KIAOCHAU
165
KIAOCHAU
州膠 Kiiu-chau
Kiaochau, in Shantung, was occupied by a German squadron on the 14th November, 1897, in satisfaction for the murder of two German missionaries, and on the 2nd September, 1898, it was declared a free port. It is held on lease from China for the term of ninety-nine years. In the report issued by the Foreign Office on the German colonies for 1899, some particulars were given of this colony. The report states that the special attention of the Administration has been devoted to the agricultural development of the Protectorate. Further, great importance is attached to the independence of the local Government from the home Government, and in order to secure as sound a local administration as possible, a Council has been formed, which is composed of all the heads of the several administrative departments under the personal supervision of the Governor. To this Council have been added three members chosen from the civil population and appointed for one year; the first is named by the Governor, with the consent of the Council, the second is chosen from among the members of the non-Chinese firms, and the third from the list of taxpayers paying at least $50 ground tax, without distinction of nationality. In addition to the above-described Council, the Governor is assisted by a School Committee, a Committee to settle the question of licenses to public-houses, another to settle the land tax, and others for pauper and Church questions. The Protectorate has developed to an unlooked for extent under this system of administration, which has enabled all the vital questions at issue, such as legal rights, landed properties, land tax assessment, school and Church matters, to be satisfactorily settled. The shipping trade has largely increased, and commercial communications with China have been arranged by an adequate Customs agreement. Finally the railway has been commenced seriously, and building operations are being undertaken on a large scale. The object of the Administration in dealing with the land question has been to secure for every settler the lasting possession of his plot, and by opposing unhealthy land speculation. The land is first bought from the Chinese by the Government at its full value at the moment of
of the German occupation, and then sold to settlers. Tsintau is, and will remain, a free port. The German Protectorate harbour has all the advantages of a Treaty port and a free port, and as such especially recommends itself as an emporium since the merchant can there store, free of duty, his wares from abroad or his raw materials brought from the interior of China. The Chinese import duties can only be levied on goods brought to Tsintau by sea, when they are transported beyond the borders of the Protectorate into Chinese territory. The Chinese export duties can only be levied on goods brought from the interior of China, when they are shipped from the German Protectorate to any other place. The Commissioner of the Imperial Chinese Maritime Customs, in his report for 1899, said:-
On the
The Bay is an extensive inlet about two miles north-west of Cape Evelyn. The entrance is not more than 1 miles across, the east side being a low promontory with rocky shores, with the village of Chingtao ("green island," from a small grassy island close to the land) about two miles from the point of the peninsula. west side of the entrance is another promontory with hills rising to about 600 feet. The shore here is rocky, and dangerous on the west side, but on the east sde is a good stretch of sandy beach. The bay is so large that the land at the head can only just be seen from the entrance (about 15 to 20 miles away), and the water gradually gets shallower as the north side of the bay is approached. Kiaochau city stands at the north-west corner of the bay. There are two anchorages for big ships; one, the larger and better round the point of the east promontory, on the north side, and the other, smaller one, at Chingtao on the south side. The hills are nearly bare rock and gravel and limestone, but an extensive scheme of afforestation has been decided upon. The soil of the valleys between the ranges and the plain country on the north-east is alluvial and very fertile, and is carefully cultivated. Wheat, barley, millet, maize, Indian corn, and many other grains in smaller quantities are grown. The trade in 1899 was valued at Tls. 3,000,000. Concessions have been granted for two lines of railway running from Kiaochau into the interior, and there appears to be every prospect of the place rapidly
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