The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1878-04-19
THE CHINESE FAMINE.

The four provinces of China which
now offer the world the appalling spectacle
of 100000 of human beings perishing
with starvation are in the north, border
ing upon Mongolia. Shau-se is the
province which seems to be most severely
stricken with famine. 1t has an area OF
53,26S miles, and contains, besides its
capital, Tae-yuen Foo, eight prefectursl
cities. The population of Shau-se alone
is returned at 14,OO4,2 ,2l0. It's starving
millionsstrikingly ILLUSTRATED the Tantalus-
like condition to which mankind is
doomed before civilization has provided
it with intelligence and instruments to
wrest from the earth its treasures of
agricultural and mineral wealth, and TO
disSrftSAss in ali directions the elements
of comfort and Prosperity. They are
literally dying in the -ery midst of
inexhaustible potentialities oe q happy
life.
Frem the southern frontier of Shat %
to as far north as Ning-woo Foo there is
plateau 10000 square miles in extent,
elevated from 5000 to 5000 feet above
the level of the sea. The whole of this
plateau is one vast coal-feld. It's northern
and western limits are bounded by high
mountain ranges vending southwest and
northeast. Down the central line of the
province lies curious series of deep de-
pressions, all of which are basins of ancient
lakes, Shau-se is one of the most remark
able coal and iron regions of the earth.
Baron Won Richthofen expresses the
opinion that, at the present rate of coal
consumption, " the world could be sup
piled for thousands of years from Shau-se
alone" The vicinity of Tse-chow Foo,
in the south of the province, abounds in
both coal and iron, and has probably
furnished more iron to the Chinese than
any region in the empire. The iron is of
great purity and easily fusible, while the
necessary means Of manufacturing it.,
such as all sorts OF clay and sand
for crucibles, models, etc, are close
at hand. Baron Won Richthofen says
of the whole plateau that its extra
ordinary conditions, for which he knows
no parallel on the globe, will eventually
give rise to some curious features in
mining. 1t may be predicted that if a
railway should ever be built from the
plain to this region and there is no other
means of ever bringing to their due
account its mineral resouIces---branches
of it will be constructed within the body
! of one or other of those beds of anthIa-
cite, which are among the thickest and
most valuable known anywhere, and con-
tinue for miles underneath the hills west
of the present coal~belt of Ping~Ting
Chow. Such a tunnel would allow Of
putting the produce of the various coal~
beds Immediately on railroad cars des-
tined for distant places
Meanwhile, this marvellous railway Of
the future has not yet been built. There
Is only one wagOn>rosd leading into and
through Shau-se. In agricultural pro-
ducts the province is poor. Meat is a
rare luxury, and salt fish, the usual
substitute for it, is enjoyed only by the
wealthier classes. The masses of the
people, as everywhere else in China, are
extremely poor, and in the mountain
districts are chronically subject to famine
and starvation.
This unprecedented famine calls re-
newed attention to the danger of over
crowding a country with people, far
beyond its normal capacity for support
ing them well. China is packed with
people like sardines in a box-only the
people are alive, while the fishes are dead.
Under ordinary circumstances they can
exist, after fashion, on such diet as
Dio Lewis and George Francis Train
recommended to Americans but a season
of scarcity is death to all who have no
means of purchasing supplies elsewhere
or migrating for the time to another
province.
70 relieve 7O,O0O,O 900 of starving
people is out of the question; but to
assist China in preventing a recurrence
of this calamity, and open an adequate
outlet for her surplus population where
they can find ample means of subsistence
and clear the heart of a continent for
future generations of civilized humanity
would be a grand and profitable under
taking = New York Express.