, 1877-09-17
INDIA.
TIE FAMINE

tnfYkt1fhdfDfe L7T0th 33F3Ef.
MADRAS, Aug. S.-All utntiove arc charitable
bs nature. Most families have Growth OF hun
FRY hanEcrs-on, even In the best OF times, but
With this great dcsrtll the family burdens have
been greatly added to. In going through a
street Of the more wealthy part Of the town, 1t
is common 10 see Ut almost every lluusc num-
ber Of poor people collected waiting fpr the
daily dole ol food, md In this way the native
communities Of this and other towns huve Lecn
doing quietly and unohtentatiouslY great tlcni
10 help their puorer brethren Ia the struggle ior
life.
But from all that can learn distress Ia al
really reaching the class aboyc the vcrY DOOR
With these there arc caste difficulties about
getting food at the regular relief houscs, and
nnly arc gradually starving before the prt.ssusc
becomes so great that they will 1eavc bci,tnd
thcl. pride and social prcjuflIccs and Join tho
common herd at the Government kitchens.
the numbers Of tue tettcr classes who src III
want Of relief. and t 1is relief will bc at!tntnls-
tered rs far ~ possible In manner consonhne
WITH the feelings aud usagcs Of tho classca We
1t is quito certain that tho }cstttution Ii ycry
real. Within stot re's throw uf my own house
there Is a native village tcnantcd bF SERVANTS Of
for aon,c time past mir wife has been feeding a
few little starvcliECs belonging to this Village
on brcal a11d milk. ltnsc nrc not Immigrants,
but children OK ttlr local poor, aud out Of adozcl
little things who tone every morning for thelr
food, two Or three so far gone that thcy VII
not be saycl. II We fed ali wlIo wanted belt,
out Of this small village, VIC should hare hun
drcds OIL the list.
With two children. the woman in tie last stag.s
Of e1haustlcn u4,c child Ut the breast. with tit.
face like little wixcncl nla man, aud Its tn.dy
mere skelston, the other child q little girl 1T
8 years ot nkt, extremely enacatcl uMi
feeble. With t6ls family arc two Young girls.
hottl nltkerattIy thin aud faminc-strtckcn, anil
with their strength auitc spent They all spcsts
with voices that arc tlili, and sound as Ii fur
away. lust as happsns i1 ratients in thc la~t
stage Of tltA eta: T. little warm s1up aud bzrad
anu milk fer the rltldrvn rcv!ves I'LL III t!lenl
IN = wonderful waiy. After . rest thcy get u
cart TO a fsllef enmp. Standing at tle
entrancc-Eatc Of my house I can In half
IN hour count hUudrcls OF wrctclel crca-
turcs who tarc hardly strength enough left to
houaelcss aud hunctess wanderers frutu dis
ta,lt Villages, fur whom the Government pru-
vtdes centres ol relief: but the petHle vii! hot
rest quietly and cuuservo their cnersics. They
time comes for then, to lie down nllI de.
Deatl's In the street are getting more frc-
assembled near the Government ltouse. TIC
people were gathered round famine family;
Que Of whom, a ltAle Eirl Of :, was dying oi
exhaustion. The bysta1ldcrs were trying to iced
her with milk and ricc, but fhc coufl not swa1-
low. In Bauga10ro l llrar that the peope die in
the streets 1t the rnte Of fifteen Or twenty u
day, and tho police In Madras ure reporting such
deaths as common. There comes i time tn tbu
ct,uFse OF every famine when the reopls affected
by the scarcity can neither excrt themselves nor
btar any climatic changes without great peril tu
life. lsodics enfccttIci BY 1uug rrtvatlnn are
very susceptible to fatigue and weather changes.
Tho last ten days haye been raiuy time, anu
the mortality ssnong tho famine camps has been
higher thun ever.