on the future form of government. Months have elapsed and no settlement is now evident. "The majority of the people are in favor of a republic. From the preference of the people's hearts the will of Heaven is discernible. How could we oppose the desires of millions for the glory of one family? "Therefore, we, the Dowager Empress and the Emperor, hereby vest the sovereignty of the Chinese Empire in the people. "Let Yuan Shi-Kai organize to the full the powers of the Provisional Republican Government, and confer with the Republicans as to the methods of union assuring peace in the empire and forming a great republic with the union of Manchus, Chinese, Mongols, Mohammedans, and Tibetans. "We, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, will thus be enabled to live in retirement, free of responsibilities and cares, and enjoying without interruption the nation's courteous treatment.' In consideration of the abdication the Republicans made the following eight pledges to the Emperor: "First, the Emperor shall retain his title and shall be respected as a foreign monarch; second, the Emperor shall receive an annual grant of 4,000,000 taels until the currency is reformed, after which he shall receive $4,000,000 Mexican; third, a temporary residence shall be provided in the Forbidden City, and later the imperial family shall reside in the summer palace, ten miles outside of Pekin; fourth, the Emperor may observe the sacrifices at his ancestral tombs and temples, which will be protected by the Republican soldiers; fifth, the great tomb of the Emperor Kwangsu will be completed and the funeral ceremony fittingly observed at the Republican expense; sixth, the palace attendants may be retained, but the number of eunuchs cannot be increased; seventh, the Emperor's property will be protected by the republic; eighth, the imperial guard will be governed by the army board, the republic paying their salaries." Although it had been evident for some time that the Manchu dynasty was losing its control, the swiftness of the revolutionary movement which wrenched the sceptre from the hands that had despotically ruled upward of 300,000,000 people for three centuries was one of the greatest marvels of a wonderful age in the annals of human progress. The skill and mastery with which the revolutionary movement was conducted; the speed with which it swept the empire; the comparative freedom from bloodshed and destruction with which it was accomplished; and the tremendous import of this great effort at self-government, are not easy to appreciate. The Whether the Chinese people themselves have as yet any adequate conception of the difficulties confronting them, as they attempt to build a stable and progressive government upon the unstable conditions of graft and corruption left by the Manchu rulers, is not yet apparent. republic is young. The training which the republican leaders have received in foreign universities and in their contact with Europeans and Americans in "the treaty ports" will not meet all the conditions of far-seeing wisdom, constructive statesmanship, and self-sacrificing patriotism that are demanded for the success of the republic. Badly needed public revenue must be secured from a land that has been passing through one of the most distressing famines ever visited upon this famine-subject country; selfishness, political knavery, and all forms of dissatisfaction and corruption must be wisely but firmly met; and, above all, a form of rule must be adopted which, while it represents the rule of the people, shall be well adapted to Oriental thought and practice. No mere adoption or grafting on of Western ideas or ideals will sucessfully meet such conditions. China to be sucessful must work out for itself a government that suits its people-a true oriental republic. Fortunately, there are many conditions in China that favor the success of the republican effort. While graft in its worst forms was common in the Chinese Empire, the rulers rarely went beyond money-matters in their corruption. And the great mass of the Chinese, so far as their own conduct and the management of their own affairs were concerned, had many of the privileges and immunities of free citizens in other countries. If they conducted themselves in a peaceable manner and paid their taxes regularly and promptly, they were given a large measure of personal liberty and self-control. Even when they forcibly resisted the financial exactions of some petty tyrant and by a popular uprising drove him from his post of duty, the Government was more apt to assume him to be incompetent and displace him than to regard the people as disloyal and subject to discipline. The whole fabric of Chinese custom and rule has for centuries been building up a sense of self-respect and independence of thought and act that no doubt account for the marvellous speed with which the revolutionary movement swept the empire out of existence. Supported as it was by the mass of common people who had never been morally cowed and intimidated and who, while they reverenced their Great Ancestor the Emperor, had never been subdued into awe of autocratic authority, all that was needed was a leader in whom the masses had confidence. And this leader was found in the idol of the soldiers, Yuan Shi-Kai. Above all, the Chinese have a country of whose tremendous resources they are becoming aware, and they have faith in themselves. Moreover they have the moral courage and patience to stand firm under a long series of disasters. And these things should bring them success. MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA.