The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-08-31
INDIA A STRICKEN LAND
REV. IT. M LAWSON VIVIDJY POE-
 TRAYS ITS MANY ILLS.


 anity and Decay of Hinduism Money
 Greatly yNeeded-speaker a Yale Alumnus
 At the First M. E. church of this city Rev. Harvey M. Lawson, who has recently returned from India, addressed rather small audience last night on India and it's condition. Rev. MT. Law son is no stranger in New Haven, being a graduate of Yale Divinity school in
 the class of '93. He found his wife in this city, too. MT Lawson said: On account of it's great calamities India is attracting the attention of the whole world. First. the plague broke out in Bombay last September and swept away tens of thousands of peo- pie. Then the famine came on and has extended over three-fourths of the land, so that again thousands are dying from starvation at the present time. Nor Is that all Recently there was a great earthquake in the northeastern | provinces, Asan and Bengal, which de- stroyed much property and many lives.
 And then recently there has been talk | ing place an uprising of native tribes 1 along the northern frontier.
 "The present religious condition of | India is that of transition, a change on account of the influence of western | civilization, which has worked a diff | ference in the thought and life of all l classes. Education is potent factor | in this, as the upper castes are anxious
 to get into the government service. In
 that way they become acquainted with | Christianity and unconsciously adopt
 many Christian ideas. The thoughtful 1 ones among them see that Hinduism | has become corrupt, and the realization l of that has brought out many relig ious reformers, who are seeking to ex-
 punge the idolatry and superstition of
 Hinduism so that it will be a rival for | Christianity and so that 1t will hold the
 minds of the people And the observ- l ing among them see that Christianity
 is making vast progress and that Hin l duism is waning.
 | The Bubonic plague is the same
 thing as the black plague that devas-
 tated London about POO years ago. It | is the same thing that ravaged Mar
 seilles, and only three years ago deci- l mated Hong Kong In the latter place | was to burn large sections of the city The plague broke out last September I and the people became very much frightened and left the city in great
 crowds, and the railways were forced to run extra trains. Many of the 1 refugees had the germs of the plague before they left and died on the rail- | way trains, and others carried the l ,,1o to nin l tunately it did not spread very much
 outside Bombay. Last December more | than half the people of that city had | left on that account On the other hand amid all this flight there were
 two classes of people who stuck to | their posts-the Europeans and the na- | tive Christians. They showed great l courage and high sense of duty.
 "The ravages of the famine are even more terrible than the plague, because l it extends oyer a greater extent of country. It Is due to the failure of
 rain during the last monsoon. I left
 the country in February and as early
 as that there was a great deal of suf- l fering and starvation among the poor | people. Thousands were leaving their | homes and f1ocking to the government
 relief works, where they break stone
 for roads, or dig out railway excava-
 tions or canals Measured in our
 money their daily wages would be four ! cents for men, three cents for women I and one or two cents for children That
 is barely enough to get something to eat. Back in the provinces is the great
 est suffering, as they are far away from
 the relief works and they are very loath to leave their homes Many stay un- | til they see they will die if they re-
 main longer, and not few of these
 are so weak that they die by the road
 side on the way to the relief works l Their bodies are then the prey of | jackals
 | "The government is doing as much I as it can to relieve the suffering of the l famine. The greatest hindrance is the | fragrant corruption of the Brahmin off, l cials who are in charge of the works 1 They extort bribes-part of the meagre l wages-whenever the European over
 seers are not around. It is, therefore,
 well to send your relief to the mission l aries direct, as they know the needy people and can speedily deliver relief l to those who are starving.
 | Many parents are abandoning their children and the missionaries pick them
 up and put them into orphanages Very often the children are so emaciated that | they die from starvation even with the | best of care. A great many girls are
 sold by their parents to life of shame,
 but the missionaries are doing all they
 can to rescue such girls.
 1 "The famine will continue for several months to come because the rains did
 not come on regularly this year either, SO that the first crop which should have 1 been harvested this September was a | failure, There will be no large crop
 until next February. And as large | numbers of the cattle have died and 1 the farmers have no oxen with which i to blow the ground, and as much of their tools and implements have been i sold to get food, and as they have no | seed, you can readily see that there
 will be great suffering even after rain l comes.
 | 'There is, therefore, great need for
 all the contributions that can be sent 1 from America. I shall be very glad to
 receive any and all subscriptions you
 may be willing to make, and I will
 see that your offering is sent directly to the missionaries, who know where 1 the most relief is needed
 1 Mir addraSs fOr few