Dear Siz,—I have just retuned from a visit to' our Mission Stations on the border of North Shantung, and regret to say that I find the distress of the people in that region very great. This is the third year of famine with them, and but for the relief afforded them last year their sufferings would have been much greater than they are. I am prepared to give the Relief Committee in Tientsin some facts, if they desire me to do so, on which I base my application to you, as Chairman of that Committee, for a /portion of your Funds to be given for the relief of this afflicted region. I am going out again in a short time, and should be glad to take charge of the distribution of any sum the Committee may place in my hands for the purpose. The districts particularly affected' this _year are the si jons of Lao-ling, Teu-ping and Ling-hsien.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.