'Phe third meeting of the above-named society took plice un Thursday evening lib) at the Philbarmouie Hall. Uccusion was a Ladies' Debate, on the proposition "That from an ethical standpoint the Christian has as much to learn from, as to teach to, the Confucianist." Mr. R.' EH. Bredon, President, occupied the chair, and there was a large attendance.
After some preliminary discussion with reference to an alteration of the rules, Dr. Jasuiesos read the following paper, in support of the proposition, by Mfrs, A.B."
—The whole of Ethics may be said to thedevelopmentof that saying of the ancient jurists: Constans et perpetual voluntus. jis Suum clique tribuendi"—the constant and perpetual wish to render to each his due. And yet though the province of Ethics Seems thus to lie outside the duty to Gud, being wholly concerned with that to our neighbour, 0 lose metaphysical a philosopher than Kant lays it-down as an axiom Without a God and without a world, invisible to us now but hoped for, the glorious ideas of morality are, indeed, objects admiration, but cannot be the springs of purpose and action," whilst W. S, Lilly in his Chapters in European History " says: "If there is any lesson more emphatically ight than another by the history of man it is this, that faith of some sort, be it religious, political, or philosophical, is us necessary to his moral being us air to his physical organism—a faith shared by others, and forming a spiritual atmosphere." is 1 give this spiritual atmosphere to a nation that certainly seems to be without it, that missionaries are crowding out to China. But the object of this paper is to show that they andah ut ne would do well to consider not only how iv bringing our glad tidings" to the Chinese we may avoid upsetting their existing moral code, but whether there is not much of it we should do well to carry back to our respective countries, Tu decide what that existing code is, it is not enough to refer to their classic writers, although " quotation fom [one of them would ry far more weight ya business transaction in China than a quotation from the Bible would in Europe or Auerica. For an investigation of this purpose it would be idle to cap quotations such as:—Is there ove word which may Veerve as a rule for all one's Lfe?" The Master said, "1s net Reciprocity such word? What you do not want doe to yourself, do not dv to others and to compare lit with ©All things whatsoever ye would that men should cly unto you, clu ye even so them," or to quote that other beautiful saying of Mencius: "No one man can beperfectly happy whilst any other is unhappy." Those who think " Chivaman's conduct governed by such sayings would do
right cheek with the expectation that he to strike sue young wan here on the would turn the left. In every nation there is w moral code, w line of conduct which disgraces or ennobles a man in the eyes of his coupeers, but nowhere is this precisely lin accord with that Laid down by its great teachers. Nor can we luck tu the practice alone of any nation in order to active at its code of Ethics. Probably every Chinese would say: "Meu ought not to opium," yet they mostly do. Certainly must Englishmen would say: Men ought not toget drunk." Yet it iso common, that an observant heathen might fancy it was inculcated as a duty by our sacred books, To arrive ut the ethical standpoint of a nation it is necessary to observe what makes " man esteemed among his fellows, and what the ordinary man feels bound to do in order not to be disgraced. ven everyday soja in China must be struck by the strong sense of duty entertained by the servant class, with whom alone they can hope to come into close contact. Ask an English man-servant to get oat of bed and prepare supper for a party of friends after theatre; or even tell him five minutes befure dinner is ready that you expect half a dozen friends, and the difference between an English man-servant and the ready willingness of the Chinese will be at once appreciated. And yet it is said not to be the best class of Chinese why will euguge in foreign service, sheugh it is hard tu believe this, seeing the untiring laboriousness of our coolies, the devotion of all the servants, when anyone is ill, and the patience' and forbearance of the amahs with little European children rendered fretful by the climate, and whom alas! this very patience leads into increased ilfulness. - What is the origin of this strong sense of duty towards the man whose rice they eat, a sense of duty whose increasing absence is. so universally deplored in England Is it ty be explained by a Chiuaman's entertaining no idea of his having a right to eunjoywent, but regarding work as the rule of life? Or does it spring from every Chinaman being from infancy grounded in. the Duties of the Five Relapionships; the duties of ruler and subject of father and child 5: ut elder brother and younger brother; of husband: and wife; of friend and friend. The Chinese do it i i in a far dist some almost equally indefinite future period, asisthe ximofsomany Europeansnow, They are thoroughly imbued with the solidarity of the human race, though they may not generally in Buddhistic Innguage talk of the themselves. re-ponsible for the conduct of "heresy of individuality. others huid
their sous, and feel bound to find them wives.as soon as they are of marriagenble age, as also to put them in a position to keep themselves and their wives, Elder brothers feel the same obligation towards their younger brothers. In Europe one member the family may often be found spending as inch upon dress, as the others have to live upon. In China this could not be ao. And it would be x public scandal to see a young, man ora girl come into property and indulge in every luxury, turning elder and near relations in advanced years out of the home of their youth, and leaving them impoverished to do without the many comforts to which they had been for years xecustomed. In the feeling of duty towards relations the Hast seems to have got far beyond the West, as also in its contempt for riches, as compared with knowledge, and ita respect for learning, however poor, We have already some time ago burrowed feou the Chinese their system of competitive examinations, but in England xt least' we seem further thay ever from considering learning the one passport. to official rank. Is it not our consideration for wealth, and galling contempt for poverty, which is the original root of our prover: pial bad manners; besides being an traordinary social corollary to the Christian teaching that all wen are brothers 'The Chinese idea of solidarity is ful her shown by their excellent nethed of having everyone secured by somebody else. Our dishonest Registry Offices, that lave betrayed so many young girls to their' ruin our false written characters would all at once cease to exist could such a system be introduced among us ut reciprocal responsibility. Chinese guilds with their free food and lodging for these in need, would require a paper to themselves to describe the way in which they serve as employment agencies and sureties for those seeking work, besides giving theatrical entertainments and club accunimodation. They certainly seem better t out than our Trades Uni all these helps have not operation, as worked out by them, nut hewn forth in England by Army' and Navy Stores and the like, discovered the true panacea for strikes, the final solution of the great Labour Question? In China there is no great gulf fixed between ca talist and so-called "hand." There all are partners and courteously called sv, and each besides a minimum wage has his share of the profits proportioned out tu him according to old cust The very coolie who wrappers the packages of tea calls himself by the name of his house of business, and takes a pride in there being more packages to wrapper this year than last, and is willing to put on an extra strain, and work over hours, as every man is who is duily his own work, not another's, knowing that it will pay him, as well as the oth better to clu ao, And in this probably lies the explanation of the untiring industry of the great Chinese
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.