No. 24.

Mr. Low to Mr. Fish

No. 46.]

Sir: Hitherto I have confined myself to reporting, with as much care as possible, upon the present condition of affairs in China, without indulging in reflections as to the past or in speculations upon the future. This appeared to me to be the course of wisdom and prudence; and while the information given in this way might not be as full and complete as would be desirable, what you did receive would be more exact and reliable. And besides, time, observation, and experience seemed necessary to enable an impartial judgment to be formed with reference to a country and people about which there are so many antagonistic theories and diverse opinions as there are in regard to China and the Chinese. No forecast of the future would be likely to prove correct, or subserve any useful purpose unless founded upon a broader basis than the prevailing opinions and prophecies current here seemed to be.

In submitting some observations upon China, its social and political organization, its relations with the people and governments of other [Page 78] nations, and some speculations in regard to the future, I do it with some diffidence, knowing as I do that opinions upon these points differ so widely that the exact truth can only be approximated. Even with the same sources of information, different persons form different theories and arrive at opposite conclusions, each theory appearing plausible and all opinions containing more or less truth,

China is in itself a country of contradictions. No generalization is safe or likely to prove correct, for to fifty examples adduced to prove a given state of facts, one hundred may be brought forward to prove the contrary. This is true of the government as well as everything else.

Commencing with the Emperor and tracing the authority downward, nothing is seen but irresponsible autocratic power, which must of necessity make the government an absolute despotism; while if you begin at the bottom and go up through the several gradations of society and governmental authority, democracy appears to be a principle deeply embedded in the governmental structure, the popular will exercising a controlling influence over the officials—the officers evidently being guided, to a great extent, by the will of the governed. The fact is, however, that it is neither the one nor the other, but a strange mixture of both—despotism and democracy; of absolute authority vested in the Emperor to do all things according to his will, while this power is so hedged about by precedent and tradition that little can be effected except in obedience to the popular will.

In theory the Emperor is God’s vicegerent on earth, and the source of all law both human and divine. He claims to be, by right, the possessor of the soil; owner of all the resources of the country; the source of office from which come power, honor and emolument; and is entitled to the services of all male subjects between the ages of sixteen and sixty.

Were this theory carried out in practice the government of China would be the strongest of any on earth. One man’s arbitrary will controlling and directing four hundred million of people has no parallel.

Against this theory may be safely stated as a fact that the power of the imperial government is weak, amounting to feebleness, exercising a control over its people rather nominal than real.

China is divided into eighteen provinces, each having a separate government, the chief officials of which are direct appointees of the Emperor. In theory, the provincial governments are instituted for convenience, to assist the imperial government in the exercise of its jurisdiction and authority over the people, while in fact the provinces are to all intents and purposes independent tributary states in which the authority of the central power is scarcely felt except through the provincial officials. The governments of the provinces in their workings appear to be a complete realization of the day-dreams of the more enthusiastic advocates of, and believers in, “State rights” in the United States.

The provincial officers are invested with legislative and judicial, as well as executive powers, and are, to all intents and purposes, supreme within their jurisdictions.

They grant leases for the land and receive the rental, fix the rate and mode of taxation, and cause the taxes to be levied and collected, and appropriate the proceeds, over and above what may be demanded by the central government as an annual contribution for its support, to defray the expenses of provincial administration. And when any extraordinary expenditure is rendered necessary, it is their duty to [Page 79] devise means for raising unusual taxes to meet the emergency. The officers of the provinces are expected to maintain peace and good order within their several jurisdictions; to repel invasion and suppress insurrection, and, if necessary for the purpose, to raise and organize troops and support them. They are required to do all this without having any fixed rules of law for their guidance. When any outbreak occurs, the fact is looked upon by the central government as prima facie evidence of the incapacity or dishonesty of the local officials, justifying instant removal from office and degradation.

By Chinese law, acts of omission are punished with as great or greater severity than acts of commission. If an insurrection occurs, it is quite according to precedent to use any available means to put it down, and it not unfrequently happens that leaders of guerrilla bands are rewarded with money, and even with office, as a quid pro quo for disbanding their maurauding forces. If, on the other hand, force is resorted to to suppress insurrection, the maxim of Machiavelli appears to be the law of war: “It is safer to put an enemy to death, because, if his life be spared, he may stir up sedition again.” Instances occur when men and money are ordered from other provinces to aid in suppressing revolt, but, as a rule, each province is expected to maintain peace without aid from elsewhere.

