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3. By the Rev. V. Stanton, seconded by A. Shortrede, Esq.,- That, as it has become necessary, on account of Mrs. Brown's pro- tracted illness, for Mr. Brown to leave China for a time, the Society request the Trustees to commission him, as their accredited agent, to collect funds, during his absence, for the enlargement and per- manent maintenance of the Morrison Education Society's School.
In accordance with the above, the Rev. Mr. Brown has been com- missioned, as will be seen by the following circular letter.
"THIS Society was organized at Canton on 9th of November, 1836, under the direction of a Provisional Committee, consisting of Sir G. B. Robinson, Bart., Messrs. William Jardine, Lancelot Dent, D. W. C. Olyphant, J. R. Morrison, and the Rev. E. C. Bridgman.
"It was named in honour of the late Rev. Robert Morrison, D. D., the first Protestant Missionary to China, who furnished the most valuable key to the Chinese language yet extant, and whose labours as a missionary, Oriental scholar, and servant of his Government are so well known throughout Chris- tendom; and it was formed with a view to carry out one branch of the great work to which he had devoted his life.
To
"The object of the Institution is to establish and support schools in Chi- na, in which native youths shall be taught, in connection with their own, the English language, so as to open to them the stores of knowledge of which it is the repository, and at the same time, by sound religious training and in- struction, to raise them to the rank of enlightened Christian men. It is the belief of those most conversant with the state of things in this country, that the hope of civilizing and evangelizing the Chinese can in no way be realiz ed so speedily as by conjoining a vigorous system of educational efforts with the ordinary means of propagating the gospel. The agency to affect the mass- es of this populous empire, and to produce any great and desirable change among a people so far civilized, but yet pagan, must be chiefly a native agency. prepare this from among the young men of the country, is the great aim of the MORRISON EDUCATION SOCIETY. It does not propose to give them a professional education, but a general one, which shall serve to qualify them for the spheres of action for which they may be fitted, whether by their abilities or their principles. To this end, it has, during the last seven years, carried on its operations through a school, which, since the Peace of 1842, has been established at Hongkong. Here native boys have been collected, and while enjoying the privileges of a Christian family, have, besides studying the Chinese, been particularly instructed in the English language, through which they have been made acquainted with Western science and history, but especially have learned to read the Sacred Scriptures, and have been daily taught the way of life.
"The difficulty of obtaining teachers, and the interruptions peculiar and
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