ARITHMETICAL RULES.

Mr. PAYSON, of Chelsea, in his remarks upon teaching Arithmetic, during the discussion at the Educational Room, repeated the arithmetical rules he learned in his youthful days. He has kindly written them out, at our request, for the benefit of our readers. They certainly prove that mathematics and poetry do not go well together. What is gained in harmony is lost in clearness.

RULE FOR ADDITION.

Addition is the adding up of one
Denomination in one total sum.

SUBTRACTION.

When from a greater sum you take a less,
An answer true the difference will express;
Which, being substracted from the greater sum,
Will make the lesser, then your work is done.

MULTIPLICATION.

Multiplication will to you describe,

Whate'er denominations are allied.
And when correctly multiplied together,
Will then produce the just amount of either.

DIVISION.

Division instructs you without any pother,

How often one sum is contained in another.

And by rightly dividing the whole of your sum,

You'll find a true answer, and then your work's done.

REDUCTION.

Reduction is the bringing or reducing
Your several numbers without any losing.
And when descending multiply the same,
Of every number to one common name.
But when ascending, then you must divide
Your several terms, and carry out beside,
Whate'er remains, and place them side by side.

RULE OF THREE.

Sure as the needle points unto the north,

So here three numbers given, require a fourth.
The same proportion surely there must be,
As second to the first must well agree.

Then term the number third, which doth command;

Of quality, or number, first; then understand,
The second term the answer will command.

The second and third terms when multiplied,
The product by the first you must divide.

THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF CHINA.

A FEW months ago we were in the city of Wu Chang, one of the chief literary cities of Central China, where competitive examinations are held for political appointments, and we purpose to give a sketch of the manner in which they are conducted.

After becoming somewhat acquainted with the writings of Confucius, those who aspire to a literary or political career prepare for competitive examinations in the Universities.

DEMOCRACY OF THE SYSTEM.

Competititive examination was established about the commencement of the Christian era. It is the foundation of the present political system of the empire. It is Democratic in principle, and deserves the attention of statesmen the world over. Under this system a person of the lowest condition may attain to the highest positions of honor. There are several classes who are excluded from entering the course of study, -play-actors, prostitutes, executioners, jailers and inferior servants waiting upon Mandarins. Their children to the third generation are also excluded. The theory adopted is that these persons and their immediate descendants are wanting in those moral qualifications which are necessary in the administration of government. Persons who have lost a parent cannot enter the course of study till after the expiration of three years, inasmuch as hard study is inconsistent with due respect for the dead during that period of time.

CONTRAST WITH THE UNITED STATES.

In the United States, official positions are obtained through personal favor, or on political considerations. Beer and whiskey have influence. Brothers, cousins, friends, are appointed to office by those who have the dispensing of patronage. Party service demands pay. Merit and qualification are too often the least of considerations.

Not so in China. The theory of the system there is, that all civil officers must be literary graduates. Three degrees have been established. The first may be obtained at the colleges in the Hien, or district college; the second in the Fu, or provincial college; the third in the Imperial University at Pekin.

The city of Wu Chang, being a provincial capital at the centre of the empire, and easily accessible, has become one of the chief literary centres. In this respect we may think of it as ranking with Cambridge or Oxford, in England; Harvard or Yale or Ann Arbor, in the United States.

ENTERING THE UNIVERSITY.

The student, having been through the district college, and obtained a degree from the Chancellor, comes to Wu Chang to enter the higher courses. Each student, before coming here, files a paper with the local magistrate, containing the name of his father, grandfather, teacher, his next-door neighbor, stating also

his own age, height and complexion. The names of several literary graduates are required as indorsers for his good character, and one of these is required to be present when the student enters the University.

We meet crowds of students in the streets. They are here from every town and village in the province. The number entering at this University is from six to ten thousand per annum.

THR BUILDINGS.

Passing down one of the streets, we reach the University buildings, occupying a large area, enclosed by a high wall about twenty feet high, covered completely over with placards displaying the name of the successful candidates for honors at the last examination. Entering the enclosure, we behold a paved court filled with long ranges of sheds, with tiled roofs, beneath which are about ten thousand small cell-like apartments or alcoves three or four feet square, open in front, with a seat, and a board which can be placed against the wall on supports for a table. These are the students' quarters, which they occupy during examination.

A Chinese university does not have recitation hall, laboratory, or dormitory. It is not a place where students spend four years in study, but simply a barrack where they congregate for a few days, - a prison rather; for, while here, they are shut in, and are not allowed any communication with their friends.

In the centre of the area stands the "Temple of Perfect Justice," a building erected for the convenience of the examiners and imperial commissioners, who are sent from Pekin to decide upon the literary merits of the students, and who are sworn to render an impartial verdict. Spacious apartments are assigned them, which are well furnished, and they are accompanied by a large retinue of

servants.

BEAUTIFUL ABILITY.

All of the students who come to this city have taken their first degree in the district college. It is not Master or Bachelor of Arts, but the degree of "Beautiful Ability," which means quite as much in China as that of A. B. does in the United States, and without which no student can compete for higher honors. The examinations here are held triennially, and there is never less than ten or twelve thousand competitors.

