The "Eastern Times" published on Wednesday a letter written by a Miss Chang Fan, a Chinese young lady, who appeals to her countrymen most pathetically to rouse themselves to the peril threatening their existence as an independent nation and who was going to drown herself in the Woosung River in order to awaken citizens from their state of apathy.
She wrote that she was nineteen years of age, but had already tasted the full bitterness of life. She had only kept on living so far, because of her desire to find some means of salvation for her country from its critical situation. The change of form of Government filled her with many fond hopes; but after three years of Republican Government, troubles loomed ahead in the interior as well as on account of foreign aggressiveness. Upon the outbreak of the war in Europe, Japan seized the opportunity to invade Shantung and press on her country many unreasonable demands to the great indignation of every Chinese citizen. She laid stress upon her belief that foreign! aggressiveness could never destroy enation, the only danger being the 699 apathy on the part of the people themselves.
Then she gave a resume of the condition of China, the corruption of her officialdom, the morality and philosophy of her people, the state of her industry and commerce, and the backwardness in her educational policy, obtaining during the last several decades, all of which she believed to have contributed to the deterioration of the grand old country, consummating in her present weakness. She lamented very much the utter indifference now shown by most of even the best class of peo: ple, who usually preferred to remain in obscurity than to come forward and render a helping hand in the service of their country. She said that however strong and competent their Government might be in suppressing internal disturbances, it could hardly withstand foreign aggression unless the people could be relied upon to form its backbone. She was herself a citizen, so she would not regard herself as being inferior to or less responsible than any other citizen. She had neither uncles nor brothers, but she had a mother living, and this fact had restrained her in the execution of her wish to die for her country.
Recently, her mother died. Now that she had mourned and_ buried her, she felt no more scruple about dying. She deplored her own help: lessness, being only a lonely, weak girl. But she would emulate the example of an ancient patriot who drowned himself in the River Kuolo because of the destruction of his country. She would tie a stone to her person and jump into water outside the Woosung Entrance, with the hope of wakening up her countrymen by her suicide. She exhorted the brethren and sisters of the Republic to take up some active part in the education of the coming generation, with the chief object of reviving the valiant heart of the people which appeared to be dying rapidly. She disclaimed any desire for notoriety, as, she observed, even her person would be no more, why should she want fame? She subseribed "Written with the last breath of Chang Fan (UMP), March 2.""
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.