racters, as they stand, seems to make no intelligible sense, and from the circumstance of their being written with two kinds of ink, black and red, renders it highly probable that they are constructed for the purpose of local concealment; they are perhaps the name, real or assumed, of the officers of the brotherhood; that half of the characters in red ink, which seems printed, may be perinanent, and have some general reference to the designs of the society, and to the other characters on the seal; while the yellow part (on the original blue silk seal), which is evidently written with a pencil, may, joined to the printed half, constitute the names or epithets of the officers in some particular place. In another place, where persons of dif ferent designations are chosen to be officers, the yellow part would be different. This conjecture is confirmed by the opinion of several learned Chinese, who have seen and examined the seal.

Wán tien wán tí. These characters have, no doubt, a reference to the ultimate view of the brotherhood, viz. universal extension and dominion; the 1st is an inverted form of 3d; which is an abbreviated form of won, a myriad; tien (in the quinquangular lines) signifies heaven, and tí, earth. And the position of the two, both looking towards the straight line on which the words heaven and earth are written, may mystically signify the bringing of myriads of nations under the society's influence.

Explanation of characters within the square lines.

Chung í fú, wó chuh tung,, let the faithful and righteous unite so as to form a whole (i. e. an universal empire). This seems the plain sense of the words, according to this arrangement of them; but it is impossible to ascertain whether something else may not be intended, as they are susceptible of as many meanings as arrangements. This version, however, agrees with the general views of this dangerous fraternity.

Characters within the oblong square.

Yun shing,; supposed to be the name of the chief of the fraternity, some think the founder; but, the character being written, and in yellow ink, it is more likely to be the chief for the time being, at whose death the blank space in seals subsequently issued could be filled up with the name of his successors; whereas the name of the founder, never changing, would be more likely to be printed, in some permanent form.

If any weight be due to the scattered hints that have been given

above, there will appear to be a striking resemblance in some points between the Sán hoh hwui, and the society of freemasons. The writer would not be understood, by so saying, to trace this resemblance in any of the dangerous principles of the Sán hoh hưui, for he believes that the society of British freemasons (and of others he knows nothing) constitutes a highly respectable body of men, whose principles and conduct are friendly to social order, regular government, and the peace of society. The points of resemblance, then, between the two societies, appear to the writer to be the following. 1. In their pretensions to great antiquity, the Sán hoh hwui profess to carry their origin back to the remotest antiquity. Tsz' yú Chung Kaoh, "from the first settlement of China;" and their former name, viz. "Cœlesto-terrestrial Society," may indicate that the body took its rise from the creation of heaven and earth,; and it is known that some freemasons affirm that their society "had a being ever since symmetry and harmony began," though others are more moderate in their pretensions to antiquity.

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2. In making benevolence and mutual assistance their professed object, and in affording mutual assistance to each other, in whatever country, when the signs are once given. Notwithstanding the dangerous nature of the Sán hoh hwui, the members swear, at their initiation, to be filial and fraternal and benevolent, which corresponds to the engagement of the freemasons, to philanthropy and the social virtues.

3. In the ceremonies of initiation, e. g. the oath, and the solemnity of its administration, in the arch of steel and bridge of swords. These are so singularly striking, that they merit the attention of those especially who think freemasonry a beneficial institution, or who deem its history worthy of investigation.

4. May not the three ruling brethren of the Sún hoh huui be considered as having a resemblance to the three masonic orders of apprentice, fellowcraft, and master?

5. The signs, particularly "the motions with the fingers," in as far as they are known or conjectured, seem to have some resemblance.

6. Some have affirmed that the grand secret of freemasonry consists in the words "Liberty and Equality;" and if so, certainly the term hiung ti, (i. c. "brethren") of the Sán hoh hwui may, without the least force, be explained as implying exactly the same ideas.

Whether there exist any thing in the shape of "Lodges" in the Sán hoh hwui, or not, the writer has no means of ascertaining; but

he believes the Chinese law is so rigorous against this body, as to admit of none. Nor does there appear to be a partiality among the members for the masonic employment. Building does not appear to be an object with them, at least not in as far as can be discovered.

ART. III. Evils of forming illegal associations; prohibition of magicians, leaders of sects, and teachers of false doctrines; renunciation of allegiance; the tea sect, &c.

