INDO-CHINA
The French possession of Indo-China comprises the colony of Cochin-China and the protectorates of Cambodia, Annam, Tonkin, and the Laos, the whole being under the direction of a Governor-General, who is assisted by the "Conseil Superieur de L'Indo-Chine." The latter is a moveable body, meeting in any of the chief towns according to the summons of the Governor-General, but Hanoi, the capital of Tonkin, appears to be taking rank as the principal seat of the administration. According to a decree of the 8th August, 1898, the Council consists of the Governor-General, President, the General Commanding the Troops, the Commander-in-Chief of the China Squadron, the Lieutenant-Governor of Cochin-China, the Residents Superior of Tonkin, Annam, and Cambodia, a representative of the Laos Administration, five other officials, the President of the Colonial Council of Cochin-China, the Chairmen of the Saigon, Hanoi, and Haiphong Chambers of Commerce, of the Cochin-China and Tonkin Chambers of Agriculture, the Chairmen of the Annam and Cambodian Mixed Chambers of Commerce and Agriculture, and two native memoers appointed by the Governor-General. The full Council meets once a year, and provision is made for a permanent Commission to transact such business as may arise between the sessions.
The deltas of Cochin-China and Tonkin are fertile; Annam, connecting them, is a long mountainous tract, with a narrow littoral on one side, and a wild sparsely populated hill tract stretching to the Mekong on the other. Rice, cotton, sugar, seeds, tobacco, spice, and fish, are the principal productions of the alluvial districts. The principal mineral production is coal, which is mined at Tourane, on the coast of Annam, and at Hongay and Kebao on the Tonkin coast. Other minerals, including gold, silver, tin, copper, lead, &c., are said to exist in the Protectorate. The principal harbours are Haiphong in Tonkin, Tourane and Thuanan (for Hué) in Annam, and Saigon.
The general budget for 1899 amounts to $17,620,000 and the local budgets are as follows:-Tonkin, $3,993,639; Annam, $1,845,835; Cochin-China, $4,550,000; Cambodia, $1,997,500 ; and Laos, $692,531; making a total of $30,699,604.
A loan of 200,000,000 francs has been approved by the French Chambers for the construction of railways in Indo-China, and provision is also made for a Government guarantee on a projected line running into Yunnan, which is to be constructed by a private Company. The lines approved in Indo-China are (1) Haiphong-Hanoi-Laokay; (2) Hanhoi-Namdinh Vinh ; (3) Tourane-Huế-Quangtri ; (4) Saigon; Thanhoa-Lang-
; (5) Mytho-Cantho.
biang total for Can the French army in Indo-China in 1897 was 24,100. The force is
The of
composed as follows: 3 regiments infantry marine, 4,800; 5 battalions of the foreign legion, 3,600; 4 regiments of native tirailleurs, 14,100; 6 batteries of European artillery, 800; and artillery auxiliaries (European), 500. There have to be added to the above the auxiliary services and the gendarmerie, which bring the total up to 24,500, under the orders of a General of Division and two brigadiers. There is also in Indo-China a native militia of 10,000 men.
The trade of the colony is rapidly increasing, the value having risen from 139,078,174 francs in 1888 to 205,231,545 francs in 1897. The exports, which reached a value of 67,665,437 francs in 1888 amounted to 117,048,554 francs in 1897. The principal article of export is rice, of which 13,720,824 piculs were shipped in 1897. The total imports amounted in value to 39,388,286 francs in 1888, and to 51,922,684 francs in 1897, the large increase being mainly in goods imported from France, the value of which rose from 9,687,119 francs in 1888 to 20,825,931 francs in 1897, while imports from foreign countries only rose from 29,701,167 francs to 31,096,753 francs. In the important item of piece goods, which seem to be the staple most severely hit by the differential tariff, the trade is being rapidly monopolised by France. Thus in 1888 goods of this class from France figured for 1,944,138 francs only, while in 1897 the value had risen to 10,662,422 francs, foreign goods, on the other hand, falling from 13,452,917 francs to 7,248,983 francs.
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