The Rev. J. B. Ost returned to Hongkong on the 4th inst. to buy rice intending to leave again for Cxnton next evening. The information he gathered while in Canton shows that the extent of the calamity is even greater than was at first supposed, and that at various districts along the river as far as Yunnan floods have occurred, sweeping away villages and all the belongings of the people, who will require supplies not only of foud and clothing but also of implements to enable them agricultural operations, been received from th more distant districts; all that is known is that large stretches of country have been inundated and the population drowned or rendered destitute. Shekkau, @ market town on the North-west River, which had a population of 4,000, has been completely swept away. On the North River great destruction to property has been wrought at Sh and Ho Pau Asan instance of the way in which almost whole families have been carried off Mr. Ost mentions that one old man, over eighty years of age, who was picked up by a parsing wood boat, was the only survivor out of a family of eleven.
On his arrival at Canton Mr. Ost consulted with the other missionaries, and found that the Rev. T. W. Pearce, of the London Mission, Rev. J. Grundy, of the Church of Kuglaud Mission, and Rev, B.
Z. Simmons, of the American Baptist Mis-were willing to help i tending the distribution At a subsequent deo'ded to form two part party, consisting of Rev. 'T. W" Pearce and Rev. E. Z. Simmons, to go up the North River with relief for the Sam-shui and Tseng Un districts; and the second party, consistug of Rev. J. Grundy and another to go up the West River with relief for the Sz Ni, Kwong Wai Shap districts. Exch will take in the first i i rics and 13,3331bs. of Mr. Jotun Pitman has kindly promised the use of two steam Iauuches and two yachts for carrying burps Two native medical students who have studied at Dr. Kerr's Hospital will accompany the expedition: Mr. Ost proposes accompanying party No. 2 up the North-west River, and after ming the amount of the distress he to Sam Shui and go up the North River to join party No.1. After he will proceed to the more distant districts up the West River. The Acting Consul at Canton, Me. Cockburn, has pro: mised to aid in every way in his power, The Oi Yuk Tong of Canton had collected up to the 3rd inataut $36,00, and the foreign community at 513. These ims bring the total up to nearly $70,0U0,—Daily Press.
Sumo further particulars have come to hand with respect to the disastrous floods valley of the Canton River, though yet the information on the subject is Still thoro are sufficient detnila to hat the extent of the calamity has beau by no means overst Ele Inrge districts have been flooded, but from only one of those that anything of a return of the extent of the fouds and their effects has been received. This account has been sent by the Po Wan Kok of Fa Yun, and it gives some description of the floods upon the Sam Shap Luk Heung district, or the district of the thirty-six villages, thirty-no I ty-eight have boon completely swept away, mor than 2,000 shops or houses have bee utterly destroyed, and over 50,000 people have been rendered homeless, for the majority of whom there is no prospect but starvation except from the help that may be extended to them from those whos charity has prompted them to go to their This is only one district out not wed one, but ther cts of more terribly. The gi district of Wai Chap, betwoon Kwangsi and Kwangtuny, but we have can give no figures, Whether given from the Sam Shap Luk district may be taken us an average of the rest we ro unable to say, but we b that they will not_be found groutly above the average, and if they ure where approx ily sce what an immense amount of misery there is to alleviate. As to the nunie ber of perso who have lost their live we can at pr give no figures, but it is perfectly certain it must be terribly heavy.
In the Wai Chap district persons who fave been there report having a ber of trees full of corpse people hind taken to the tr affording the highest refuge from the rising ud us the water rose up, they were to the higher branches, where they ut falling. The rush of the water carried a groat number of these trees away, and now that the water has fallen somewhat they can be seen fall of dead bodies. It is feared, however, that a great many more will perish from starvation than have died from drowning. Thera romany places which thorelief parties were, up to last advices, unable to reach on
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.