We have boon favoured with the follow ing interesting extracts from another of Mr. Webster's letters Newchwang, 17th November, 1904.
Dean Clu. Ricnand,—At the request of the Jocal branch of the Red Cross and Refugee Aid Society and by the courtesy of the Japanese nuthoritivs, L recently made a journey theough those parts of the Sinyon, Haichéng, and Kaichou dis. tricts within which the war has been waging during the months of summer. We had been led to believe that thera had been much destruction of crops and houses within this area, and that the people were likely to be in straits during the coming winter. In order to be prepared to assist in the relief of this Gistress it was deemed necessary that representative of the Society should investigate matters on the spot.
I travelled by native cart, making the city Haichéng my starting point, and travelling slowly down in a south-easterly direction towards Siuyen, seeking out the places most affected, going from village to village, walking over the fields trodden down by the troops, viewing the village threshing floors, interviewing the villagers and village elders, and consulting with the various magistrates who to the amount of damage done to the crops, and who courteously placed their information at my disposal. From Siuyen I travelled west to Kaichou (K'xip'ing), thence south to Teblisze and Wafangtien. On my return I rece' permission from Major Yokura to visit Liaoyang and had a conference with Dr. Westwater and the local Chinese officials who have been charged by the Gorernor-General with native relief operations.
Everywhere we wont we found that the crops had been more or less damaged in some places very little, in other places very seriously. As a rule the earlier the ground Bast of Siuyen and south of Shiungyao there has been no great harm done. The worst places within the district visited were between Liaoyang and Kaichou from the railway as far east as a line drawn between Motienling and Siuyen. The greatest damage was done during the months of July and August when the Russian troops were encamping, and active war operations were in progress in those parts. The country is mountainous, the villages were scattered among the glens, remote from large centres of supply, the means of transport most difficult, the cotters most of them poor and hard pressed ut the best of seasons, cultivating in most cases from one to' three acres of land, and eking out a livelihood by the culture of silk, which this your has also been a com. parative failure on account of the war.
I was not able to visit the country districts round about Lisoyang and cannot give nuything more than a general statement of the condition and prospects there, It seems to me that the villages have suffered even more than the Haichéng and Kaichou districts, and that probably double the number will require help of some sort during the winter.
With regard to the districts visited, besides a large number of villages casually visited we investigated the circumstances of over sixty villages, compareid the results with reports furnished by trates of Haichéng, Sinyen and and formed the following conclusions (A) East of Sinyen and south of Shiungyao have suffered no injury, and those districts cull for no help.
(2) In the Kaichou and Haichéug districts 300 villages have been affected, involving 8.400 families, of something like 50,000 individuals.
(3) About two-thirds of these have some margin to fill upon, and will not require immediate consideration jets are in extromis moist be assisted through the winter.
The districts of Liaoyang and Mukiden are of course not included in this statement.
The harvest throughout Manchuria has been very go oil. In the western plain unaffected by war, and in the great grain producing regions of the north the crops have been above the average. There is ample grain, fodder, and fuel in the country to supply the wants of the people under normal conditions. Bat it conoy be got at. The transport machine has been dislocated. stopped. The war has closed the door of the northern granaries so that not an ounce of grain has been coming down for months, nor need we expect any assistance fern the abundance of the north to meet the exigencies of the south, xt least for many months to come. Further, the cost of transport, even where had their own sources of information as the country is peaceable and free, hss, through the war, risen to treble the 1 normal rate, and notwithstanding the abundance of harvest, in many places, and those the m st needy, grain, fodder, ud fuel are at famine prices.
In order to relieve the pressure and succour the really destitute the Committee here propose the following (1) The Governor-General to establish grain depots at various points throughout the affected area where grain can be sold to the po t normal rates.
(2) The Society to charge itself to eve those in deepest poverty, giving them tickets for grain on the Government depots, which will be afterwards redeemed if necessary.
trust these proposals will meet with the approval of the Committee in Shanghai.
Tam, yours faithfully,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.