The Fraud Was Soon
Detected, And In An Edict Of August 11, 1875, It Was Very Rightly Laid
Down That
"The maintenance of the purity of government demands that it be
not allowed under any pretext to be re-established,
" And for their apathy
In the matter the Viceroy Yinghan and several of the highest officials in
Canton were disgraced and stripped of their official rank.
In China natural calamities on a colossal scale have often aggravated
political troubles. The year 1870 witnessed the commencement of a dearth
in the two great provinces of Honan and Shansi which has probably never
been surpassed as the cause of a vast amount of human suffering. Although
the provinces named suffered the most from the prevalent drought, the
suffering was general over the whole of Northern China, from Shantung and
Pechihli to Honan and the course of the Yellow River. At first the
government, if not apathetic, was disposed to say that the evil would be
met by the grant of the usual allowance made by the provincial governors
in the event of distress; but when one province after another was absorbed
within the famine area, it became no longer possible to treat the matter
as one of such limited importance, and the high ministers felt obliged to
bestir themselves in face of so grave a danger. Li Hung Chang in
particular was most energetic, not merely in collecting and forwarding
supplies of rice and grain, but also in inviting contributions of money
from all those parts of the empire which had not been affected by famine.
Allowing for the general sluggishness of popular opinion in China, and for
the absence of any large amount of currency, it must be allowed that these
appeals met with a large and liberal response. The foreign residents also
contributed their share, and even the charity of London found a vent in
sending some thousands of pounds to the scene of the famine in Northern
China. This evidence of foreign sympathy in the cause of a common humanity
made more than a passing impression on the minds of the Chinese people.
While the origin of the famine may be attributed to either drought or
civil war, there is no doubt that its extension and the apparent inability
of the authorities to grapple with it may be traced to the want of means
of communication, which rendered it almost impossible to convey the
needful succor into the famine districts. The evil being so obvious, it
was hoped that the Chinese would be disposed to take a step forward on
their own initiative in the great and needed work of the introduction of
railways and other mechanical appliances. The viceroy of the Two Kiang
gave his assent to the construction of a short line between Shanghai and
the port of Woosung. The great difficulty had always been to make a start;
and now that a satisfactory commencement had been made the foreigners were
disposed in their eagerness to overlook all obstacles, and to imagine the
Flowery Land traversed in all directions by railways.
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