To the Editor of the Norra-Cuiva Datty News." you for your agile discussions of religious toleration, I veuture to call attention to two points in your leader of the 16th July entitled " Toleration in China." The is the doubtful in which you spent: of the character of the worship of Confveius: it is no mere "civil custom", but a religious rite, and as such Christians, Catholic and Protestant cannot possibly join in it, The indeed, held "it was a civil rite centuries ago, but soon abandoned that view. At first confined to the Sage's native province, in A. D. 57 it was enacted that swrifices should be offered to him in the Imperial College. znd in all the Colleges of the principal territoriu divi-at sions throughout the empire. On the first of eve: y month offuvinys of fruit and vegetables are set forth, and on the fifteenth there is a solemn burning of incense. When I visited the Temple of Confucius in Peking the Imperial offerings had just [been prosente!, and upon the altar were the carcases of an ox, a pig and and a sheep. There can not, it seems to me, be much doubt as to the nature of the worship performed with such accompaniments, The second point to which I wish to direct attention is the following sentence—TIf Christian schools deem it necessary to require all their pupils t" attend Christian services er chapel exercises, it is equally proper for Confucian schools to require all their pupils to attend on the Confucian rites," Now the implied parallel in this sentence seems. to me to he thoroughly unsound. The pupils in Christian schools are indeed expected to be present at religious exercises, but no one, either heathen or Christian, ever imagined that by so doing they were actually being compelled to worship the Christian's God. So well is this understood that we never have heard of a single heathen asking to be excuse! from the attendance on religious or conscientious grounds. there ever have been any such, doubtless they would at once be excused from attending.
This too is the view of the intelligent Chinese. Thus, one of the native editors, in an article on the Shantung College difficulty, urged the fact that we freely admitted Chinese non-Christians into our schools without compelling them to worship our Jesus, as a reason why the Confucianists should show equal tolerance in not forcing Christians to worship Confucius. But more, what the Confucianists require is not, as your sentence implies, a mere forniil attendance Confucian They require real worship and will be satisfied with nothing less, Thus the unlucky sentence quoted above is unfair to both sides. Tf it were a fair statement of the situation, there would be an end of controversy, for the Golden Rule of Christian and Confucianit ike would compel reciprocity. But it is surely carrying coals to Newcastle to supply the uniformitarians with an argument which had never occurred to themselves, or if it had was dismissed as unfair, Lam, ete., D. Mac Mokanshan, 21st July, 1902.
To the Editor of the 23rd July "Nonra-Cunxa Dany News.
Sim—It was with extreme surprise that I read in your issue of yesterday that the Coronation Celebration Committee are not intending to decorate the Settlement on the same scale as before, and no arches, Venetian poles, ete.. are to be erected. May I enquire what is the reason of this extraordinary decision? Considering that we are not only going to rejoice over His Majesty King Edward's Coronation, but also over his happy and
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.