write to your paper giving local items of I very seldom summon up courage to ox rin 351S GENERAL
news, but I really feel I ought to do s0, or the world will be forgetting that there is such a place as "Far C.K." "Your papers, which are just 2 month old when they arrive here, are exceedingly interesting now-a-days; but for weeks and weel nobody has written about our Szechuan matters, or our beloved Pioneer. Where are "our special correspondents," and "our own ditto," I wonder? In the evacuation of ten weeks ago they must have gone down river along with the ninety odd re-Sugees to Ichang, and thence to Shanghai, Japan, Peking, America, or England! Your readers will all know of the Pioneer's splendid passage of 2) days, and after waiting two weeks at Zhang, she came up in more magnificent style through gorges and rapids at high water in 6) days (G0 steaming hours). At only two places did she need help from the shore in the shape of wire hawsers attached to rocky boulders. Thus twice has she made the up-river trip successfully, and right nobly earned her name—Pioneer, 24 31H). Capt. Plant is an excellent navigator, and all his men love him. His wife lives on Voard with us all. Life on board is getting rather slow and this week are putting in our eighth week. Lieut. Chiloott, R.N., and his ten bluejackets are the pride of the port, and you may be sure that now we've got them, we shall retain. them. At our Consul's (Mr. Fraser's) instigation, the boat was ch; tered by our British Government in July, and I hope she will remain until H.M.S. Woodcock or H.M.S. Woodlark relieves her. There is a great deal of talk about our Government buying the Pioneer, that it has offered 25 per cent abore cost for it, dut that the Yangtze Trading Ca. want 50 per cent. Some of us are sorry, as we wish the Government would buy.
You've lost an old resident in Shanghai, Dr. Muirhead. His silvery hair and pleasant face and_manner endeared him to me as soon as I saw him. I remember well who I came to China nearly four years ago him saying to two of my friends and myself: "You have come at an interesting time for China. If it were not that we had come first, things would hare been different. Now'a great sphere of work is open to you." His 51 years' work in China for Christ and His Church is a splendid record.
The only business besides the Customs in this place is that of A. J. Little and Ca. Mr. Little came up with us s veral weeks ago. Ho is very active, and as kind as he can possibly be to all, Chinese and foreign. ers alike, Only the other day a total strang ex said to me: "Mr, Little has many Chinese friends." Mr. Little, while taking riding exercise yesterday, said that he had been in China over forty years. As agent for the Y.T. C. here, and very much interested in coal mines, surveying, establishing Sopling: stations, ete., he has his hands very All you readers will know thnt we have no forgotten the merits of our captain and crow, The former will shortly receive a gold watch and inscription and the officers either a gold ring or small medallion for their disinterested services to refugees The Customs people are not busy. My. Hancock has succeeded Mr. Moorhead as Commissioner. Dr. all is very busy study. ing Chinese. Sunday's native services the city are well attended, but as yet no weekday work has been begun, Our Taotai is to leave for Chengtu to be Provincial Treasurer, and a Manchu is to succeed hi The bungalows in the hills are_untouched, and of course empty. How different from last year! October Chungking is not at all bad. At this time of year these hills ars most cool and healthy. I have been round all our mission houses lots of times—MLE.M., RRMA, ELM, and LMS.—and all are wafe. They are very weird-moking, for the welcome faces one is used to see are there no more. This is a deserted village indeed. The usual custom holding a unit.d_ service (native) once a month in each Mission' chapel has been resumed. They are to be led by native preachers. One had only to give them a hint, and they have taken up the idea of conducting them without foreigner's aid splendidly. Tire anti-foot-binding society's KES meetings are also about to be carried on sine foreigner. The 400 or more missionaries from' Kansu, Tibetan border, Burmese-border, and provinces of Szechuan, Yunnan, Kueichou, ete., are all gone—gane homeless and houseless at call of Consul to Hankow and Shanghai. Such an exodus has never been known, and how it will affect progressive mission work has yet to be seen. In Chungking here, there are nearly 400 converts, F am an optimist and believe that if a "disgraceful peace" is not arranged, that in 2 or 3 years the number will be increased to 4,000. One would like to see China a Christian country.
I want to seea new China, but before this comes we shall have many months' anxious waiting. Wrongdoors must not unpunished. For poor Fleming, who was murdered in Kueichou, no just punishment was awarded, The real culprit was passed over. Did the murderers of Margary got their just deserts? When one aumsup the result of this crisis there are 100 French priests, 100 English missionaries, and 30,000 native converts murdered—a soodly martyr host! The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.
Dr. Jack's interpreter has arrived from Chéngta. Dr. Jack has safely gone throw to Burma, The anti-forei feeling in the capital just now is very bad indeed. Chi nese known to be friendly to foreigners in past dage are having a bad time of it, and fearing banishment, or even worse (decapitation). Suifu, Kiating, Luichi and other large centres' of missionary effort are deserves every praise for his ability and wonderfully quiet. H.E. Pahsien Chang
earnestness in keeping peace and order in Chungking. After the exodus, I hear he personally visited some of our mission houses and the beautiful new L. M. S. Hospital building which he helped to ope! Inst December, and took measurements of the compounds.
Out here there are half-a-dozen fortunes to be made; I cannot imagine our London clerks bending over a fusty desk and writing invoices all day long by gaslight (for London's fogs are coming on) developing phthisis every wel when out here ist as broad a business field and as successful one too, as there is in the whole world. We have pure fresh air too! The only man who is grumbling just now is myself! Life is varied only by a few sores on Chinese stokers and engineers' feet. to be dressed. Three cusses of gunshot wound, broken thigh bone, and large cirbuncles on shore close by are all well. No fever or infectious cases to report; the health of the City is too good for doctors at present. I have therefore time to send you this line.
Word has come that the German steamer is to arrive here in December.
15th October.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.