New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-12-07
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
THE RECENT FAMINE IN CHINA.

|
To the Edftor or The Tribune.
SIR: The recent mails from China have
brought the particulars OF in the northern
provinces, and cessation Of the famine when durlhs
tn past tweyemonth has drawn forth the symPathies
! and aims OF rhe benevolent Great Britain ana the
United States SO far history informs u.s. no suco lam
ine las ever been known, over so wide region ana
causing such loss of lf'. The British Consul at Ten
tsu. Mr. H. Forrest is prepa ing digesed report oil IT,
which Will SIT the aud facts connected with its
origin. well the extent which charity aleVated
it, horrors The foreign and native papers at shanghai
bear testimony to the zeal and honesty OF those VINO
have acted the almOners OF the funds committed 10
their hands, among whom four or five Protestant MIS-
siOnares fell victims the fever From journal Kept
by Que OF our countrymen Mr. Sheffield, make few
extracts wing the nature OF his work and the char
OF the people In the region close by tho Grand
Uana where he aud MI. Smith worked last May ard
June. They had s. 400 silver ingOts put into
their hands, which when exchanged brought about co.
900 lbs HvOlrdupuIs Of copper cash to be dlsburscd
NAV 2S-I went yesterday villages, each orig
ally tanning 800 inhabitants, OF wnom % or 90
peIsO each had starved to death 20 or 80 In eacn
were starved that they could not move about,
and have persisted VIII min few days We helped
nearly 200 i'm EACH AMI rule Is To help only those
Who WI out assistance, would sLaryr one thng seems
strange m,-that people SIT down 20 quiet and SUI
mit t1 starvation. wGen tnere Is plenty gram alOng
the canal think orleans would make rush Tor the
grain, aud risk losing then heads In NUMBER OF Ian-
lies Old eoulr ht, Led aud their bodies were cns,
tlo fam lies not yet having found time or obtained MP
to bury them. what struck me as strange was that u
.amily Won be- reduced TO starvation ear Own iI,lt
not 10 Ii would they sell Their parents cOnlIi
| This would he very unhl 81. As was passing nom
huu-e man called to me but OIe Of the VII
lagr committee saio N low voice. He il unhlia'"
lis tud bat tIis man had driven his mother out 20
beg Wue he and his wife had still lite 70 eat She
had qtarycd death. and as punishment the commit.
tee had refused TO put their che relief list.
! May 3l.-Y sieroay nsTected vag OF 5000 in
naUlt.uts. My assistant Wa aud each look section
| ell
er} where was sauted as nuh-snh. or pas'Or, ana
poor people weak 10 stand would struggle to rise -
make their manners. In few tn re attempts
To deceive the number family by getting neca
the trck. 1nry said thai 400 800 people had died
atUgoth aud tie present mott tally eaEt or ten
duN IN IN court L. nice-.ooknG boys. fsht ard ten
years old. were lying IN tir ground almost dead, ana
Tue mother sitting by them in utter heessuess TO save
! tpem.
June I've are helping over fifty villages, most Of
them within radius OF seven muesi we nave chuicn
member, In mos, o. them. More Jhan 5000 nalue5 are
| on our lets. The people a.e nunely grateful
neIr receive aud everywhere salute us as
henrlacJors lucy are II! VI, mlun'sh' tuu tneh "Iy
bUzzIu. dbOut at daylight. Yesterday We were reused
at dawn {" coue out ior there were many villagers
| waItiua Tor rs to rise aud Ave them money.
June J.-ln the Vildg; Of 1000 people above men
toned, one OF the elders proved 10 ue scamp OF lhe
hrot "a,cr lie forged twelve names, besides roG1nG
number Of families OF part OF teen above nce lie look
tue none gwen Tor t"e TWO niue uy hE Toys, DlL tne
other euers exposed nis Conduct and he has been com
PEELED To pdJ uaCA all tue money he tried 10 pocket
We leave hiin for ms own village to punish. went
10 IL aud preached one DAY 10 many Oi Tue people
aud tie MahuIne,auo iuyen me 10 turir mosque, DuI
! business" however fUuud CIV To near ne.
June 1--we ave rcucued 10 900 IN lsJ OF per-
ines In one Large village After our last payment
ON lue 2jth, shal give the villages their prUpor-
save Us truuhle II exchanging SILVER ana haaing cash.
