The annual meeting of this Society was held on Thursday (29th) in the Municipal Council Board Room, Me. J. G. Purdon, Chairman of the Municipal Council, prev sided, The meeting having been opened with prayer by the Rev. William Muirhead, The Chairman said he did not know exactly why he had the honour to preside at that meeting, except. that he was the Vice-President of the Society,, but that only put the question one step further back; he did not know why he was a Vie President of a Society for the diffusion of knowledge, of which he had a very limited supply. (A laugh.) He supposed the object was not to give too learned an ay pearance to the Society. They must all there be convinced that the Christian re~ ligion must in time prevail throughout the length and breadth of the world, and that it was what would civilised all mankind and therefore he thought it was their duty to dou what was in their power to attain that end. He knew it was often said we had enough to enlighten among our own people at home; and if those who said that would contribute to the home missions there was nothing more to be said; but if they did not even do that, their objection to contributing towards the enlightenment of astern nations fell to the ground, That Svciety, he thought, was one of the best means of making China familiar with the ideas and ways of civilised nations,—by interesting the literati of the vation, When they were made familiar with the progress of the arts audsciences, and what it had done for the amelioration of the people, it would most undoubtedly remove the prejudice which existed against foreigners being Christians, particularly as they (the Literati) aust sce that it was all done, not from any selfish motive, but with the Christian idea and motive of doing good to, others, He thought that not more than one in a hundred in Shanghai knew the good work that was being done by the missionaries throughout this laud, and by that Society, If they would not only read the Society's report but do what they could to further its objects, they would be doing great work. He had" much pleasure in moving the adoption of the report.
Mr. ©. Thorne seconded, and the resolution was agreed to unanimously, Mr. John Macgregor proposed: "That this meeting regards with much pleasure the promise made by twenty friends to Write on subjects connected with the general progress of China, and pledges itself *to make extra efforts' towards the publication and distribution of these treatises through out the Empire; also, inasmuch us next year is one of grace, granting extra exami+ nations on account of the Empress Dowager attaining the age of sixty, we trust that special effort will be made towards reaching a nich larger number of students than usual." He said that those interested in the Society cherished the hope that going behind the literature and the expositions which the Socie'y circulated, the literati of this empite would realise the great cause of the progress made by Western nations, As a merchant, he (Mr. Macgregor) perhaps ought to notice one paragraph in the re~ port, where a happy thought seemed to have suggested itself to the compiler, who had pointed out how the enlightenment, and consequent development of the resources of China, would provide the teeming millions with that sustenance which would remove those dread famines, so disastrous to the people and harassing to the officials.
The Rev. W. Muirhead. insecondingtheresolution, said that the literati, whom it was the object of the Society to reach, formed the spirit of the country at large, Itseemed to him well to consider the standing of the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.