15th Jan. We have received from Mr. George F. Seward, formerly United States Consul-General' at Shanghai and Minister at Peking, a little pamphlet entitled "Justice to China," being a per read before the Academy of Political and Social Science in Phiadelphia. Its depth is not much greater than its length, but it is very temperately written, and is well worth a passing notice, It is only fair to say that among English-speaking peels at any rate there is very little practical injustice to China, One hears strong language used about the Chinese sometimes, but as regards deeds the Chinese have not very much to complain of, nor do they complain. The idea that focciga residents in China are generally brutally unjust to the Chinese people has about as much foundation as the old idea that all the foreign merchants in China were pirates and opium-smugglers.
Mr. Seward begins by mentioning that when he was asked to appear at Philadelphia in company with the Chinese Minister and Dr. Martin, he could not refuse, because, in his own words: "I am full of affection for China and cannot, put aside any opportunity to do what I may to promote appreciation for the land in which I spent the best years of my life." Mr. Seward then makes a few appreciative remarks about Mr. Wu Ting-fang, the chief objection to whom is that the American Government and people seem to forget that he is an advocate. We can fully agree with what Mr. Seward says about Dr. Martin From Dr. Martin, too, we derive benefit beyond his words. He knows China. He went there nearly fifty years ago. Ho has touched the humanity of Chinamen as a missionary of the Cross. He has been the trusted friend of many Chinese statesmen and president of a college founded by the government. He has read Chinese literature and feels its beauty. When we observe that he is a person of rare intellect tual quality, that he is fair-minded and full of human sympathy, that his imagination is rich, that his language is illuminated by Imowledge derived from the most diverse sources, we stand ready to accept his estimate of China.
Mr, Seward goes on to refer briefly to the history of China, recalling how China was a more populous em-ire with a more widely diffused civilisation at a time when the Roman empire was at its height; how at the time of Christ, China had an ethical literature richer than any other in the world; how the constitution of China has been unchanged for more than two thousand years (a moderate statement); how distinction in letters is the only path to office in Ching, and how careful China has always been to respect her neighbours' landmarks, and to show complete religious tolerance. In his demand for sympathy with the Chinese Mr, Seward
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.