suspended for more than 20 times was broadcast, clarifying the specific reasons of these criminals, reducing or exempting criminals from punishment according to the new law, putting forward reasonable disposal methods, and requiring all provinces to make efforts to clear the backlog according to the facts, so that the reformed law department will take on a new look.
When formulating new laws and regulations, the content covers a wide range. According to the information collected by the author, it can be summarized as follows: 1. Unified articles of association. Judicial power should not only be independent, but also unified. With the decline of centralization of the Qing government, the power of local governors gradually increased, and many provinces had their own statutes, and the whole country was not unified; Now that Dai Hongci is in charge of the Ministry of Justice, he naturally hopes to unify the laws of various provinces. As the saying goes, "I am a law-enforcement government, and the punishment chapter must be drawn as a whole", so the Ministry of Justice, which takes him as its history, reiterated the new chapter that has been promulgated, such as stopping torture and adopting western fines, in an attempt to strengthen the consciousness of changing from physical punishment to free punishment, with the aim of "unifying legal rights and being cautious about people's lives". Second, criminal proceedings with civil compensation. This is a more modern aspect. Before the Qing government, there was no distinction between criminal and civilian, and administrative power and judicial power were mixed. Now, for the Ministry of Justice headed by Dai Hongci, it is certainly an improvement. Dai Hongci and others believe that although the three crimes of play killing, manslaughter and manslaughter can be dealt with lightly after the new chapter reform, the families of the victims should be given appropriate compensation, otherwise, the families of the deceased should be compensated and compensated, so that the provincial governments can comply as a whole. Third, the autumn review method. The autumn trial system makes some cases unable to be handled in time, resulting in a backlog. Now preparing for constitutionalism, "the criminal law has been decreasing. If it is still not decreased, it is definitely not a way to control complexity." The Ministry of Justice, headed by Dai Hongci and others, attaches great importance to this, specifically ordering Cheng Zhengting and the following two departments to be responsible for it, demanding that every case should be distinguished from the true and false now, and try to hear it clearly at one time; Only those that can't be handled for the time being will enter the autumn trial, and the procedures and steps of the autumn trial will be simplified. As the saying goes, "its complexity is as simple as simplicity", so that "exploration labor can be saved outside and wasted costs can be saved inside". Fourth, the law on the establishment of courts and the selection of judges. In the past, the appointment and scheduling of all officials were managed by the official department. At present, the legal department is independently responsible for judicial administration, and judges, prosecutors and other "judicial personnel are different from ordinary administrative officials", which belong to the judicial system and need certain specialized knowledge. After the official system reform, their right of selection, appointment and removal, and dispatch gradually shifted from the official system department to the legal system department. The Ministry of Justice has successively formulated the Rules for the Promotion of Judges, the Rules for the Punishment of Judges and the Rotation Table for the Vacancy of Judges, which standardized the appointment, rewards and punishments of judges.
Secondly, the Ministry of Justice headed by Dai Hongci issued a decree to discuss the memorials of ministers. When the Ministry of Justice was first established, ministers at home and abroad talked about many things, so the Ministry of Justice had to discuss and reply one by one to explain the doubts. Accept or reject the suggestion and explain the reasons. According to the information collected by the author, the Ministry of Justice attaches great importance to the memorials of all courtiers: on the one hand, it gives a reply to whether the courtiers' suggestions are adopted or not. On the other hand, try our best to use new methods and regulations to explain the doubts in the memorial of courtiers, so that everyone can understand and understand what the Ministry of Justice has done.
Third, Dai Hongci led the Ministry of Justice to improve prison management and establish a model prison. When Dai Hongci and others visited other countries before, they were very concerned about prisons in various countries. He deeply realized the current situation of prison corruption in China, and made a detailed investigation abroad, and made a detailed investigation on the architectural style, funds and management of prisons in eastern and western countries. After returning to China, as Minister of Justice, he called for improving prison management in the New Deal. "Today's prison agreements in various countries, if China remains unchanged, will certainly make people swallow their words." Moreover, the new criminal law must be implemented in the current constitutional reform, and "at one end of the prison, there is a hidden relationship between reality and the new law." As long as the prison system is not changed, the new law will never apply, and the revised law will be invalid. "Therefore, prison reform is the first and urgent.
Dai Hongci has made great efforts to establish a model prison. One is to choose the address of a model prison in Shi Jing. The second is to raise funds for Shi Jing Model Prison. The establishment of prisons similar to those in western countries required a lot of investment, but the expenses of the Ministry of Justice could not be met, so the Qing government was asked to order the branch to give assistance. The third is the planning of prison scale and structure. At that time, prison conditions in China were very poor. "The prison is narrow and crowded. There are many people in summer, and the epidemic situation is frequent. Winter is cold and cracked, frozen and forced, and one after another dies. " Since Dai Hongci and others want to improve prison management, of course, they should re-plan the internal structure of the prison. He came up with the idea of a model prison and drew a blueprint for it: there are walls and rivers outside the prison, which are roughly divided into three areas: the back, the middle and the front. There are watchtowers, teaching rooms, correspondence rooms, guard rooms, workshops, baths, cooking rooms, disinfection rooms, libraries, reading rooms, prisoner reception rooms and imitation foreign models. The fourth is to urge all provinces to create model prisons. Prison management reform should be carried out not only in the capital, but also in all provinces. Considering the inconsistency of financial resources and the original situation of prison management in various provinces, Dai Hongci and others moderately relaxed the scale, requiring all model prisons in various provinces to be completed three years before Xuan Tong. The fifth is the management of prison officials. In the past, prison officials were corrupt, but now Dai Hongci and others are very cautious about it. They choose officials strictly, treat both men and women equally, and try to get rid of bureaucratic habits and show new styles and regulations. Sixth, a new chapter is issued to deal with prisoners, reaffirming that arbitrary torture is not allowed, allowing them to study art and redeem work in prison, and trying to gradually change the physical punishment of prisoners into free punishment that restricts personal freedom and educational punishment that gives them probation education and skills, similar to the practice of advanced countries in the east and west.
It can be seen that from the site selection, planning and fund-raising of prisons to the construction of prisons, Dai Hongci devoted a lot of efforts. The Draft of Qing History said: "Talking about political reform all day long is harmful to the country, but the results are fresh. Is it the fault of the legal system? However, if you change it a little better and don't finish it, it's called prison. " Prison reform became the most effective aspect of the reform at that time, which should be said to be inseparable from the legal part led by Dai Hongci.