THE CHINA FAMINE RELIEF FUND.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."]
SIR,—To-day, somewhat late, my attention has been called to your remarks of a fortnight ago in reference to the large expenditure upon the Emperor of China's wedding, which
remarks, my correspondent says, are prejudicial to the Lord Mayor's Fa.mine Fund. Undoubtedly the expenditure was large ; according to European notions, excessive,—although the newspaper statements as to its amount are not authorita- tive. I admit and regret the folly of the Oriental custom -which, not in China alone, but in our own Indian Empire also exacts lavish, sometimes ruinous, expenditure on these occa- sions. But in the present case inopportune as the wasteful outlay has proved itself, to bracket together the expense of the festivities and the misery of the starving millions, thereby suggesting that the Chinese Government is callous to the sufferings of its subjects, is to do China great injustice. I have made inquiry at the Chinese Legation, and am informed that probably not a shilling of this expenditure has been in- curred since last autumn. This is proved by the fact that the marriage was to have taken place a year ago, but was put off. The money must, therefore, have been paid out long before then, for unless it had, the weaving of silks and the manu- facture of goods of all kinds could not have been commenced. In brief, the Chinese reply to the allegation is that the ex- penditure on the wedding was settled long before the present distress began ; and the money, or a large part of it, actually paid away.
We have abundant evidence that the Chinese Government and people are not indifferent to the sufferings they witness. The Marquis of Salisbury has sent to the Lord Mayor a letter from Consul-General Hughes, of Shanghai, which speaks of the exertions of the Government in Honan as beyond all praise. Dr. Christie, an eye-witness, says that in Manchuria the Government was doing its utmost ; the local officials and the merchants were giving largely both money and grain. In Shantung, on the other hand, I regret to say that the missionaries complain of the inactivity of the officials. The Governments of distant Shansi and Kan-suh have sent large grants of money. There is no doubt that the Chinese, both the authorities and private persons, do very much for the relief of their destitute fellow-countrymen. But in an awful calamity like this, when millions are on the verge of starvation, there is room for the charity of all. Our own countrymen in China appeal to us for aid. Shall we refuse it P Already the Shanghai Relief Committee has telegraphed :—" Results of relief distribution undoubtedly very great. Shantung Com- mittee reports that the relief centres are like oases in a desert of famine. Newchwang and Moukden send strong expressions of gratitude for help. Thousands of lives are being saved."
Hon. Secretary, China Famine Relief Fund. Mansion House, London, B.C., March 16th.
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