June 23MI suith weut 10 one village aud d. uicatrd
n clai.,i 10 the service o. the Christian Church. The
place was BuJd-ist temple aud tue people have
rou the iGus 10 htlo tempe IN Tuut' packing
tIPu m as thCK they can stand. Il hty unds-
turb,d tnoy viii 10 to destruction IN few years We
have sp,ut ~ Jays IN ISSUING gram 10 the villages Oh
| 10 Ia q
whom had bought ltwOuld last them twenty days.
Iu,y sent carts aud carried II away themselves GYMS
Ia no trouble. Every thing went on s4ds actOry. We
distributed about thousand peculs llJ3OOO iDsl Of
sorghum BY tue time 1t Is gone We nope the rains
viii cObe.
II may be stated that the daily ration for an
individual was over cents. some reports
came 10 this country last Summer that much
OF the food taken from the south Of China to Tieutn
has been wasted by exposure and careessness
but these stories were probably repetitons OF
two accounts Of the piles Of gram heaped up the
dock at ncntsn after navigation opened waiting
transport Il may DO safely asserted that the char
tty aud OF these sufferers has reached
more directly and at less expense than could have
been expected The sum acKnUW LEGGED by the Shang-
bal Fore gn Committee up to Octoucr wa- lsi9b7
tnei7 or $3.50 1875 OF tins about $4,000 deposit
10 proyiae nelp probably, for tuo,e who we're utterly
hggarrd helpless sick after the crop had been
gathered Tue reports Of - eat mortality alsIng from
dysentrTy fever after the harvest show that the
sum would 81 be needed To save ufe; but IT. donors
would thiuk, seriousiy demur 10 having any OF It
speut IA sending toNlnB commission 70 the stricken
districts gther Information about tho famine. Let
LII
rules, and they Will Vaue us an thc more.
Nv writing these details Is 70 satisfy the
Fund that tuer alms nave been carefully bestowed
upon the sufferers. have ODaWed the amounts sent
TO- ward To Shanghai rUm tHe Eastern States through
sl1 different olanuels beginning with October l. 1877.
the hrst Telegram announcing the failure OF the
crop arrived. to November ., 1873:
Messrs OIyphant Co. (o Cnnal .........SlOS5 $50 10
NJ s,u A. A. Low q Brothers. ........... 2l34 So
Presbyterian BO4Id II Foreign MlsSUns..... 4jlO 81
Am board Of com. For. Missions ........... 29s3 y
Methodist ErIsco pal Board New nork..... l,95S 20
Protestant Episcopal Board, NewYOrk......- lOl SO
Total OF
Besides til sum, other amounts were doubtless sent
by indivi direct, notably by Of tho Chinese
themselves which would increase the total to more
than $4,000 In ALL A good deal OF what handed in
IN tbs various mission societies Was transferred TO
Messrs Oyphant Co.. when the donors wished It to oe
seut by telrgraph These donors all hearty thanks
TO Msssrs Oiyphlnt & Co. and to A. A Low & Bros, for
their unwearied and gratmtOus services in receiving
the sums sent (even down to half dolar) aud an
syering numerous letters, well sending the money
To Shanghai by telegraph free OF all charge The donors
may not all OF them be aware that tho charge for a
telegram Is between 50 and 81 per word aud II they
could also look over tho correspondence which has
resuted TO these merchants aud the secretaries Of tho
mission boards from This agency OF bencyoence they
would better understand what their AID as inter-
mediaries to the cause has worth. Mess g. Oily
phaut g. Co. have published lists OF donations
from time TO time ID the NGwYOrk papers. Steam and
telegrauhy have aldei IN disDuTsng the charities;
tnaL hat was contributed in Michigan In April. for
instance gnt thus be turned Into grain cash In the
province OF Chhh Ia May or June at slight Increase,
TOO, from tine favorable rat OF exchange The largest
donation have heard OF was $1,000 from
lady In Virginia. Not to lengtoen tubs comnu-
ncariOn too much, allow me to say that
this total Of $4,000 docs not apparently include
any sent fr.m san Francisco; but the Chinese
there would certainly do something Tor their starving
couutrymUu, seeing that they contributed $4,000 to