THE FAMINE IN CHINA.
[To THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR." J
SIR,—As a member of the deputation who waited on the Lord Mayor to ask his assistance in raising a fund for those who are now starving in China, might I call attention to a paragraph in your publication of January 26th, in which you mention, and justly, that if every Chinese householder would contribute a copper coin to relieve their suffering fellow-countrymen, our assistance would not be required? It is only fair to the Chinese to say that, as a rule, they are most willing to help if they can ; but any one acquainted with China will know the impossibility of either making known the need, or collecting a fund in time to be of any avail among the badly connected and scattered provinces. This famine is exceptional, both in extent and in its closeness to one of our most important Treaty Ports, one of the chief distressed districts being situated not far from Shanghai, and in an important missionary field, of work. It must undoubtedly be a difficult task for a missionary placed in such a district as this to convince the starving men and women, as they watch their children die for want of the barest necessaries of life, that the wealthiest nation in the world, which is so anxious for their soul's safety, has good reason why it cannot help to save the lives of their loved ones If we hold back our assistance in this case, the Chinese will I fear, be unable to appreciate a creed which by word teaches the love of all men and by action leaves them, without an. apparent effort, to die by hundreds of thousands in starvation. Let us be consistent, and either leave them alone in soul and. body, or try to help in the salvation of both.
I would not have asked you to spare me your valuable space, had I not known how great your influence is among the thoughtful people of England ; and I can assure you that those who have interested themselves in this matter have not done so without careful consideration.—I am, Sir, &c.,
[We do not like, any more than the Lord Mayor did, to restrain benevolence ; but our judgment tells us that there are more pressing objects for a -fund which every charitable society in London knows to be a fixed quantity.—En. Spectator.]
Previous page
