A telegram from Nanking to the Chinese papers yesterday convey: the information that the Comm: sioner of Education for the Nanking Municipality had issued an order} forbidding private schools to compel pupils to attend religious classes or services, Another message said that a committee had been Pointed by the Minister of Education to encourage the use of the phonetic script for the national language, The pros and cons of religious teaching have been dealt with on previous occasions, While, nominally, the people of China have been granted religious freedom, we do not recall single instance of teachers in private schools attempting to make attendance at religious services compulsory. At any rate, we have yet to learn that a student his been Punished for being in attendance. It is unfortunate that the Nanking Commissioner of Education has again brought the matter up for it does no good. While it is generally agreed that a phonetic script for the Chinese national language should be enforced and given every on-couragement, it seems to us that the wind might be decidedly more tempered to the shorn lamb in the tetching of the Three People's Principles. It came to our knowledge only a couple of days ago that inspectors have been sent out. by the Greater Shanghai Bureau of Education to various schools to con-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.