94
CHINA
above are those supposed to be accounted for to the Government, but very much larger amounts are raised from the people and absorbed by the officials in the way of peculation.
China had no foreign debt till the end of 1874, when a loan of £627,675, bearing 8 per cent. interest, was contracted through the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, under Imperial authority and secured by the customs' revenue. Afterwards a number of other loans, of comparatively moderate amount, were contracted, mostly through the agency of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, and several of them have been paid off. Up to 1894 the total Foreign debt of China was inconsiderable, but since then extensive borrowings have had to be made to meet the expenses of the war with Japan and the indemnity. The exact figures are not available, but the total existing debt is between £44,000,000 and £45,000,000, including the Russian loan of £18,000,000 con- tracted in 1895, the Anglo-German loan of the same amount contracted in 1896, and the Belgian loan of £4,000,000 contracted in 1897. As the total indemnity payable to Japan under the Shimonoseki Treaty is Tls. 200,000,000 (at exchange of 3s. 3fd.), with a further Tls. 20,000,000 for the retrocession of the Liaotung Peninsula, further bor- rowing will have to be resorted to. Negotiations for another loan of £16,000,000 are now in progress.
AREA AND POPULATION
China proper, extending over 73,993 geographical, or 1,534,953 English square miles, is divided into eighteen provinces, the area and population of which are given below:-
Province
Area English Estimated Square Miles Population
Provincial Capital
Peking Tsinan
Chihli...
Shantung
Shansi
Honan
Kiangsu.
Anhwei
Kiangsi
Folkien
Chekiang
Hupeh
Hunan
Shensi
Kansuh
Szechuen
Kwangtung
Kwangsi
Yunnan
Kweichau
58,949
28,114,023
65,104
28,958,764
Taiyuen..
55,268
27,260,281
Kaifung.
65,104
23,037,171
Nanking
Ngankin
92,661
37,843,501
34,168,059
Nanchang
►
72,176
30,426,999
Foochow Hangchow Wuchang Changchau Sigan Lanchow Chingtu. Canton Kwelin
53,480
38,888,432
39,150
26,256,784
381,724
37,370,098
18,652,507
10,207,256
154,008
15,193,135
166,800
21,435,678
79,456
19,147,030
78,250
7,313,895
Yunnan Kweiyang
107,869
5,561,320
64,554
5,288,219
1,534,953
405,213,152
The above population, giving 263 souls per square mile throughout China proper, although partly based on official returns, is not at all reliable. An estimate given by the Board of Revenue of the population in 1887 made it 303,241,969, which is probably much nearer the mark.
The total number of foreigners in China in 1896 was 10,855, of whom 4.362 were subjects of Great Britain, 1,439 of the United States, 933 of France, 870 of Germany, 407 of Sweden and Norway, 138 of Italy, 410 of Spain, 146 of Denmark, 852 of Japan, and 871 Portuguese, almost entirely natives of Alacao, all other nationalities. being represented by very few members. "Of 672 mercantile firms doing business at the treaty ports, 363 were British, 99 German, 40 American, and 29 French.
The principal dependencies of China are Mongolia, with an area of 1,288,035 square miles, and some 2,000,000 people; and Manchuria, with an area of 362,313 square miles, and an estimated population of 15,000,000. The latter is being steadily and rapidly colonised by Chinese, who greatly outnumber the Manchus in their own land. Thibet, which is also practically a dependency of China, has an area of 643,734 square miles and a population of 6,000,000 souls. It is ruled by the Dalai Lama, but subject to the Government of Peking, who maintain a Resident at Lhassa.
ARMY AND NAVY
The standing military force of China consists of two great divisions, the first formed by the more immediate subjects of the ruling dynasty, the Manchus, and the second by the Chinese and other subject races. The first, the main force upon which the Imperial
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