To the Editor of the Dear Str,—What about the Miao-tsz,"" or aboriginal inhabitants of China? They are said to exist in great numbers in the hilly portions of the south-western provinces of the Empire. They are mentioned in the early Classics, and are therefore the remnants of an ancient people. What has preserved their unity through the last four thousand weary years of Chinese history, power, and relentless hostility? They are not savages, but must be a race of good mental ability and indomitable courage to hold their own in the face of such difficulti They must also have in common some sort of patriotic and religious convictions more dear to them than life. What are these convictions? What are their traditions, rites, customs, and other " survivals" of pre-historic times? Their isolation has been apparently complete from the most distant of the world, and therefore they may be the repositories of a cult of the highest interest to scholars generally.
Who knows what light the study of the Miao-tsz may throw on some of the profoundest questions of history, ethnology, philology and religion? Beyond all doubt they present a most inviting field for scientific research, and it is high time they were made to reveal their secrets.
Will not the intelligent foreign residents in China and other portions of Eastern Asia direct their special attention to this subject, and publish such facts as they postes for the benefit of the many persons
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.