THE FAMINE IN KWANGSI PROVINCE.
Report by Mr Clementi. Mr. C. Clementi has written the follow- ing letter to H.E. the Governor, through whose courtesy we are enabled to publish it, ț
Ts'am Chau-tu, Kwong Sai,
29th April, 1903.
Your Excellency, I left Hongkong by thes. Kong Chau on the 21st inst., rea- ching Canton at 6 a.m. the following morn- ing. I left Cauton at 8 a.m. the same day by the 8.8. Sinem, reaching Wuchow at 4 p.m. on the 28rd inst. I had no time while in Canton to call upon the Consul General, Per- but I hope to do so on my way back. haps meanwhile Your Excellency will be good enough to inform him of the mission At Wu- upon which you have sent me. chow I called upon Mr. Fox, the British Consul, and on his advice procceded with- out delay to Ts'am Chau. the prefectural town, which I understand the Chinese! authorities propose to make the capital of this province.
1 left Wuchow by launch at 5 a.m. on the 24th, and arrived at Ts'am Chau st 8.30 am. next morning, accompanied by Mr R. A. Jaffray (of the Christian and iVe Missionary Alliance of New York). were met by Mr J. E. Fee, of the same mission, who resides in Ts'ati Chau. The first sight I saw on entering the town was a man lying in the street actually dying but? not quite, dead, whom two men were pick. ing up with a rope to carry off to bury. The same morning, walking round the city wall, I saw another man's dead body, and a little later I also saw the burial, which consisted in throwing the uncoffined body into a small pit dug just outside the city wall and filling up the pit with earth. The sights I have seen since my arrival thave appalled me, and I am not astonished that the Chinese should now call T'am Chau a dead place. Yesterday was a market day, and therefore there was no distribution, for two reasons-(1) that the number of people coming into the town on such a day would be more than the present relief fund can cope with, and (2) that a number of fairly well-to-do impostors might be expected to apply for rice on the market days. Accordingly employed my afternoon in walking through the neigh- bouring country. The destitution actually existing there now is terrible. The people have first sold their goods and chattels, then their farming implements, next the water-buffaloes with which they ploughed their fields, then the tiles off the roofs of houses, then their daughters, sons, and finally even their wives. The farmsteads are bare walls, empty of anything save little dirty straw on which to lie.
This state of absolute destitution can ouly go-nu increasing until the next rice,
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harvest, which is due at the end of July, and the one ray of hope is this to hirvest promises well. It is true that in many cases the farmers have had no rice to plant) and that a number of fields are lying fallow, but on the whole I should be inclined to think, from my inspection of the surround. ing country, that the next rice crop will go far to relieve distress in the neighbourhood of Ts'am Chau. The rain which has fallen and continues to fall is most seasonable, and the spirit of the people is admirable. The farmers yoko themselves to their own ploughs to turn up their fields, and make the utmost of any help extended to them. It must be borne in mind that the present famine is not due to any lack of exertion on their part, but to the failure of the second harvest in 1901 on account of, drought, of first harvest in 1902 on account of drought also, and of the second harvest in 1902 because of flood and drought combined. The aim must therefore be to support starving people until the end of next July, and any estimates will have to be framed for the present on this basis. Famine work began in Ts'am Chan sys- tematically on 4th March last by the Al- liance Mission under the superintendence of Mr Fee (Canadian', assisted by Mrs Fee, his wife, and by Mr H. Zehr (American), also of the Alliance Mission. The fund was constituted entirely by private subscrip- tions, which on the 25th inst. had aggregat- ed a total sum of 32,105,58, but at the present time these subscriptions come in fitfully and in small sums, making the anxiety of the distributors great. To-day Mr Fee is left with money only sufficient for one day's supply. Rice has hitherto neces- sarily been bought locally in Ts'am Cbau at the local rates, e.y., on the 11th inst. 15 piculs cost $90 Mex. and on the 23rd inst. 10 piculs cost $59.45 Mex. It is probable
that with free transport and freedom from duty assured the rice can be bought more ebeply at Hongkong, and forwarded via Wuchow to the distributing centres. The Chinese authorities have left Mr Fee the Man Skau Kung or Emperor's Temple as the place for distribution. Here the indigent collect together from dawn till noon, when the gates are closed &l distribution commences of rice (uncooked) and rice-grool (onoked). It is the aim} of the distributors to give if possible two tickets to each of the starving people; with one ticket they can obtain the gruel for immediate consumption while with the other they obtain a messure of rice fur their own use, either to be eaten as rice or to be turned into gruel. Each measure of rice given out contains 4.5oz., while the rice gruel is doled out by the quart. I attended this afternoon at a distribution to 4,197 persons and 6,084 tickets issued, the actual amount of rice issued being 19 piculs. Nothing is given on market days, i.e., every third day, and Mr Fee suggests (and I agree in the suggestion) that if the quantity of rice on hand is sufficient, the measure issued should be increased and the distribution at the Man Shau Kung made only once. in three days. This will enable the people to come in from the i countryside and thereby extend the relief area, while at the same time it will lessenį the labour of distribution, which is very heavy. The actual distribution to-day lasted from 1.8 p.m. to 5 p.m., the distribution must be made in the mid- dle of the day in order to enable the peo ple to return home or at least to God i shelter for the night. The cooking of the gruel, etc., etc., takes time but need not involve any expenditure, As thousands would only be too thankful to work and to> cook for their rice and a night's shelter.
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