Oct. 31.
As already announced, a mass meeting in the Town Hall has been called for this afternoon in connexion with the work of the Central China Famine Relief Committee, and it is earnestly to be hoped that the meeting will be fully attended. Frankly it must be admitted that the moment is not auspicious for appeals on behalf of the famine district. For that very reason there is the greater urgency that something effective should be done. Revolutions wax and wane. The certainty of the famine grows daily more menacing; and with it the prospect of disorders and lawlessness. The actual state of affairs in the famine district is fairly depicted in Mr. C. D. Jameson's report, appearing to-day on another page, to which we draw special attention. Since first the Yangtze began to rise, there has been sufficient time to take stock of the demands of the case. The result has been that some of the first reports have bad to be discounted. But with all due allowance for the somewhat natural exaggeration of early accounts, there remains a residuum of solid misery certainly as creat as was known in the year 1907, probably greater in view of the fact that there has since been only one really good crop, namely in 1908. According to the information collected by the Committee, the number of those who will be dependent during the coming winter upon charity,—or it might more accurately be said outside assistance, as charity implies mere donation, which is no part of the Committes's scheme,—is two and three-quarter millions. Of these, roughly speaking, one and a quarter millions are found in North Kiangsu, another million in Central and North Anhui, about 700,000 in Kiangsi and the remainder in Central Kiangsu, Hnupeh, Hunao and Shantung. These figures take no account of floods in the South, some of which 271 will be followed by famine, but over restricted areas.
Unfortunately for the Committee's undertaking, the cause of famine relief has unquestionably been discredited in the eyes of the general public. Complaint is made that the relief administered is purely eleemosynary, that no work was demanded in return, that recipients were demoralized and that the countryside was left no better off, as regards protection against floods, than before. Worse still is the common belief that at least a large percentage of the money went into pockets for which it was never meant, a belief that was naturally augmented by the very regrettable decision of the old Commnitwee to hush up suck cases of peculation as they were called upon to investigate. It is necessary to state the case thus plainly in order to accent tate the contrast between past and present methods. Apart from the constitution of the new Committee, which has been carefully framed so as to secure absolute Chinese cooperation at every step, certain guiding principles have been laid down and will be followed rigorously. OE these the first is that relief shall only be administered in return for work done. Exceptions there must be, among those incapable of work, but those exceptions will be kept down to the strict minimum. To attempt any large scheme of conservancy would obviously be beyond the utmost means that the Committee can hope to command. Mr. Jameson's report, how: clearly shows, there is much that can be done for the permanent benefit of certain restricted areas, particularly in the Hwai River valley. Whatever is there undertaken will be carried out in such wise as to fit in with any larger scheme of conservancy ultimately to be put in band. Each district will be in charge of a local international committee ratified by the Central Committee, and an elaborate system of checks has been devised to prevent unauthorized expenditure and still more unauthorized mis-propriations, Finally, the Committee will direct its attention specially to the prevention of cornering of grain by wealthy members of the gentry, who are believed to have made large sums of money by this means in Wahu and North Kiangsa during the past year. These operations are illegal. The Committee will make it their business to see that the law is respected.
Appeals to sentiment are unstable and transient in effect, The ideal for all famine relief work in futare\is (hie! lapped to! business.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.