ASSEMBLING FOR EXAMINATION.

It is a great occasion. People from the surrounding country come in to see the honors conferred. Friends are here to witness the triumph of those most dear. The city is filled with strangers. It is a grand harvest-time for hotel and shop keepers. Excitement is at fever-heat. The student who wins brings honor not only to himself, but to his friends. He is on the road to fortune: for, if he passes examination, official position awaits him; wealth is sure. Privilege is one of the results, graduates, like members of Congress, being exempt from arrest, except for crime. High station in life, favor of the Emperor, -everything worth living for, as viewed from the Chinese standpoint, is involved in the effort.

Students bring bedding and food, as they are required to stay on the premises several days; servants and friends accompany them to the gate, but are parted from them there by soldiers, who allow none but students to enter. When all are in, the gate is shut and sealed, and a file of soldiers guard all approach to the wall. No book is allowed within the premises, but each student is supplied with paper, pen and ink; is appointed a cell, where he spreads his bed, and places his basket containing his food.

THE CONTEST.

The commissioners announce themes from the "Four Books" of the ancient classics, upon which students are to write three essays and one poem.

As soon as the subjects are given out, all hands apply themselves to composition. They have no aid, can consult no one, but must rely wholly on themselves. As fast as their compositions are finished, they are handed to one class of examiners, whose business it is to see that there are no great defects, and that the rules prescribed have been complied with. If they pass this ordeal, they are copied, so that the judges may not show favoritism by any previous knowledge of the handwriting of the candidates.

A jury of literary men read the essays, which, if they reach a certain degree of excellence, receive a red mark of approval. All that do not come up to this standard are rejected. Those approved are passed on to the chief examiners.

The standard of excellence adopted by the final judges, must be very high or the scholarship exceedingly low; for not more than one hundred out of the ten or twelve thousand obtain the second degree of "Advanced Men," a prosaic title in comparison with "Beautiful Ability."

OVATIONS.

Great ovations await those who pass the ordeal. The best orchestras of the empire are here with one-stringed, two-stringed and three-stringed fiddles, flageolets, cymbals, gongs and drums; cannon are fired, bonfires kindled, lanterns lighted, processions formed, feasts prepared, songs sung, and the whole city joins in the grand jubilee.

Messengers are started to convey the tidings to all the surrounding country. This is an election, and it is just as exciting as a political contest in America. Each district is interested in the success of its candidates, and so drums beat and bonfires blaze over the entire province.

The name of the student who takes the highest honor is placed on the wall at the top of all the others. We cannot read the "crow-tracks," but here they are in large characters, which may be read by the excited crowd from the street.

THIRD DEGREE.

The successful competitors, if they aspire to the third degree, have an allowance from the imperial treasury to enable them to go to Pekin, where a similar examination is had. If successful there, they receive the degree of Doctor of Laws, and are prepared to occupy high official stations.

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A large number of students reside here. Many who failed this year ply themselves for three years, and then try again. Old men are here who have been studying for a half-century without success. Men eighty years of age have died in these examination halls, through excitement, while in pursuit of literary fame and the distinction and privileges which lie behind it.

The excitement at the examination is intense, because political and literary aspirations are combined to spur on the aspirant. The ambition which fires the student in an American college to study hard, deprive himself of sleep, and burn "midnight oil," and the desire which animates the politician to secure office, alike excite the student who enters the examination hall.

The democratic element in this political system is remarkable, and the theory of competitive examinations must commend itself to all who believe in a democratic form of government. It has lasted nearly two thousand years, and there must be an element of stability in a system which continues that period of time.

EFFECT ON THE COMMUNITY.

The effect on the community is apparent. In no country is literature held in higher estimation. Wherever we go, we see book-stores. Printing-offices are numerous; not such establishments as that of The Journal, but small shops, where men sit at small tables, with blocks on which the "word-characters" are engraved, printing books of history, geography, and small works of fiction.

It is a reading community. The preparation for examination familiarizes a large number of men with history, political economy, and general literature. To be sure it is the history of China, and not of other nations; but we are not to forget that the authentic history of this people reaches back to the time of Moses, and that the "Book of Classics" is as old as the Pentateuch, and that the chief text-book of political economy written by Confucius is as ancient as the prophecy of Isaiah.

The economy of those bygone ages is not exactly fitted to the nineteenth century, and for that reason China is stationary. She is chained to the dead ages. But, notwithstanding all this, the method of choosing political and military officers by competitive examination gives a powerful stimulus to literary pursuits. Every village has its schools; and ambitious young men, seeing the possibility of attaining positions of honor, apply themselves early to study. Poor people deny themselves comforts that they may educate their sons. Brothers in a family unite to help on one of their number, that all may obtain honor. Virtue in this respect is found in China as well as in our own land.

DEFECTS AND EXCELLENCES.

Unfortunately the profound reverence paid to the Chinese classics robs the system of some of its excellence. If mathematical and other text-books of science were used instead of the "Four Classics," China would have a political system which would challenge' the admiration of the world.

But, as it is now, if we were to choose our officials on their ability to write an essay from the book of Genesis, or a poem from a passage in the Song of Solomon, we should be doing according to the present Chinese method. It is an