THRILLS IN CHINA

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22205, 4 September 1935, Page 19

THRILLS IN CHINA

WOMAN MISSIONARY'S LIFE OVER 30 YEARS RESIDENCE A member of the Anglican section of the China Inland Mission, Miss Mildred Edwards, has had an adventurous career in mission work in China, where she spent 31 years. She is now in Australia on furlough. Last year Miss Edwards had to leave her mission station twice, owing to the menace of the Red army, or bandits, though on each occasion a timely warning enabled her to escape without personal injury. In this respect she was more fortunate than other missionaries, who were killed. She was the only foreigner there. Miss Edwards spent the last 19 years at Ta-chu, in the province of Szechuan, in Western China. The whole of the north-eastern part of this province was in the hands of the bandits, who had also extended their power to the western portion. When she left, General Chiang Kai-skek was at Ta-chu. While he was on the spot the Government troops would fight the Reds, but immediately he left, the local war lords started to fight each other, and any control of the banditry vanished.

The procedure of the bandits when entering a town, Miss Edwards said, was to proceed first to the Yanien, or magistrate's house, where all the officials were killed. Then they made their way to the mission compounds, which were searched for foreigners. Any of those found were immediately put to death. The next place visited was the post office, where the officials were killed. Having done all that, the marauders then gave their attention to the homes of the rich residents, who suffered the same fate as the officials, and thci r goods were despoiled. Miss Edwards was working under the direction of Archbishop Mowll —now of Sydney—when he was Bishop of Western China. His successor, Bishop Hoklen, was, she said, a very fine type of man, always hurrying to the side of his missionaries when danger threatened. There were two assistant Chinese bishops, Bishop Ku and Bishop Song, the latter a B.A. of Oxford.