Tus Imperial Decree dated the 3rd September, 1886, and received here by telegraph on the Sth, is of some import. ance as heralding a work likely to be of great interest to foreign residents in namely, a revision of the In.
tutes of the present dynasty. The briefly as follows: revision since the 23ed year of Kia King, (1818), His Majesty the Em. peror T'ang Chih issued an edict in the 12th yenr of his reign (1872), at ion of the Inner Council, prepare for a revised edition, by extraoting from their archives the materi necessary for such an undertake Again in the 9th year of the pros reign (1883), the revisers were urged to show more diligence. The Emperor evidently now considers that sufficient time las been given to the preliminary steps, as he, or the Empress for him, now informs th.revisers that it is high time-the work should be concluded, and that they are at once to take the materials already gathered from the metropolitan departments and the provinces, and form with them a r edition on the basis of the of 1818, We learn from Wylie's "Notes on Chinese Literature" that Wie Ming Dynssty published its Iubooks, which were further supplemented in 1529 and 1576, "In 1694 work similar to the above, was compiled for the present dynasty, which was revised and augmented in 1727 and again revised by Imperial Order in 1771, being published in 100 books, under the title K'in ting Ta Ts'ing Hwuy Teen." Another section was published contemporancously in 180 books, gi detail of the modifications which bad taken place in the various departments of Stale." The latest edition, that of 1818 already referred to, was published "in 80 books with an panying section of plates in 132 books, the previous editions having bad the plates attached to the text throughout." A.lill larger portion was published at the same time in 920 booke, "o historical summary of the events that lave taken place under the respective government offices since the commence. ment of the dynasty." As Mr. Wylie observes, " Altogether, this unique col-1 presents such a body of official ce, as must render it a valuable treasure to the practical politician." If the historical events "that have since taken place under the respective gorernment offices" bear any proportion to those which were recorded between the rise of the dynasty and 1818, a period of 174 yonra, we muy expect un ad tion of 400 books as the result of this uew revision, and it is no longer matter for wonder that the revisers should already devoted fourteen years to In hia preface to the " Chinese Gov. ernment" Mr. Mayers remarks "The materials.. have been drawn from tend to correct the too sanguine views which have been entertained of a speedy entrance of the Chinese, as a govern. ment and people, upon the path of European progress." These words were written in 1877 and the dismal prophecy of the concluding para. graph has, tocome extent at lerist, been belied by events, The Chinese have, from a practical point of view, made a decided "entrance upon the path of European progress" and have made a very material advance along that path, Railways are still in the egg, but the telegraph is an apprecia able fact; the various arsenals do good work, and a navy of some strength as sprung, up. We are even promised a National Post Office. But all theaa things may have come into being rather against the wishes than with the good will of the aforesaid enunciators of antediluvian dogmas. The test is at hand; we have only to await the issue of the Revised Inetituter, If navy and telegraphs, arsenals and Tsungli Yamen, foreign envoys and envoys to foreign Inude, Consuls at Nagasaki, Singapore, San Francisco and elsewhere, the Muritine Customs and the Inspec. torate-General, the Kaiping coal miner, and the Shanghai Mixed Court, find place and mention therein, well and good; China is in earnest and we may augur well of her sincerity. If not, if she maintains the same nffected blindness to go much which has a real existence, but which she deems it more dignified to ign sounds for forcing that the old spirit not 80 near its death as we trust But we hope for the best. the immense stores of information
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.