The chief officials of the provinces usually recommend or nominate persons to fill the subordinate offices. These recommendations require imperial sanction, which is rarely withheld, before they can become effective; a nomination being considered equal to an appointment. In this way by far the larger number of offices in the empire are filled by the high provincial offices, while in the theory all appointments are made by the Emperor alone.

Theoretically all offices are filled by the intelligent and educated only, the test of a literary examination being applied to all candidates, and only those who pass this ordeal with credit being considered eligible. The humblest person in the empire, if fitted by education, is eligible to the highest office below royalty. This rule is adhered to with a strictness and impartiality that would be highly creditable in any nation. As a proof of this a large proportion of the high officials at the present time are men of lowly origin. This system, admirable in itself, has stood the test of nearly eleven hundred years’ practice. It has survived internal wars and changes of dynasty, and is to-day more firmly fixed in the polity of the empire and the affections of the people than any principle which governs this nation. Indeed it is about the only principle that has not so often been set aside from motives of policy that little is to be found of the original.

Great precautions are taken to secure absolute impartiality in the examinations, and I am convinced that they are conducted in a manner that would be creditable anywhere, and that equal and exact justice is substantially done. Much has been said and written by foreigners in regard to the sale of offices to non-graduates for money, and while it is undoubtedly true that this expedient has been resorted to in times of great financial distress, to replenish the government exchequer, I am inclined to believe that rank, and not office, is the chief thing sold and purchased. In other words, a title resembling somewhat a brevet rank in our Army, which carries with it honor but no emoluments, is the thing purchasable. To be sure a person holding rank is eligible to office, but as a matter of fact few of those that purchase rank are appointed to office.

The great drawback connected with this excellent system is the use [Page 80] less character of the education when applied to the practical concerns of life. What would be thought of the curriculum of our universities and colleges that included only the study of the Old Testament in English, and the Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic languages? Or of an examination in which the student, in order to entitle him to a diploma, would be required to exhibit a thorough knowledge of the three dead languages, and be able to recite from memory the Books of Moses, the Psalms of David, and the Proverbs of Solomon! And yet this is not an inapt illustration of the nature of a thorough course of Chinese instructions.

Education in this country includes a long and laborious course of study, consuming the best years of a life-time, and in the end the result is valueless for any useful purpose to the government or people.

Another glaring defect in the construction of society is that the hope of obtaining office is the great, if not the only, incentive to a thorough education. Office, which brings to its recipient honor, power, and reward, is the end and aim of all men in this country. With this end in view they will struggle in poverty through a long series of years, triennially submitting themselves to an examination, with ninety-nine chances in a hundred against success; and many who do obtain the coveted prize only succeed at the ages of 50, 60, and 70 years, when their mental and physical energies are well-nigh exhausted. So far as I can learn, few, if any, enter upon a thorough course of study with a view of fitting themselves for professional labors, or of applying their talents to any useful purpose in science or art.

Where there is such a scramble for place and power the number of unsuccessful ones must be very large. Scarcely one per cent. of those that compete triennially for the highest degree are successful; and when it is taken into consideration that only those that pass a successful provincial examination are entitled to compete at Peking, some estimate may be made of the vast numbers in the empire that enter the race for renown and reward.

Those who do not succeed constitute, by common consent, a middle class, commonly known as the “literati and gentry.” The people of this class occupy a medium position between the officials and peasantry. They act as advisers to the lower classes, and their good offices are sought by the governing class in the management of local concerns. By their superior intelligence they are enabled to control most of the property, and yet few acquire such wealth as would enable them to oppress the people, were they so disposed.

This class create the public opinion of the country, which exercises a controlling influence over the officials, and is usually powerful enough to thwart the intentions and nullify the action of the officers, from the Emperor down, whenever popular rights are in danger of being invaded or the people unduly oppressed. So powerful is the influence of the literati that all officials endeavor to conform their action to the popular will, and in this view the government of China is essentially democratic in practice.

