The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-03-24

are afflicted with "A famine, ~hlcA thica'ono
IN carry off millions ot them, is eothel"'ne
To act the western nations 10 ihinh'nR W.
ornastiy whether. after all their efforts 20
onan that vast empire to their trade, they
have not committed grave o!uhuer' ~
takes long time and severe pouhuins :"
beat down popular delusion aiter ~ nas
become chronic. AT the beglbhin9 vi tno
career of Warren Hastings IN India IL was
the common belief in EnS'ano that inu"
was according to it's extent and populAtion'
the richest country under the sun. IA, t
aces of porphyry, heaps of pearls ana uia
monde, vaults from which gold WAS nehs-
nred ont by the bushel, filled the magma
tion of even the bnslncss men oi h. .h,t
Macaulay tells us but he aods that, III
fact. "Irdia was poorer country than
countries which in Europe are Teckoneo
poor-poorer, for instance, thah iIei"Eu vi
Portugal" Through the visionary apeechos
of American Statesmen like Betton anu
Seward, a like error N REGARD I" w
houndless resources and wealth OF emma
has obtained popularity IN tho oni'en
states 1t ia called the "FiOwery Land"
-+Ae"EarthlY pAradls0,n Gnd the !GnoIaGt
are trained to believe that Its four huna' 90
millions arc ats rich in p:nportic II ah lue nix
millions of Belgium or ;ae 't'Tty s"Vtn
millions of France; and that TO pecoh"
shsrers in their wealth We have oliy TO
omen the GolGeu Gate and let thea IN 10y
the million This is all Lriuslon. Inc
fact is that no ha'f civilized people oi
ancient or modern times were poorer thsn
those Of India aud China. The Japanese
Times. of the 26.h of January last, declares
that the vast empire of China has been
utterly ruined hy the Wholesale destruction
of its forests and the consequent impoVer-
ishment of the soil and loss of rail- supply.
They average ak bad years out OF "'ght
for CROPS. Famine afaicts those who stay
in the country and greater famine tho mil
chances in the overcrowded cities. The
beasts OF burden and the aeed cora are eaten
mn TO postpone tho day of inevitable
starvation, and "whole provinces have OF
late years relapsed into the sandy wast"s.
Tho same paper adds that There ls no
money in China for any other purpose than
those of her own dire necesa'ty.' lie
Shanghai bankers and the Canton ner
chants are constantly becoming poorrf-
''are poorer now than they have been foI
gencTatlUns.'
Thcso sta'emo2ts, coming as t-"y 90
from the uciE Euboring country of Japan, are
entitled To- cTo'cncr. They utterly d,sp|
the cid and popular delnsion about I'll
Great Importance to the United States O
the China trade. 1t is probably worth o.
much 10 us now as IT over Will he, ana tina
is less than tie value OF the lard auu butt"i
weanuualy so'l to Eng'nud-less than th'
one eighth of our average yearly whva
Referring 10 the present condition of tn
northern provinces OF China, the Sau Francisc
Chronicle publishes the following extract from
n letter received by gentleman in that Gil!
from q friend in Shanghai:
The great question VII ch at present aEtGt@
the Flonery Kingdom Is the famine at III
North. For four years pasS q pArt OF Tour q
Chinas Northern ptovincrs has yielded eithe
a small CEnn or n4me at all. One year ago IN
,,tt a II n y
moor pcuplC, who aCr worse "a IL an slaves
at thaJtime about SO Geo was rn.-ed by t"relE'
pomm rnulus IL the opcn "nrtB and for" .Td"t
to dishuls!nE agents. ;. lao InHdo good USE u
the money Inns Arnr tue ftmIUo 10 stl'
worss. Over county that embraces p"t'u
lation Of some fifteen lntii"us of pH"p'e, niso
late dc Cs,itutior prevails Psop!" are actual
eating each other. Babies are CUT up aud sol!
by the pound. There seems to he 20 remedy
The Chinose authorities are dong someihlnE
but it is only drop in The bucket. The forelH
community nave elected Cauvassing commli
toes and the subscriptions Will be up III tG
thousarde; how much 1t is impossible to sa,
From last years experience 1t IL eshmate
that life can be saved for abont 81 ~, 4
that all that cAn be done will save only fe'
out of the millions. lu the Central province
there is an abundance of rice This is bei:i
shipped to the suffering districts, bnt It tak'
q month to reach them. 1t costs nearly thrt
:mes the prico of tho rice to carry 1t to /
destination-no railroads, no canals, not eve
carriage. road. Within the past fifteen yea
enough on forti6oationS, ships, improve
arms and ammunition to have bnilt = roi
from Shanghai to Pekin, with branches lea
ing through the famine districts. The shi
are useless; so are the forthcstIont; they bo
serve only tor an excuse to pay fat salaries
lazy officials. The arms and ammunition u
stored away, rustinG ~ as to be worthless,
Chiua's millions are starving. Chinese ohicli
do not want to change the order OF thln
Why should they The merchants a. d trad
men desire it, but they have very little I" Z
in the matter. If am rightly informed, w
all their government workshops aud arseuG
there has never beon an agricultural tool
implement made. Cans, toTpedoes, shlps, q
seem to be their end aud AIN. The oih:
class grow richer and richer each year and
lower classes poorer aud poorer. No won
that such numbers are wiling to go to
Pacific copst, where, in "A few years they
earn life competence aud lie down and
in their own land with the millions taken II
the poor lahoriug clssseS in our own count
What kind OF people is 1t who regard "
cool nonchAlAuce their neghbors devour
their own children 7 We're you to ask til
to explain their strange apathy they would
doubt give the regular Chinese shake of
head and cay, q" Me no sAbe."