"In the reign of his present majesty, the celestial powers overshadow and nourish all things, the sun and moon cast forth their radiance, the universe is regulated in peace, and the tribes of men are also universally tranquil. Of the people who live in this age, the scholar discourses of propriety, and enforces the importance of the ancient odes; while the illiterate cultivate their fields, and dig their wells, without attending to extraneous affairs all their lives long, enjoying soft andluxurious ease, in peace and tranquility. Truly we know not why it is that the people, wrought upon by foreign means, have been induced to fall into the net of delusion; but constantly searching into the matter we find, that the generality of disobedient and lawless persons, are at first nothing more than worthless characters without any dependence; being poor, and having no fixed object of pursuit, they seducingly establish some corrupt dogmas, in order to obtain a livelihood: the stupid, they move by hopes of happiness and fears of misery-the vicious, they blind by charms or spells-the strong and vigorous, they teach gymnastic feats-the weak, they subdue by blustering strength-and the poor, they tempt by bribes. of money,—until their disciples and followers become numerous— then in their excursions, they plunder; and in their assemblies, they gamble; they flock into the markets to drink, and roar and bawl in the open fields; the lesser among them entice dogs and chuck fowls (in order to steal them), and the more practiced in villainy drive away oxen, and rob the graves; so that honest and virtuous families in the villages connot but fear them, and cannot avoid relying on them. These pernicious evils are what the names of sects engender, and are produced by the influence of illegal associations.

"To the south of the mountain Sin, a common belief in ghosts and demons prevails, and conjurors and necromancers are encouraged; the spirit of the people is hardened and insubordinate, and they are pleased with frothy and self-complacent things. Also on the coast, the foreign merchants of the ocean carry on their trade: and as to the Portuguese Roman Catholic religion, who can insure that it will not roll on, and spread by degrees, till it enter China? We also hear that on the northwest of the province, which is a very mountainous district, there are continually poor people who having no possessions come from a distant part, and bringing their instruments of husbandry with them, cultivate the waste crown lands: some of them erect cottages by the banks of rivers, and form habitations in the sides of the mountains, where they harbor banditti; these banditti go forth by day to plunder and return in the evening; and although the civil magistrates and military officers have united in order to apprehend them, yet the woods being deep, and the jungle thick, when they pursue them on the west they fly to the east; there are some haunts probably which have not come to the knowledge of the magistrates, but the observation of the people is more certain and real. It therefore rests with you, people, strictly to distinguish between corrupt and correct doctrines, and seriously to consider the misery or happiness attending them. Do not covet a bully's fame; be not moved by strange and new sayings; thirst not for present gain, and do not remove future calamities from your sight. Awaken the stupid, reject the disorderly, suppress the boisterous, assist the weak,

pity the poor; and then your persons and families will obtain uninterrupted tranquillity, and villainy and corruption will have no means of access among you. If you do not act thus, then corrupt teachers will deceive the people, notwithstanding the enlightened instructions of the sages; and the multitude will be turned aside into devious paths, notwithstanding the express injunctions of the laws.

"Examine now in succession former generations, and you will find that those persons who have subsisted by a stick of incense and a measure of rice, have without exception come to an ill end, and their adherents and descendants have been exterminated; for instance, formerly, in the provinces of Sz'chuen, and Húkwáng, the plundering sect of the water-lily over-spread three provinces, and were confessedly numerous; but when the great army arrived, they were all put to the sword. And lately, another instance occurred in the case of the rebel Lintsing, who had formed a band and excited insurrection: long before the appointed time for commencing their ope

rations arrived, the principal ringleader was cut into saill pieces, and the rest of the conspirators were slain. Also Chú Mauli, of Yukán, in the province of Kiángsí, and Fáng Yungshing, of Hócháu, in the province of Ngánhwui, having rebelled, before the affair was brought to any head, their villainy was instantly defeated. You inhabitants of Canton province, have also been frequently injured by these disorders: for not long ago, the plunderers of the brotherhood society, having collected together a multitude of persons, excited an insurrection at Yangshí Shán, in Pohló; but those who associated with and followed them, were all of them instantly put to death; many of you peaceable people were on account of them, obliged to leave your families, and indeed the whole neighborhood was disturbed. I would only ask, with respect to Chinlánkíhsz' (the foreign leader of this band) where is he now? Last year also, the vagabonds who collected bands and formed confederacies, with a design to plunder and rob, have all been apprehended and punished. Hence we may see, that this kind of plundering banditti, certainly cannot by any lucky chance escape, and whoever it is that excites insurrection and rebellion, the powers above will not suffer him to escape. Even those who in common convene meetings and collect money, with a design to obtain a paltry livelihood, when once information of it is obtained, will be punished either with sword or saw, or be bound with ropes and cords: their accomplices also will be banished to some distant part, where they will not be able to cherish their aged parents, to take care of their wives and families, or to overlook their houses and fields. Their regrets may be poignant, but their is no deliverance. Alas! alas! is not this dreadful!"

Extracted from a prize essay, written at Canton in 1819.

The following is from sir George Thomas Staunton's translation of the Penal Code, book I., section CLXII., entitled: "Magicians, leaders of sects, and teachers of the false doctrines.”

Magicians who raise evil spirits by means of magical books and dire imprecations, leaders of corrupt and impious sects, and members of all superstitious associations in general, whether denominating themselves Mi-lih fuh, Peh-lien shé, Ming-tsun kiáu, Peh-yun tsung, or in any other manner distinguished, all of them offend against the laws, by their wicked and diabolical doctrines and practices.

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"When such persons, having in their possession concealad images