- The Times of Saturday last contains an exceedingly interest-
ing article entitled "Mission Work in China," by Lord William Cecil. Lord William went to China as a delegate from missionary societies here in order to inquire into the civil and religious movements now taking place in China. Until his visit he did not realise, and he does not think the people of this country now realise, how near China has come to Europe, and how important a factor her develop- ment must be in the history of all nations. As soon as the railway linking Peking to the Siberian system is an accomplished fact, Peking will only be twelve days' distance from Paris. Lord William's first observa- tion is a very curious one. He dwells upon the fact noted by other students of Chinese affairs,—that the Chinese have a wonderful and curious power of assimila- tion. He was told that the reason why missionaries sometimes appear to act unreasonably to European eyes was because they were acting under the influence of Chinese thought. " Again, a Chinaman explained to me that, though the moral tone of Englishmen was infinitely higher than that of the Chinese when they came out, yet after a residence of two years they were reduced to the level of their surroundings, and, be added gloomily, 'in China no one is good." Though Lord William regards this as a gross exaggeration, he points out that, "apart from Christianity, moral sanitation requires that we should do our best to render healthy the moral tone of a neighbour who is going to be brought so close by improved means of communication."
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