Jan. 10.
Since the ''North China Daily News" first began to collect money for St. Dunstan's Hostel for Blind Soldiers and Sailors, now about five and a half years ago, it has sent home £21,000. And by the list of subscriptions published to-day, it will be seen that we are well on the wzy to another thousand. This result has been obtained without any special prompting on our part. Occasional reports of St. Dunstan's work and the letters of Sir Arthur Pearson thanking our readers for their gifts have been ample to keep the fund going. For from the moment of the first d only appeal being Jaunched, Shanghai has clearly regarded St. Dunstan's Hostel as its own special charge. No form of human suffering 1 '0 strong a claim on compassion as blindness. And when a man has lost his sight in defence of his country there is a double reason for helping him. Lastly, when it is realized that, by such an institution as St. Dunstan's, men may be rescued from utter dejection and helplessness and after a few months' training can go forth to earn a good living, as artisans, farmers, poultry keepers and even in responsible: his particular corner of the smok-secretarial posts and the learned professions, it is universally felt that here indeed is an institution which, however bad times may be, must never want. And so the money rolled steadily in to this office and if anyone had some spare dollars to give away, his first thought seems usually to have been to send them to us for St. Dunstan's.
A few personal recollections of the Jate Sir Arthur Pearson, St. Dunstan's founder, may be of interest. The present writer met him just three years ago, on the voyage from New York to Liverpool and Sir Arthur at once began asking questions about Shanghai. There was no place outside Great Britain, he said, which had sent the Hostel so much money, ''and'', he continued, ''as your drafts kept coming in for thousand after thousand we all asked each other at St.
Dunstan's What is this place Shanghai? Are they all millionaires out there?'' Sir Arthur Pearson did not quite share the delusions of some good people at Home, who are privately convinced that Shanghai lives in wattled huts, subsists entirely on tinned foods and not improbably goes about attired chiefly in woad. But the activities of a busy life had never drawn his attention very far east of Suez and he frankly confessed his ignorance. It was, perhaps, one of the seerets of his success that he was quite ready to do this, as also that he showed himself a keen and pertinacious questioner. And those who have tried to explain to Western hearers the unique and peculiarly intricate constitution of the Model Settlement will, perhaps, sympathize with the writer under that. cross-examination.
Withal, Sir Arthur was extremely good company. Tall and well built, he was, despite his blindness, remarkably active and daily, on his secretary's arm, walked miles round the Baltic's decks, at a great rate. A very decided personality, plainly accustomed to command, he was none the less sympathetic, genial and intuitive. Someone on board said that he occasionally suffered from fits of depression. If he did, it would be nothing wonderful. But this is the sort of gossip which readily gets about on board ship, and there was certainly never the least trace of it in his manner.
Indeed Sir Arthur appeared invariably alert and cheerful, and
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.