Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1878-07-09
The Famine in China.

From the London Spectator, June q
The official news received from Shanghai this
week, and dated the end Of April, records the de-
tails OF a famine such as even our horrible fam
mes IN lndla have never yet approached in hor-
ror. 1t Is something to know that rain has fallen
since this Information was sent OIL and that ia
four five months tIme--if ything can be
done to abate the horrors ia the interval-the az
ony OF the suffering may be over. But the rain
Itself produce no result TIL the crops which it
renders possible are reaped, and 10 the meantime
all the trghttul incidents which we hear of IN
these coldly accurate Chinese Blue Books must 20
on, except so far AS they are prevented by Chr
nese or foreigners exeTtIons.
What these incidents are 1t would be almost
needlessy Startling to explain, were 1t not for the
| TACT that, II we are rightly informed, every IL
that this country can send may prevent murder
OF the most hdeous kinda murder. OF relatives
by relatives to be followed by plotracted canni-
basm. Every I'll received from England say
the missionaries ON the spot may save life. But
to save life Is nothing III comparison It'll saw
ng pareut from killing his children a child
from killing ms parents Tor the purposes for
which they would Kill sheep or OXen--namely, 10
order TO use them rs meat. The mere suggestion
is one winch revolts the very body As much as it
reyolts the soul. Yet the dry official report says
"ln the earlier period of distress, the living fed
upon the bodies OF The dead; next. the strong de-
voured the weak, and now the general restitution
nas arrived such a climax that meu devour
those OF their own flesh and blood History con-
taius no record OF terrible ald distressing state
of things, and If prompt measures of relief be
not instituted the whole region must become de-
populated The Chinese authorities themselves
assert that 100000 OF people had died either of
the famine Or OF the violence OF those who want
cd to avoid starvation for themselves. The Ro-
man Catholic Bishop of Shansl, Mgr Monagatta,
completely confirms this frlghuul int lligence
And the ghastiIHess OF tins diaDOc feast will not
end with itself What sort OF memories Will the
population which has committed such horrors
have in the time to come, when they are no long
er necessary Can man who has committed this
horrible mixture OF parrlclde or matricide and
caunballsm calmly turn again to the decent work
OF lie, If he were not corrupt ia all his limbs
and all his memory too
such sins are the origin oflong trails Of transmit
ted uncleanness, which threaten posterltv AS fear
fully as they threaten the society in winch they
happen. Of course, we do not mean that in a So
ciety which is both heather aud possibly at least
almost incapable OF the finer affections, these hid
memories AID associations Will transm quite
the same foul taInt that they would IN a Christian
country. But allow what you will for this, and
the prospect is still fearful enough. The man VINO
cannot free himself from the memory of such un-
natural crimes which will appear to cesve to his
very body as well as his soul can never lead a
quite natural life again, or even transmit to his
ch lllen, If he should have them. a nature free
from n certain strain of unnatural experience. 1t
is not a subject to dwell on, but thus much must
attempt to relieve the physical suffering is the At
tempt TO break here and there through the chain
of the unnatural ancestry to which the future pop
ulatioD of the famine struck provinces seems like.
" to look back For that auce stry, indeed il
can hardly feel any thing but loathing-a horror
not diminished by the reflection that nothing can
free them from the pollution oil such blood in their
veins. The physical misery OF starvation is little
conf pared with the moral misery of race perpet-
uated by the authors of such unnatural crimes and
such hldeous sacTaments oil despair.
And money can do so much just now, not mere
" 10 preventing DEATH OF crime that is worse than
DEATH but IN opening up the new communications,
the absence OF which Is responsible for great deal
OF the worst horrors. The worst famine is in
Shansi to which the nearest point available for
steamers is 'rientsn the point on the Pei-ho &C.
cuped by our troops when we were under the ne
cessily Of overawing the government in the neigh
boring capital of Pekln. From Tientsin to Tai.
Yuen, the centre of the worst Of the famine dis
tricts, the distance is only about two hundred
miles-not further probably than from London to
Leeds, but the roads are so bad and 90 over
mountains so high that the relief party sent to he p
he famine struck district took fifteen DAYS to
traverse them. OF course nothing but beasts of
burden can he used At present over these rough
roads across mountains of from A. 600 to 1000 feet
10 height, and yet this is the best avenue, appar
emily, by which food can reach the depopulated
district. For long time the Chinese government
have been spending all their spare money on
NiuPp guns, lLstehu Of ON making these most
necessary roads; but if a little Europeau helm
could be obtained the government might now per-
hap- be shamed into making the roads necessary
for taking the foreigners relief from the ports of
the empire to the wretches who so terribly need il
There are distinct traces of shame in the manifes-
to Of the Emperor on this awful famine In An
edict Of the 22d March he says: "We, whose du-
ty II IS TO watch over the millions of our people
with fostering care, feel that the loss of one of
our subjects is the result of our misdoing;" and
vet not only one, but 10000 are said to have
perl.hed already. While the government is in
his healthy condition of not undeserved remorse
Il might be possible to get it to improve the roads
by which the relief can be despatched to the stuff
erers. TO DO would indeed enable the Chinese
government to establish relief works of the most
useful knd-if, az least, any of the sufferers have
strength enough left for such work as this; and
roads, when once made, would diminish the dan
ger OF ike horrors IN the future.
But however little we may he able to accom-
phsh, calamity to which the records of the
"ofid hardly offer any authenticated Parallel
| eithef 10 scale or in moral horror is surely one
vines Englishmen should do what they can to
thScK even after the efforts they have made 10
lniia' where they justly felt that they had share
81 responsibility for the calamity such rs no one
can charge upon them in the case of China
rive millions OF dead-nOie than all the souls in
| LONDON and Calcutta togethet-and thou apds
upon thousands ~ danger Of what is worse than
otath, should not cry out to us to alleviate the
/ uhspeakable horrors of the moment In vain