Where offices are obtained at the cost of so much labor and expense, the officials expect to reimburse themselves for all their trouble when position is once obtained, and, if report be true, they seldom fail in their purposes, nor are they particular or scrupulous about the means by which it is done. To successfully accomplish what they desire, with the people in front and the Emperor behind, vested with the arbitrary power of removal from office, is not always easy; so that the acquisition of ill-gotten gains without risk of unhappy consequences usually compels [Page 81] the officials to resort to falsehood and subterfuge. When complaint is made to the imperial government, all the advantages are on the side of the officials and against the complainants; for in a country like this, where there are neither railroads, telegraphs, nor a well-regulated postal system, communication between the capital and the provinces is slow, irregular, and uncertain, and the officials are thus enabled to present their side of the case first, and in the most favorable light; and in the absence of a newspaper press the popular voice can scarcely be heard outside of the immediate vicinity whenever such cases arise. These causes often give rise to insurrection and rebellion, which seem to be the only mode left to the people to redress their wrongs.

* * * * * * * * *

The arbitrary power vested in the officials appears to render falsehood necessary, on the part of the common people, in order to escape oppressive burdens and unjust punishments; and the desire for dishonest gains on the part of the officials compels them to use subterfuge to escape untoward results. As an offset to this kind of dishonesty and in justice to the Chinese, it should be stated that among the trading and mercantile classes there is probably more honor and honesty than is to be found among similar classes in any country.

In placing a value upon the honesty of the Chinese, as compared with that of other nations, I by no means overlook the difference between Paganism and Christianity; but with all its elevating tendencies I should be inclined to doubt the efficacy of Christianity, unaided by other enlightening and elevating influences, in controlling the baser passions of men, keeping them in the path of rectitude and virtue, when exposed to the temptations that Chinese officials are. It would be hazardous to predict a better state of public and official morality in any nation, however enlightened, according to our ideas of enlightenment, with a government of arbitrary power, depending more on tradition and precedent than well-defined written law for the guidance of the officials and the people.

In view of all these adverse circumstances, instead of finding progress, it is a matter of surprise that the whole social and governmental fabric has not fallen to pieces of its own weight. With such entire independence on the part of the provinces the wonder is that the central government has been able to maintain any prestige or power whatever. Isolation has undoubtedly done much toward keeping the nation intact; and the fact that the Emperor is regarded as the spiritual as well as the temporal head adds much to his power and to the force of imperial edicts. But more than all other influences combined is the universal ambition for official position, and the mode of making the appointments. This is the strong bond that has kept the nation together. By the method of competitive examinations before referred to, all the intellect and education of the empire is either in office or hoping to get in. The officials are anxious to keep the government intact in order to retain place and power, and a large portion of the literati live in the hope that a happy turn in the wheel of fortune, a successful examination, will give them official position also.

This is also a great hinderance in the way of making improvements; an almost impassable barrier in the path of progress, which is difficult to reach or overcome by reason or argument.

The language is another great obstacle which only time and forbearance on the part of other nations will be able to remove even partially

The language is so cumbersome that it consumes many years in the lifetime of a native to master it thoroughly. If this be so in the ease of [Page 82] natives, what are the prospects of foreigners that undertake the task? To be sure, there are, at this time, a number of foreigners able to react and speak the language with more or less fluency; yet, with all their years of patient study, it would not be safe to affirm that there is in China a single foreigner able to read and speak the language thoroughly and correctly, or one that would undertake to translate a letter or dispatch into Chinese without the aid of a native teacher or writer, and be certain that the meaning and intent would be correctly understood.

The Chinese appreciate but slightly the importance of learning other languages, which would enable them to read the literature of other nations, and, until more enlightened, will make little or no effort in that direction; and until they can be led to appreciate the value of foreign knowledge, or foreigners can prepare themselves to teach the Chinese in their own language, how are the latter to acquire knowledge? Although the task is laborious, requiring much time and patience, yet the progress made in the last twenty years is encouraging. Text-books, dictionaries, &c., are multiplying, all of which will prove efficient aids in acquiring a knowledge of the language, and will facilitate very much the work in the future.

Aside from those connected with the foreign customs department of the Chinese government, the foreign diplomatic and consular service, and the missionaries, it would be difficult to find a single foreigner able to understand, speak, or write the Chinese language. The foreign merchants have made no effort in this direction. On the contrary, some firms have declined to employ natives that could speak and read English, fearing that the European price currents and market reports might be by them communicated to the native merchants. Substantially, all business with the natives is transacted through the agency of Chinese brokers, or “compradores.”

