Mr. Muirhead writes us that letters from the famine field report the great sutisfaction of the distributors on account of the large amount granted by the Famine Relief Committee for their work. Dr. Ne-yins says; "Very interesting and urgent letters have just come from the field, extracts from which will shortly be forwarded. The is going on satisfactorily, but the cease from' the long continued cry,—''Send us more money." The distress is certainly appalling and no one who lives in the midst of it can be blamed for exerting himself to the utmost to relieve it."
The following letter from Chinan details the work going on there Chinanfa, 1st March.
Deak Mx. Murueap,—Mr. Bergen having been called to Chefoo left in my hands the sum of Tls. 350.71, for distribution in the district of Chi Yang, 120 li N.E. of this city. I returned from that region last Tuesday, February 26th, and desire to report to you the accomplishment of the undertaking.
The ground covered by the distribution is ten ft long and about live Li wide, lying partly inside and partly outside of the outer embankment of the river upon the northern or left bank. The roll which was carefully prepared by a few native Christians from personal inspection embraced the most needy persons in twenty-one villages, most of them small, but several of them having upwards of one hundred families. We gave to each family at the rate of child, and we usually cut down in making out the roll the number of "mouths" actually belonging to each family according as circumstances suggested.
T went in person to each village to superintend the distribution of the cheques upon the native bank (we handled no copper cash except a few thousand, which were used to disperse the crowds of gars about the door), and I identified al the names upon the roll, in many cases entering the houses to see for myself the actual state of the case. The distribution was perhaps somewhat harder in this case than in that of the last sum disbursed there by Mr. Bergen, owing to the fact that the report had gotten abroad that the foreigners were distributing funds there. I stop ped in the village of Tan Chia Miao with one of our Christians, in the absence of an inn, On Saturday afternoon the crowd about the door was so dense and importunate that we were virtually prisoners in our room all that evening and Sabbath. We managed to relieve the pressure by the occasional distribution of small sums of cash, We did not dare to give frequently or largely.
The condition of the people is truly pitiable but not quite so bad as that of the district 25 li further east, of which Mr. Bergen has just sent yeu some account. ff the Tls. 1,500 for which I telegraphed to the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank arrive, as I expect, by the next mail messenger, I shall go to that region as sven as practicable, Meanwhile I want to make a short itinerating trip. When I return I want to go first to the district 50 li west of the city which Mr. Bergen has mentioned and then, as above intimated, to Ch'i Tung and vicinity.
The public distribution of cooked millet in the suburbs stops to-day which will render the case more hopeless than e 0: relieving feature is that the begin to sprout soon!" It is hard on one's sympathies to go amongst these starving people and have them grovel at one's feet and hold frantically to the wheelbarrow, but one has to learn to steel himself and be as just as he can. It isa blessed work and those who send the means will not go with out their reward, Iam, Yours sincerely, Wa. P. Cuatranr.
P.S,—As you may gather from the Copper Cash Account the whole number of persons helped was Adults 846
Children 367
1,213 This does not include numerous cases to which a hundred or two hundred cash were given, but only those who were substantially helped at the regular rate, Miscellaneous,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.