Peking, Apr. 2.
After_an absence from China of jabour five years, I have just returned to 'Peking from "visiting certain parts of North Honan. Starting from Peking about ten days ago, L-went as far as Weihueifu, on the' Peking-Hankow Railway, and then west on the Taokow-Chinghua ood [Railway as far as Hualkingsu. Some. remarks about travel conditions may be of general interest, There are now four express trains "each way every week from, Peking to Hankow. At present, the trains are running very nearly on time, and the schedule is a little slower than that of five years ago. The sleeping-cars are about as they used to be, and some of the old ing-cars are still in use. south, there was only a very dirty third-class dining-car available, bat ithe meals were well cooked. Table-men was dirty, but the food was fairly good and the service was Comparing things with better years and much worse years in the ast, {think there is Imuch cause for satisfaction with express, travel on this line. There are, in daily, passenger trains, which are fringing malls through regularly and in good time, but most of the {rains have only one o two third-class passenger cars, all the rest being goods vans, cither open or: closed. The Taoching Railway only a little over 100 miles in length, and there. is one train each every day—a mixed. train. which carries passengers and freight, fakes the train about ten oF eleven hours. at present to. complete. the un, and this is much better th Re'has been for many months pa [There is some talk of resuming a passenger service such as used. to exist some six or more years ago, chen a passenger train went from tone end of the Tine and back again the same day, bat this seems un-Hikely at present, owing to the shortage of engines, and the in-feMicieney of those' there are, Tarning from conditions of travel to the economic state of the country, my observations were for the most part si but they may give Some indication of the state of affairs, I do not remember seel the country looking better, as far Jas T was able to see things from the train and the roads. Where the land is watered, the wheat looks excellent, being from six inches to foot of more in height. On the land which is not irrigated, the wheat is coming up well in most places, and the day I left there was a rain, in some districts would be sufficient to ensure a crop. ed, Troted a number of places where system of irrigation had been i [stalled since T last visited the are which is encouraging in these hard times. Business men told me that there should be an 80 per cent. crop if rains come, and there has already been one good rain.
Other signs of comparative wellbeing were: not wanting. I have never seen so few beggars around the stations and on the streets, The people whom one saw all looked to be fairly well fed, and there was of optimism abroad, only by the hope that peace will prevail, "In the cities, busi seems to be brisk, and a number of districts which have always been infested by bandits in recent years fare now safe. Soldiers wore, of Jeourse, much in evidence on all' the and near the cities. but most fof those I saw were well-behaved, land. the people give. good reports of the present garrison, who are under Nanking. They seem, on the whole, to be more popular that Shih Vu-san's men, who were recently in North Honan.
Five years ago, Honan was intensely anti-foreign, and South Honan may be so at present, in some parts, but I saw little evidence of this on my travels. The Chinese were willing, as usual, to talk, and were very cordial. Not only in talking to me were the people ki ly, but their remarks about me, a3 far as could hear them, gave no cause for concern. The outlook for mission work is more hopeful than for many years past, and, 20 far as the Protestant work goes, the gravest cause for concern is "the lack of well-qualified Chinese Chris-ans capable of laying the foundamns for new churches. 'The hospitals have never been busier, and the patients seem able to pay. bel ter than in the past. The tendency. is for revenue from' local. sources {to increase in an encouraging man ner, so that, with peaceful tives, the amount of mor
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.