A local native paper reports that owing to the fact that there has lately been an increasing number of disputes between Chinese and foreigners over lo and purchase of lands in the various provinces, which have caused much trouble to both Chinese and foreign officials, H. E. Shen Chia-pen, igh Commistoner for the Revision and Compilation of the Laws of the Empire, has drawn up a set of regalations against the sie of land to foreigners without the knowledge or The following translation of the interesting preface written by H. Tuan Fang, Viceroy of the Lisngkiany, for the Chinese edition of Green's Short History of the English People, prepared by Dr. W. E. Macklin, is taken from the August number of "The Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal." The Viceroy says:—If you desire to learn the reason of a good or bad _goveroment, her prosperity or decline, it is preferable to study history rather than laws and ordinances, Laws and ordinances are written after the fact. For instance, you look at the ocean or the great river and see the rushing in history the abilities of men and the character of the administration, whether good er bad, are clearly disrerued. The ease or difficalty of establishing government teaches us the advantage or otherwise of the laws and regelations that have been used, Oar Confucius visited seventy countries and secured their hooks, bat sighed because the documents of Sung and Ki were deficient through the decadence of those places. Great was the historical sense of the Later historians were infinitely his inferiors.
A few years ago I received the Imperial command to look into the matter of constitutional government;|and went from East to West, rounding the globe. In the various civilized countries my object was to select and compare their constitutions, Ai in London I saw the excellent o of the constitution in raler and people. In Japan's reformation she got much from England. Much more will our country by-and-by take England for her model. Though my home-coming was hurried and hardly saw one stripe of the tiger, yet on train and steamer my writers and translators read. the customs and the laws.'
I pondered and sighed, not know how the weaving was done and what were the straggles involved in this perfection, Occasionally one would explain to me, but I got only the chaff and the dregs. ruminated, but hopelessly let it pass with a feeling of inadequacy. comes Dr. Macklin's translation of Green's History of the English People for thousand y show me the myriads of threads of politics and religion, the origin of the races and tribes, the losses and gains to constitutional government,—the abilitier of the men of the Church, and the strong or weak foreign policy. Traly Green is a great historian, constitution, but they are ignorant of the principles of selection, and know not what to follow or avoid in lei history, what to choose or refuse of custom. They would throw away the ancient as useless, and follow only the new. This is to be as the "dreamer of Han Yan" awaking and forgetting his destination and being laughed at as a failure. Excellent is the word of Dr. Macklin:—" If you desire to establish constitution you must follow England. To follow England you must read English History", it provides both the model and' the materials and is a stream profitable to follow. I write this preface, therefore, with great
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.