-Few people realize the extent of the missionary work that is being carried on for the regeneration of China, nor that this work is civic, educational, and ameliorative, as well as religious. There are at present no less than 6500 foreign missionaries, Protestant and Catholic, at work in China. And their work is supplemented by that of nearly 12,000 Chinese clergymen, evangelists, and religious teachers. That the missionaries have won for themselves and for their cause a place of respect in the minds of the people, is shown by the fact that during the recent revolution both Chinese and Manchus offered them their homes as places of refuge from the turbulent scenes, and by the additional fact that one of the earliest assurances of President Yuan Shi-Kai was that of perfect freedom of worship and entire religious liberty. The President, in a message to a large gathering of pastors of the Protestant churches in Peking, also clearly indicated his favorable opinion of the great work accomplished by missionary effort in China. After referring to the slow progress of the work at first, owing partly to the distrust and suspicion with which the conservative Chinese looked upon the new ideas and partly to the fact that missionary workers could not at first make themselves clearly understood in the difficult Chinese language, he said the spirit of Christianity had gradually won its way. He then added: "Moreover, the different missions have achieved much success both in works of charity and in educational institutions. On the one hand, they have conferred many favors on the poor and the destitute, and, on the other, they have carefully trained up many young men. For doing both they have won golden opinions from all classes of society. The reputation of Christian missions is growing every day, and the prejudice and misunderstanding which formerly existed between the Christian and the non-Christian have gradually disappeared, which will surely prove to be for the good of China." He also intimated that, so far as he understood the principles of Christianity, they were what he was striving for in the new government. Denmark. Denmark is one of the few countries in which the school needs in rural districts are approximately as well met as they are in the cities. Illiteracy has everywhere been practically eliminated. This result is partly due to the high regard in which education is held by the people, partly to the ease with which compulsory attendance is enforced in a small kingdom with a homogeneous population, and partly to the excellent manner in which school training is adapted to the needs of the different communities. Denmark unites public and private agencies in its state school system, Copenhagen having 25 free schools and 12 pay schools. The municipalities supply such educational appliances as are used in the schools and, for the children of poor parents, the books, etc., needed for the preparation of lessons at home. The expenses for maintaining the public schools are borne largely by the municipalities, especially such matters as providing buildings and equipment, although the State always assists communities that are unable to bear these expenses. The public school funds are derived from a tax levied on land according to its quality and from annual subsidies apportioned by the State. England. THE TEACHING OF RELIGION.-The extent to which the formal teaching of religion in schools supported by taxation can become a subject of controversy is difficult to realize here in America where such instruction in the public schools is forbidden. An article written by F. E. Smith, M.P., for the March Fortnightly Review, indicates that the provisions in regard to religious instruction in the English schools have been the most difficult ones to frame in all school legislation for some years past. It has also been the subject of contention in most of the educational controversies that have arisen for some years past; and in many instances it has prevented badly needed combinations and the unifying of effort in behalf of the children of the schools. The main controversies on the subject in England have occurred between the Anglicans (Conformists) and the Non-Conformists (those not belonging to the Church of England, sometimes called Dissenters). By the Act of 1870, the English people had their first experience with schools receiving support from public funds. The approval of this act was quite general, and most people paid taxes willingly, although it often meant that part of the funds so raised were being used to support religious teaching not of their own faith. However, in 1902, the act was revised so as to increase the power of local control, and for the first time levied local taxes, or " rates," to be used in support of the local schools, were provided for. This, in Mr. Smith's opinion, resulted in friction because "people who for years paid taxes (general) to support religious teaching which was not of their own faith could find it a point of conscience not to pay rates (local) for the same purpose." The friction arising from the Act of 1902 and from educational acts since that time seems to be partly political and partly religious. Mr. Smith summarizes the causes of controversy as: 1. In a very large number of districts |