Merchants are able to communicate with their compradores by means of a nondescript jargon called “pidgin English,” by which the simplest ideas may be conveyed, orders for buying and selling, which answers the purposes of trade. It possesses, however, few elements of language, and its introduction and use have in no small degree retarded the progress of the natives at and near the ports in acquiring something like a correct knowledge of our language. It gives me pleasure, however, to chronicle the fact that there are at the present time in Peking two young men, employés of an American firm in Shanghai, studying the language, with a view of making themselves useful to their employers, and thus relieving the house somewhat from its entire dependence upon native compradores in communicating with Chinese merchants. This firm (Messrs. Augustine Heard & Co.) deserve honorable mention for liberality and enterprise in promoting what seems to be the acquisition of useful knowledge, and it is to be hoped that the experiment may prove such a success as to induce others to follow their example.

That the empire is in a state of decline the signs of decay and ruin to be met with on every hand afford painful evidence. When the decadence commenced, and what are the causes, are, like all other questions in regard to China, hot easy to be answered. If the history of this country could be correctly known and understood, it would be found, undoubtedly, that progress and retrogression had alternated according to the vigor or licentiousness and profligacy of the several dynasties, and very much in proportion to the wisdom, honesty, and energy of the several ruling Emperors. The present decline, however, may, I think, be safely set down as dating from the reign of the Emperor Kienloong, who ruled from 1736 to 1796. During the reign of that sovereign [Page 83] vast sums of money were expended in repairing and enlarging old and building new imperial residences and pleasure grounds, and in the repair and erection of Buddhist temples, tombs, tablets, &c., all over the country. Succeeding Emperors do not appear to have had the vigor to repair the losses to the national wealth occasioned by the profligate expenditures made by Kien-loong. The people becoming impoverished, became also discontented, and their discontent showed itself in rebellions and insurrections. This insurrectionary spirit, on the part of the people, seems to have become chronic, and rebellion showed itself in nearly all the provinces of the empire at various times during the present century. It finally culminated in what was known as the Taeping rebellion, which raged with great violence and ferocity from about 1850 to 1865, and devastated and laid waste almost the entire central part of China before it was finally suppressed. To the destruction of life and property by the insurgents must be added the cost in men and money of the wars carried on by the imperial government for their suppression, and also the foreign wars that have occurred, all of which reduced hundreds of thousands of the peasantry to destitution, want, and starvation. From the best data obtainable, the loss of life by casualties of war, wounds, sickness, and starvation, within the last one hundred years, has overbalanced the natural increase of population, so that the actual number of people now in China is less than it was a century ago. If this estimate be correct, of which there can be little doubt, it is obvious that from these causes alone decline and retrogression must be the inevitable result. In addition to this, and more potent, probably, than all other causes combined, is the increase in the consumption of opium. This vice, which has consumed their substance and enervated the people, was scarcely known at the beginning of the present century. In the year 1800 the total amount of opium imported into China, according to the most authentic accounts, did not exceed 4,000 chests of 133 pounds each. In 1869 the amount of the foreign drug brought into this country was about 85,000 chests. This estimate includes 53,000 chests actually entered at the open ports, on which duties were paid, and 32,000 chests which the foreign customs authorities believe were smuggled into the country from Hong-Kong. At the beginning of the present century very little opium was produced in China. In 1869 careful estimates put down the native growth at equal to 75,000 chests, which makes the total consumption of this drug 160,000 chests, equal to 21,000,000 pounds, or ten thousand five hundred tons. The value of the opium brought into the country, in all ways from abroad, does not vary much from $68,000,000, equal to seventy-five per cent. of the value of all the tea and silk exported to foreign countries. These figures tell a painful story, and are a sad commentary upon the beneficial influence of foreign trade upon the welfare of this people. They prove most conclusively that the vice of opium-smoking has consumed, and is consuming, a large portion of the earnings of the people, lessening their ability to pay taxes, which, in turn, tends to the impoverishment of the government. But this estimate only includes the smaller part of the loss and damage. The consumption of this drug has weakened the energies of the people, promoted indolence and profligacy, lessened their productive power, and thus accelerated the decay and ruin of the empire.

