On Saturday afternoon a large gath ing met at the American Presbyte Mission outside the South Gate of the city to dedicate the new building of the Lowrie Memorial School for boys. They assembled in the chapel at three o'clock. Among the guests, the Rev. H. W. Bevan represented the Medhurst School; the Rev. 0. F. McRae, St. John's College; the Rev. J. W. Cline and Dr. A. P. Parker the Anglo-Chinese College; and Dr. Gilbert Reid, the International Institi Mr. John Goodnow was present as official representative of Americans. The treaty commissioner, Lit Hai-huan, and Taotais Yen, 'Tseng, Chou, and Wu honoured the occasion by attending and remaining through the whole exercise. The students, dressed in foreign uniform, marched into the chapel, which was' tastefully decorated, and the rest of the visitors, with the members of the Mission and the Py pupils of the Girls' School, soon filled the room. The Rev. J. A. Silsby, principal of the school, opened the exercises by calling on the Roy. Tsang Pau-shoo, pastor of the church at the Presbyterian Mission Press, to lead in prayer, After the singing of a hymn, the Principal made a few appropriate remarks, stating that this school had its beginnings in 1860 and was probably the first, or among the first, started in Shanghai. Tt had had a steady growth, and while unable to be compared with some other schools in Shanghai, was doing its work in a quiet way and with a sense of ubii tion. The Mission had always been hampered in its staff, so that no one could devote his full time to the work of the school. They now had 60 boarding pupils and 80 day pupils.
After dedicatory prayer by the Rev. A. P. Parker, D.D., the Rev. Thaung Tsehtsoong, pastor of the South Gate church, made an address, giving a history of the school from 1860 to the present, first under the care of the Rev. Dr. Farnham, and then of Dr. J. N.B. Smith and Mr. Silsby. He spoke of the good results of the school, its graduates and former pupils being found in the Telegraph and Customs Service, at the Arsenal, in the Presbyterian Press, and as head of the flourishing Commercial Press. The school was meant to do service to the Church and the country.
After another hymn, the Rev. Gilbert Reid, D.D., made another address in Chinese. Ho expressed his interest in the school as an American and as a Presbyterian, and out of friendship to the Principal. He also thought the name of the school in Eh inese was suggestive, Chinghsin," " Pure-in-heart School," where character was made the basis and aim of all me struction. He mentioned that the Chinese formerly connected with the school had contributed over $800, and foreign help, mostly from the Ist Presbyterian Church in New York, had amounted to over $10,000, represented in the new building; while another $10,000 or more had been contributed in the past by the same Church or the home school as helping on American ideas, and sound ideas were more important than trade as they lay at the basis of trade.
His Excellency Lit Hai-huan recognised the great help that had come from foreigners in establishing such a school, to be of benefit to his countrymen.
The audience then grounds to witness the athletic drill, and were afterwards shown over the new building and furnished with refreshments, The school deserves congratulation for past work and future prospects.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.