Some Other Things of Importance Occurring at this TimeThe educational facilities for the Chinese were increased by theopening of the Ellis Kadoorie Public School on November 25th， theland being furnished by the Council and the money for the building byMr. （afterwards Sir） Ellis Kadoorie.
A change of considerable interest to the community took placein connection with the General Hospital. The Sisters of Charity of St.
Vincent de Paul decided in 1912 to withdraw from service， partly onaccount of the difficulties created by religious troubles in France， andpartly because it was felt by the Heads of the Mission that the timegiven to the Hospital had been to the detriment of the missionary workof the Sisters. The community was indebted to them for their fiftyyears of devotion to this work of caring for the sick of Shanghai. It waspromised that l"Institute des Soeures Franciscaines should carry on， andthe Mother Superior in Rome expressed her willingness to send outthirty Sisters within two years， and nine afterwards—if necessary—toundertake the work.
Plans for the alteration and extension of the Hospital were madeand the work taken in hand.
Some Philanthropic MovementsThere are many blind in China and little or nothing has beendone by the Chinese people to alleviate the misery of their lot. For themost part， fortune-telling is their only means of earning a livelihood.
On March 11th， 1911， there was founded in Shanghai anInstitution for the Chinese Blind， by the generosity of the late Dr.
John Fryer， who furnished a permanent endowment of Tls. 50，000，and gave an additional Tls. 10，000 for buildings and equipment. Theinstitution was first located in temporary premises on North SzechuenRoad Extension and opened with eight students. Later it was moved toEdinburgh Road where the work is now carried on very efficiently byMr. and Mrs. George B. Fryer.
The first missionary work for the blind in Shanghai—the ChineseBlind Asylum—was started by the Rev. Edward W. Syle， one of theearly missionaries of the American Episcopal Church Mission， aslong ago as 1858 ， and has been continued up to the present time. Itis， however， more of the nature of a charitable than of an educationalenterprise.
In June， 1913， a meeting was held at the residence of Dr. J.
M. W. Farnham to devise means of helping the ricsha coolies. Mr.
George Matheson reported that at that time there were more than30，000 ricsha coolies plying for hire in the Settlements， and that theconditions under which they lived were pitiable in the extreme. Theywere crowded in small houses， from 10 to 15， at one time， sleepingin a room. As the men were exposed to all kinds of weather， theiroccupation was full of hardship， and often resulted in the shorteningof their lives. The investigation carried on by a committee appointedat this meeting， led to a Mission to Ricshamen being formed， and Mr.
George Matheson became the Honorary Secretary. Under his efficientmanagement， religious， educational and social activities of great valueto this class of workers have been conducted in various localities.
The generous response made annually to the Christmas appeal in theNorth-China Daily News for the ricsha coolie is an evidence that theundertaking has gained the confidence of the community， and hasbecome a popular charity.