The proceedings were opened by an announcement on the part of the Chairman that the Council had requested Dr. Birth to represent the Society at the forthcoming Oriental Congress at Berlin, and that Lieutenant G. Kreitner had been asked to act as delegate of the Society at the International Geographical Conzress just held at Venice.—A paper had been received on Chinese Figures of Speech from Mr. Herbert A. Giles, and another was in course of preparation by the Rev. Father Dechevrons, on the Climate of Shanghai,—both of which will be read at an early meeting. The Editorial Committee hope to publish the first part of the Journal for the current year in December. After the minutes of the previous meeting had been passed, the Hon. Librarian read the following Report Librarian's Report for the Three Months, uly 0 September, 1881.
A printed list of works aided to the Library during the half year ending June 18S1 has been la the hands of members for some time ce then 38 uew volumes have been received by the Librarian, of which are exchanges with Learned and public institutions; six volumes have been presented by authors, publ fudividuals; and one work has been pure chased.
Among the accession received by exchange I would draw your attention to a set of 14 volumes of the Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society which completes our series of that Society's translation in 1804, We are algo indebted to the Rev, Father be noted the description ted by the learned Director tion our Library have to be Society of Bombay, Musée Guimet of Lyon and the Geographic y of Hamburg; and may mention that ver of other Societies, euch ety of Biblical Archaeology, the Li the Anthropological"
sin and Ireland, th We hear a rumour from reliable Chinese sources that in pursuance of instructions received by the Southern Commissioner of Trade, the Viceroy of Nanking, from the Tsung-li Yamen, a contract has been made with a foreign firm in Shanghai for the purchase of the necessary machines, ete., for dredging and removing the Woosung Bar. The contract stipulates that the Bar is to be removed, and the channel put in condition for safe and expeditious navigation in twenty months from the arrival of the necessary appliances, which are now expected to arrive from England at an early date.
We are informed that Li Chao-tang FBICHE, the present veneral manager of the' Arsenal at Foochow, is under appointment to proceed to London to assume the duties of Minister at the Chinese Legation at St. James's. The Marquis, who has been promoted to be a Tsu-fue-tuyicshil 7 FA] ABEL A, on account of his successful negotiations with Russia, will delay his departure till his successor arri It is also said that Li, the present Charge A correspondent addresses us on the subject of the working of the Guild system carried on in our midst. It appears that all the coolies, excepting the beggar-coolies or ya-kees—now very few—are under the control of a single chief, a person who is conveniently a non-resident. The authority of this man is derived, it is hardly necessary to say, from the Chinese. Three or four headmen regulate the ement of this monopoly, and appear to have unlimited power in controlling the scale of charges. "The other day," writes our informant, "T wanted to remove some goods about a quarter of a mile, and was somewhat astonished when told I should have to pay each coolie at the rate of nearly a dollar a day. I remonstrated, and insisted on seoing the headman himself, but could not obtain any reduction worth speaking of. As the remuneration the coolies themselves received probably did not amount to more than half what I had to pay, the iniquity of the system is self-apparent.
A meeting of the North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society was held yesterday ovening, Vice-President the have been addressed with permission of Library, with the institution, th ward all" pu addrenne Society with the mouthly parcels to the Shanghai Library. a the other haud it isa matter of regret our Librar receives but yeanty support from authors an private individuals in the Exst and elsewh 'The hopes entertained by one of my pr censors that, once the paucity of our resources being Known, people would come forward and help us to fill up the blanks, unfortunate rely too numerous, are still far fr realized, although' these defects leon frequently brought to the notice of the public in the pages of the anu The number of readers is increase since the uew arrangement with Shanghai Library has been in force, but it can hardly be said that the capabilities of ti Library are utilised in proportion to i development.
'A hist of additions since Ist July, 1981, will be printed and distributed to members at the end of the month, M. Suxvocr, Hon. Librarian, 25th Seplemebr, 1851,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.