Bisbee daily review., 1911-11-05

to great misery by the floods. Now in August the fields are covered with water, and the scanty harvest upon which the natives rely will certainly be insufficient to give them food for twelvemontb." The misery depict ed by Father Mullin is by no means confined 10 the district Of Hankow where he is located. The Rev Adol- phus Patuel, whose mission is in the heart Of Annam, writes in part as follows.
 My territory extends fifty miles east and west in the province of Thanh Hoa, Annam, French lndo- China, and includes three districts. Ke Lang. Muc Son and Mi Dieu. With the exception Of several villages of FNIngs or Laossians, who inhabit the mountains, my people are An namites. Each parish includes about fifteen or twenty villages and about four thousasnd parisioners. Although try 10 celebrate Mass in the chief villages by turn. the people have to make a journey of seven or eight hours afoot in order to assist al the Holy Sacrifice on Sunday The Ca tholics of this region suffered great ly in the prosecutions of 1874 and 1883. The apostle of Christ is ac- customed to priyations, fatigues, scant and poor food, uncomfortable surroundings. He exists under all kinds of unfavorable conditions and endures the ills brought on by the iampness of his poor hut with little complaint, although in the end he may succumb to them. But he is saddened when forced by circum. stances to offer the Mass in one of these wretched cablHs, built iB the native manner ] have no better chapel at any Of the stations in my district The best of these edi6ces is worth perhaps. about forty dol lars. From this value the scale des- cends At Lang Khach the chapel IS merely a shelter constructed of branches cut from the ueighboring trees. Such chapels last but a short time. Every few months it is nec- essary to build new one. Even the church at the mission headquarters is greatly in need of repair and it is not in fit condition for the reser- vation Of the Blessed Sacrament. The roof leaks, and during the rains we have to put a rude canopy over the altar My people are eager 10 build a new church. They offer to give their labor on it without charge, and 70 draw building materials. stone, wood, sand. etc. 10 the site. free.
 Conditions are somewhat better in Chen-Si, where Christianity was preached as early as l640, but the neophyjes Of that time were subject to cruel prosecutions. Perhaps it vas the patience under trial and the sufferings of these first Christians that obtained from God for the Chi nese Catholics of the present age the freedom in religious matters that they now enjoy The North Chen-Si mission at present numbers twenty four thousand baptized Catholics and seven thousand catechumens among a population of seven million pagans About forty missionaries, half Of the number being Franciscan and the re- mainder native priests. minister 10 rhe parishioners of one hundred and sixty-fye churches, or chapels, scat tered over this extensive vicariate apostolic The mission has semin- aTy where sixteen students are studying for the sacred ministry, and a preparatory seminary with twenty pupils Fifteen Franciscan Mission aTy Sisters of Mary have charge Of orphanages. established in the three principal cities of the province.
 Sister Xavier, a member of the old Berkeley family of England. and Sister Fielding. (sister Of Lady Field ing and also Of England). have given many years of devoted service 10 the Chinese mission. Sister Xavier. once accustomed 10 all the pleas ures and cOnveniences of London life. writes interesting descriptions Of conditions in the island of Gnu san. of the Chinese coast. where she was recently sent to replace sister who had succumbed to typhoid fever.
 WouiS Tr-eh p.r.nfb-.d