The fifteenth annual meeting of the Society for the Diffusion of Christian. and General Knowledge among the Chinese was held on Friday afternoon at the Royal Asiatic So one of the and was supported by H-E. Lit Hai-huan, formerly Chinese Minister to Germany, and now one of the Treaty Commissioners, by Dr. Tintthy Richard (Hon. Sec.) and} Dr. Edkins. There was.a large attendance.
The Rev. C. E. Darwent opened the proceedings with prayer.
The Chairman moved the adoption of the annual report and statement of accounts. He said:—The annual report and statement of accounts are already in your hands and will, I believe, repay your careful perusal. "In moving their adoption no more is required of me than to direct your' attention to one or two points which seem to demand additional emphasis or explanation:
Production.
Dariig the fear under review'we have published no less than 14 million' pages of new books and reprints, the highest output reached since 1899. It would™have been a record year. but for the delay in publication caused by fires at the printer's gad bookbinder's shops. Fortunately the will be published during the eorrene manuscripts-have now been laced: year. The policy of the society in dividing its labours between books of Christian and general knowledge has been steadily maintained. I know that some of our friends would like to see us devote more of our time to the production of purely religious literature. I venture' to submit: that they are wrong and that our method results in a better division of labour. It must be borne in mind that there is an abundant annual supply of religious literature published by the various missionary denominations, religious tract societies, educational associations and the like, while, hitherto, no serious attempt has been made to satisfy the demand for: knowledge of a wider and! more general kind. Itis this sphere we are attemptinfy to occupy. Our work is to be considered as preparatory and supplementary to that of the regular missionary organisation and not as competitive. Wo take our stand on the belief that all true knowledge is essentially Christian and we see nothing incongruous in placing alongside the distinotively religious publications of the year our books on history and geography. on science and philosophy, on tariff and likin, and on international law. But we would not be misunderstood or in any way be hold to decry the value and importance of purely religious literature. If we plead for a catholic interpretation of what constitutes Christian' literature, we contend no less firmly that learning or morality untouched by religion is a vain thing. So far as conduct is concerned it may prove man's bane rather than his blessing. "Teach the Chinese morality," say'some, "and leave Christianity alone until they are civilised enough to comprehend its lofty teaching. Teach them, for instance, that it does not pay in the long Tun to water cotton and to adulterate tea and you will have done more for the real welfare of China than all your theoretical teaching." And this is what is called practical common serio. Could anything more unpractical, more visionary? All history, all experience is against it. It would indeed be a simple solution of the problems of empire if to know right-oonsness were synonymous with the doing of it. "It is not so. "Men must be made to "feel" as well as to, know if right is ta done. Until our critics can show us a bot-for, a more practical, plan for turning men from evil unto good than Chris: tianity has to offer, we shall continue to plate it in the forefront of our programme. I do not quarrel with those who profess a great admiration for the Chinese system of ethics, but it is idle to pretend that as a motive to conduct it has been a success. The Chinese themselves admit, that it has failed, as any system of mor? ality must fail unless it comes not only in word, but in power. If the last word this society had to say on the regeneration of China were to advocate a'merely'mioral or intellectual propaganda, who is th man that would take off his coat to the task No, bur watchword is knowledge, on. it is Christian knowledge.
Distribution.
The total value of the books distributed, including free grants and other publi tions was $62,685. Our own publications realised $33,219 or some $5,000 more than the totals of the three previous years put together. 'I think you will agree with me that this is a remarkable testimony to the growing appreciation of our-books on the part of those whom they are intended to serve. It is also, I am prond.to think, a remarkable proof of the value of our work on the part of those who are engaged in distributing it, witness the long: list of missionary: *membets representative, of nearly all the various denominations and comprehending almost every shade of religious thought and experience..; Tt must ladden the hearts, of our small but, enthusiastic band: of workers.to find this seal
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.