The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-06-30
PRIVATE CHARITY NEEDED.
Lord Hamilton Writes Of India's
Famine.
Vast opportunitie. to Aid the Starving

The following Is from letter Of Lord
George Hamilton, Secretary for India,
addressed to Ambassador Choate, and by
him forwarded to William +. Dodge.
Chairman of the Committee Of One Hun
dred on India Famine Relief. The letter
bears the date of the India office, Lon
don, June 49, and says:
1.-The Government of India has under
taken for years past the general obliga-
ton Of keeping the people alive when at
tackled by famine or scarcity OF food.
This task can only be performed whole
sale. At the present moment there are
nearly 5000. 900 persons SO maintained,
who are located In camps and put upon
works of utility when capable of work;
otherwise they are supported In poor
houses and hospitals. So far as the ex
penditure upon the system OF wholesale
relief Is concerned there Is no lack of
funds at present, and should (Which Is
improbable) the financial resources Of the
Government of India prove hereafter in
sufficient for these purposes, the Imperial
Treasury would come to their assistance.
"But outside the defined sphere Of gov
eminent operations there Is vast field
open to charity and private benevoience.
From the very magnitude OF the opera
tions of the government, discrimination
as to the special wants of individuals Is
almost impossible. During the last few
weeks the famine camps have in certain
districts been attacked by u virulent form
of cholera and smallpox, and this combi-
nation of disease and famine SO aggra-
Yates the situation as to battle the SUI
preme efforts of the government in its en-
deavors to mitigate suffering and save
life.
1T may be said without exaggeration
that the condition now existing, and the
scale on which Government relief Is found
to be necessary, are in themselves the
strongest proof of the need for charitable
effort to supplement-, both In money and
by personal service, the work of the gov
eminent. There Is the very large class of
those-both men and women-who for
reasons of caste or from self-respect, will
submit to any privation rather than ex-
pose themselves to the inevitable publici-
ty attending the receipt Of government
relief. There are also the cases Of the old
and infirm, of patients In hospitals, of
children and orphans with which 1t is
specially difficult to deal officially. In
this connection 1t should be remembered
charity are administered by district CON-
mittees, working In each locality. in
which the non official element largely
predominates, and II is, l think, obvious
that this non -official element makes the
committees more effective agency than
any purely official one could be for deal
ing with the multifarious want OF indi.
vidual sufferers.
II therefore trust that the Committee
Of One Hundred will in no way relax Its
efforts. Every subscriber In the United
States may be certain that the money he
gives will not be wasted c. tend to reduce
government expenditure, but that 1t will
relieve cases of Individual distress lying
outside the field of the operations OF the
government, which would thus, but for
his generosity, remain uncared for. In
conclusion would beg to be allowed to
take this opportunity of expressing my
appreciation of and gratitude for the
sympathy and generosity shown by the
people of the United States with Ind in
In the present crisis"