Year: 1877




THE DEAD ALREADY NUMBERED BY
MILLIONS,


London Times,


The famine which our Shanghai


correspondent's letter describes this


morning is Q disaster OF woefui magni-


tude. IT extends over Q very wide re-
the population by thousands, and there


is no near hope that Its ravages Will
soon be over. Through the north and


neighborhood Of the Imperial city and
yond the line Of the Great Wall which
shuts or China from the Western
world outside, the terrible visitation
extends. The suffering, we are told,
is beyond description. In addition to
the multitude who have already per-
ished under II, there is the larger mum.
ber Of those who are just managing to
keep alive, and from whose exhausted
ranks fresh victims are continually add
ed to the dismal roll. Anything that
will allay hunger is eagerly sought
after, no matter how uninviting or
unfit to be used as food. The rot
ten thatch Of the houses and dried
leaves that serve generally for fuel are
not now neglected as nauseous or un-
satisfying, and lucky indeed Is the
man who can get q full supply even OF
these. The eGovernment IL making the
semblance OF an effort to relieve the
widespread misery: but the means II
employs are wholly inadequate. An
expression ofverbal sympathy, o grant
of money which allows about q fRrth-
ing day for the relief Of each case of
distress, and some well meant but mis-
taken edicts, which have had the effect
of simply making matters worse than
before, are the measure Of the assistance
which the Chinese rulers can bestow.
The famine proceeds In spite Of them,
and matters are rendered worse by the
intense cold which was prevailing at
the date of our correspondents letter,
and by the snow which lay 30 deep as
to prevent the people from picking up
any Of the wild produce Of the soil. AS
summer advances and as the weeds be-
gin to grow and the trees to be covered
with foliage, there may be o change
expected for the. better. Meanwhile
there isno remedy to be found, except
In the readiness of the people to do any
thing and submit to anything that
will furnish them with the bare means
OF supporting life, and In the willing
but Insufficient relief fund which Is
subscribed among the foreigners resi-
dent In China and distributed by the
Protestant missionaries In the North.
THE cause Of the famine Ia the same
as that from which India Is now suf-
fering. The crops Of last summer were,
we are told, almost entirely destroyed
by drought, and the peasantry have
now come to an end of their slender
reserves Of grain, and have nothing
left on which they can fall back for
support. China is country in which
at the best Of times the population
presses very closely upon the means of
subsistence. There are no waste stores
anywhere. Everything is already
turned to account, and when the ne
cessity comes there Is little room for
any further saving or reduction. Land
and water are alike taxed to the utter
most to furnish food and dwelling
space for the ,teeming multitudes
which cover them. The Chinese are
hard workers, contented with slender
fare, and able to put up comfortably
with q general scale of living which
would be simply intolerable to Eng
lishmen. These qualities and habits,
which turn to their advantage abroad
when they are brought into competi-
ton with other races, are a source of
danger to them at home. The Chinese
can undersell the Irish immigrant and
the native white trash" In the distant
labor markets of California. They
cannot be equally sure that they will
obtain the poor pittance with which
they will be satisfied in China. In
ordinary seasons they can pull through
well enough, and can thrive and think
themselves well Off on the slender ma
terial supplies with which they have
learned To be content. But when the
pinch comes. as come II must some
times when the parched earth will no
longer yield Its accustomed increase, or
when the store of food for any reason
begins to fail. the suffering Is speedy
and severe. 1t Is q question then, not
of the surrender of luxuries which can
at any rate be spared, but Of the want
ofbare necessities W h.ch II Is impossible
to foregO and to live. To the great
Eastern hive, thickiy swarming with
its uncounted millions OF inhabitants,
the chance Of famine Is never far dis
tant, and the worst reality of famine
arrives very easily. 1t is present
among them now, and 1t is fearful to
think of the intense and widespr ad
misery which It will bring with 1t To-
fore It has run Its course. There Is the
hope. our correspondent writes, ofgood
crops In the coming season for those
who survive. The snow. which does
much to aggravate the present distress,
Is at least security against the recur-
renee Of another drought. But he
holds out no early hope Of relief. When
summer comes ali will be well for
those who are alive to witness 1t. and
to enjoy the plenty which Ii In pros.
pect for them. Meanwhile, In the
dreary weeks which, will remain the
suffering Is growing worse daily. The
people have been driven already to
their last resources, and these have
proved to be insufficient. The total loss
IL Ia not easy to estimate. We hear Of
villages Of 500 families with 800 report
ed as dead from starvation. This, or
something like II, appears to be the
actual condition of some 5000 villages,
and there are others besides In which
the pressure Is less extreme, but still
terribly severe. The numbers Of the
dead, It Is clear, must be. already reck-
oned by millions, but we can hazard
no conjecture as to the total which
will have been reached before the NJ.
turn Of summer. n. nt ,,.s


When Men are at their Best.