Whether this decadence can be arrested by a reformation in the habits of the people, or whether new sources of industry and wealth can be opened up to replace the losses caused by the use of opium, or both, are questions worthy of the serious consideration of all who desire to foster [Page 84] and increase the commercial relations between the people of western nations and this country. The former, in my judgment, is only possible by creating among the people a better moral sentiment, which will have the effect to curb their appetites and passions; the latter can only be done by enlightening the governing and educated classes with reference to the benefits to be derived, and through their influence induce their own people to undertake the task of systematically developing the vast mineral and other resources that now lie dormant, or allow foreigners to do it for them. In my judgment these are the only means of regenerating this country and this people peacefully.

The masses must be educated through the labors and influence of the Christian missionaries chiefly, and the officials must be taught by the wise, judicious, and energetic action of foreign governments, through their diplomatic representatives in Peking. This latter influence must be exerted in the enlightenment of the officials, and the strengthening of the central power, so that its decrees and mandates may, while doing justice, have more force and command more respect than is the case now.

There is still another course more direct, if not more effective, than either, which may be termed the “popular course”—force. This is regarded by most of the foreign residents here as the only sure and speedy agent for “opening up” China. The merchants look upon the use of force as. necessary to open up new resources and avenues of industry, and a large proportion of the missionaries favor it because their task will, by this means, be rendered less difficult, probably, than by the slow and laborious process of moral suasion.

I will do the missionaries the justice to say that their mode of reasoning leads them to honestly believe in the morality and humanity of war to accomplish the best results to this people. They believe that “the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof;” that they are simply agents in the hands of the Almighty to effect the Christianization and regeneration of the heathen; that the more speedily the work progresses the better it is for the Chinese and the world; that force is absolutely necessary to break down the barriers of ignorance, conceit, and superstition, and that the use of armies to compel submission is only adding an auxiliary force to reason to accomplish the great work of the Master. The arguments against such a theory are so obvious that it is not necessary to repeat them here.

That the work of reformation by peaceful means will require many years of forbearance on the part of other nations, and patient labor and effort of those to whom the task is committed, is quite certain; but that time, forbearance, and labor will accomplish it, must in the nature of things be so. The believers in the other theory assert, with truth, that all foreigners are now residing in China through the influence of force exerted in former years, and hence nothing, in their opinion, but force will, in the future, break down the barriers of ignorance and superstition which stand in the pathway of progress. It is hardly necessary for me to say that to this theory in its entirety I do not subscribe.

Leaving justice and morality quite out of view, and reducing the question to one of policy and expediency simply, I see so many obstacles in the way of securing permanent advancement by war, for it really means nothing else, that I should hesitate long before counseling the application of military force for the purpose of obtaining further concessions.

But with all the forces which will be brought to bear against it, I have little hope, and no real expectation, that peaceful relations will continue [Page 85] between China and foreign nations so that the ameliorating influences of education will be able to do the work of regeneration.

The slowness and vacillation of the central government will be likely to exhaust the patience of other nations; and the infractions of treaty rights by the provincial authorities and the people, and the pressure of the mercantile class for additional concesions, will sooner or later cause a rupture which will end in a foreign war.

In estimating the chances and counting the probabilities as to the future, it should be borne in mind that the manufacturing operations in some European countries are in a measure dependent upon maintaining and increasing the market for manufactures in India and China.

To try and relieve their suffering operatives at home, may cause these governments to pursue a course, in the attempt to increase trade, which would not, under other circumstances, be attempted.

Happily, no such considerations are likely to enter into the policy which the United States may choose to pursue towards this or any other nation.

In addition to all the other difficulties which stand in the way of the maintenance of peace and good-fellowship between natives and foreigners, is the “irrepressible conflict” which is sure to result when two distinct races and civilizations are brought vis-a-vis.

The Indian wars on the North American continent, and the experience of the people of the United States with African slavery, are painful illustrations of this truth.

The mistake that most foreign residents make, is in underestimating the value of Chinese intellect and Chinese civilization.

It is not fair to compare this people with Indians or negroes, or to place them on a par with the inhabitants of India and the Eastern Archipelago.

The Chinese are superior to most, if not all, existing Pagan nations, in mental capacity, industry, and administrative power. Although their education is faulty, and really valueless for the practical purposes of an enlightened age, yet their ability to master difficult studies shows a capacity for acquiring knowledge that compares favorably with any people. Chinese merchants compete successfully with the foreigner in all branches of trade, and occupy at the present time the vantage-ground here.

