society.
'The annual general meeting of the above Svciety was held on the 12th inst. Dr. Birth, as President, occupied the Chair. 'The minutes of the' last general meeting having been published in the North-China Herald, were taken as read.
The Chairman then announced the election of the following new members: Dr. J, Coelho de Carvalho, Consul-General for Portugal; Messrs. Carlo Gatti, Manager of Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co,'s Silk Filature; F. Gebhardt, of Messrs. M. Schultz Ca.; Paul H. King, of the Kiukiang Customs; the Chev. E. M. de Lanciarez, Italian Charge d'Afluires; "Robert Little, of Shanghai; George Mdller-Beech, of Yokohama, and Charles Rayner, of Shanghai. M. Henri Cordier, Professor of Geography at the Poole des Langues Ovientales in formerly a prominent member of the Society's Council, was elected a Corresponding member, and Father Angelo Zottoli, the celebrated author of the "Cursus: Literaturae Sinicae "an Honorary Member is the place of Sir Walter Medhurst deceased, It was then decided to publish the Council's Report together with the Treasurer's and Curator's Report, and a List of Library donations prepared by the Presi-dont, in lieu of a Librarian's Report, in the forthcoming fascicule of the Society's Journal. The election of a new Council was then preceded with, which resulted as follows:—President, Dr. Birth; Vice-Presidents, Dr. Jamieson and Mr. Kingsmill Hon, Sec. and Treasurer, Mr. 8. von Tries Hon. Curator of Musoun, Mr. H. E. Hob: son; Hon, Librarian, Mr. H. Beck cillors, Messrs. Drew, Haas, Kraetzer, Nocentini and Playfair, A vote of thanks was then moved' and carried for the officers of the last Council. The ordinary business of the meeting having been disposed of, the President announced to the members the substance of a circular concerning a fund of $25,000 established "for the advancement and prosecution of scientific research in its broadest. sense," by Mrs. Elisabeth Thompson. Intending applicants, the Chairman remarked, should consider that the competition must be large, since the same circular had probably been sent to all the scientific societies of the world.
The subject of the non-business part of the evening's assembly was the reading of H.B.M.'s Consul at Swatow, entitled "The Raper, written. by Ins. Geo, Phil Seaports of India and Ceylon, described by Chinese Voyagers of the Fifteenth Century, together with an account of Chinese ant part. One of the chief points raised in gation." the discussion was the question of the Before reading the paper itself the Chair-value of the work of Dr. ¥. Porter Smith, man made the following remarks entitled "Vocabulary of Chinese Proper By way of introduction to Mr. Phillips' nawes,"and whether the time for a revised paper I wish to draw attention to a fact edition of that work with the latest geo: which is not generally known. China has)hical identifications of Chinere names had her age of discovery and conquest by not arrived. naa strength as well as Europe. It was The annual Report of the Council was that the celebrated Chine era com-luring the reign of the it Yang-lo taken as read, and it will soon appear in the journal. We learn that it shows a healthy mander Cheng Ho (whose name, by the financial condition of the society, and that way, is not contained in Mayers' Manual) the roll of members is now about 180, was sent out on an expedition to certain which is probably the largest since the distant countries in the Southern Seas. society was formed.
Cheng Ho, as we learn from Mr. Groeneveldt's translation of a chapter in the "'History of the MingDynasty," had comet Amusements, Java under peaceful pretext; but his visit soon degenerated into an actual conquest.
Java and other Malay countries sent
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.