Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1869-12-29
ne Ohinauaan. EIiu VirtnssAuf
BIS Wees.

voted to the retail trade in teas. II meet
I the Chinaman again this time q lessd
4 lected representative Of China then the
I peanut merchant whom j have describ-
ed-fatteT, j0llieT, shreWder, more SNUG,
ana even more &C home. He Is clad
sometimes in shOWy and embroidered
garment, such as, in his own land, would
be worn By actors &C the theatre, but
which is calculated to fiH our popular
mind with admiration; and sometimes in
our palmer and more pr0salc dress. he
halls me in the broken English which Il
used 70 hear, twelve years ago, along the
streets Of Kong. I have no statistics 70
verify the statemen, but should not De
surprised % see it proved that a larger
proportion Of the people Of the Chinese
Empire know how to read and write,
than 0f the people Of Great Britain. It
viii not be with an illiterate citizenship
that we shall have to deal, when the
coming Chinaman begins to vote.
Whether we may not also be debtors
to the Chinaman for certain moral bene-
titsI is another question not easy to an
sWeT. His vices are not the vices Of the
European immigrant, nor are his virtues
their virtues. And if his virtues shall
prove to complement theirs, perhaps his
vices may serve to eOunteract theirs al
50. In his regard for the sanctity Of do
nestle life, which Is looked upon bv The
Chin8man with almost religious super
stitiOn; and especially in hissense of The
reciprocal dnties of parents and children,
there is surely nothing to be afraid Of.
Certainly, the tendency of our own NOR
als is nOttOward excess in that direction.
And if, at frst, the reverence ola China
man for his parent, whether living OF
dead, appeaW to Young America a sub
jeet f0r derision, perhaps he may Rfter
while be found initiating what he now
deFides, And IL he should be, surely the
change would be rather for the better
than for the worse.
There are those, know, to whom the
fact that the coming Chmaman is
heather is fact full Of terror. It has
been said that, for this reason, il WAS
sad day for America when the dragon
nag Of the Burlingame embassy was un-
furled, beside the stars and strfpps. af
Washington. And even men who are
not quite ready to peUseeute this heath
en- have grave doubts whether it win BE-
right to tolerate him. But II the old
classic maxim be true, that it Is right 10
learn from an enemy, surely the Chris
tian version Of n should be also true. that
It is right 20 learn frOm a heathen. n
then this heathen can teach us ANYTHING
--aO0at politics or even about morals
let him come, the sooner the better. And
II he eOnnOt teach us, still let him come
IN order that he may be taught by Us.
The presence Ofa heathen civilization
IN close contact, on free soil and under
'ree government, with Christian civil
zation may be profitable % both. And,
n the lopgrun, Il viii scarcely he Chris
ianlty that win suffer Meantime. we
nay have much to learn with regard to
luF theories Of missionary work, and viii
le an the stronger IN it, IL we come 20 Be-
amiliar, by actual observation, with he
virtues OF the heather as well as with his
IiOes, and to recognize that his religion.
hOugh false religion, Is surely relig-
on stil.-HOUrs at Home for EGauaTg.