The peasantry are industrious, frugal, and painstaking; content with gains that afford subsistence in the most inexpensive form; noted for their docility and love of order. Their isolation, and ignorance of everything that pertains to modern science, promotes superstition, and their belief in the Emperor being the head of all affairs, both temporal and spiritual, leads them to look with distrust upon all innovations or prospect of change. The great mass of the people have never seen a foreigner. They have been taught that the people of other countries are a distinct and separate species, fierce, cruel, and rapacious, capable of committing any outrage, and ready to practice any device for purposes of gain.

Unfortunately, impartial history cannot be invoked to disprove many of the counts in the indictment against foreigners. On the other hand, most foreigners make little distinction between Chinese civilization and barbarism. In their opinion the Chinese are an inferior race, whose rights, privileges, or prejudices are too apt to be disregarded when gain is hindered thereby, or when they seem to stand in the way of the onward march of what we are pleased to call our “superior civilization.”

The same influences are at work in China that produced a somewhat [Page 86] noted dictum by one of the highest judicial officers of the United States, in which the assertion was made in substance, if not in words, “A negro has no rights that a white man is bound to respect.” And this startling announcement was approved of, apparently, by a large minority, if not a majority, of the people of the United States.

Foreigners residing here are much too prone to exhibit by acts, if not by words, their belief in the doctrine that “a Chinaman has no rights that a white man is bound to respect.”

The present reigning dynasty is weak and effete, capable of being overthrown by a joint movement of the treaty powers, or even by any one of the first-class powers alone.

If the present government be overthrown, what then? What will take its place? No foreign government would, I imagine, undertake to conquer China and hold it as a dependency, nor would such a course be tamely acquiesced in by the other treaty nations, if attempted. To divide and parcel out the territory among the western nations would also be impracticable, for there would be some—the United States among the number, probably—that would hesitate before accepting territory here if freely offered, and they would seriously object to any such scheme on the part of others. So that whatever may occur in the future, one thing may, I think, be safely set down as certain: China must be governed by the Chinese.

If there were men to be found in the non-official class of intelligence, breadth of mind, vigor of thought and courage, capable of and willing to do better if opportunity were offered them, than those now at the head of affairs, it might perhaps be policy for foreign nations, both in their own interests and for the future welfare of the Chinese, to favor the bringing of this new life into the government by aiding in the overthrow of the present effete dynasty. But, so far as I am able to learn, there are none to be found who would be likely to do better, or even as well, as the present officials. Those now at the head of the government have had the benefit of ten years’ experience and direct contact with the foreign diplomatic representatives of other nations, in which time they have learned much, and can, therefore, better appreciate the power of the Western nations, and of the benefits to be derived by preserving amicable relations with them than any men in the empire.

But with all their advantages their progress in knowledge has been slow; so little that, in our moments of impatience, the task seems almost hopeless of ever being able to accomplish what all well-wishers to this government and people so much desire. But when we calmly consider the position in which these men are placed—foreign governments on the one hand demanding, oftentimes with menace, concessions possible and impossible, and on the other a nation of ignorance, superstition, and arrogance, that would not only prevent any forward movement, but would, if they could, undo all that has been done in the past—their difficulties and embarrassments appear to call for the exercise of charity and forbearance on the part of other nations. These difficulties the people at a distance do not see or appreciate, which accounts, in some measure, for the harsh, and, in many cases, unjust criticisms of the people and press of other nations upon the high officials here.

In view of all the difficulties herein detailed, I am of the opinion that foreign nations, in their intercourse with this government and people, should pursue a just and firm course, and at the same time be prepared to exercise patience and forbearance.

They should insist upon the due fulfillment of treaty engagements, [Page 87] and be prepared to render protection to their own citizens and subjects, whenever the imperial government is either unable or unwilling to perform its duty. And while doing this with vigor and firmness, without unnecessary menace, every effort should be made to increase social and commercial intercourse, as fast as the government can make its power effective, and the increase be rendered safe and to the mutual advantage. Should a state of peace continue, this is the only prudent and practicable course to introduce reform. If, on the contrary, peaceful relations be interrupted, and the foundation of the government be shaken by foreign war, the education of the officials in the manner indicated will the better prepare them to accept and profit by innovations and radical changes that may, by pressure, be forced upon them.

I have, &c.,

FREDERICK F. LOW.