CHINA
659
The Chinese navy consisted, prior to the Franco-Chinese war of 1884, mainly of small gunboats built at the Mamoi Arsenal, Foochow, and at Shanghai, on the foreign model, but was afterwards greatly strengthened.
strengthened. Five ships were lost, however, in the battle of the Yalu, when the Japanese inflicted a severe defeat upon the Chinese, and the remainder of the fleet was captured or destroyed at the taking of Weihaiwei in February, 1895. Three cruisers of 2,950 tous displacement were secured in 1895 from the Vulcan Works at Stetten, and two very fine Elswick sloops of the same size were added in 1899. These, with two corvettes and two training vessels, supplemented by four Elbau destroyers, comprised the Pei Yang Squadron or Northern Fleet. These vessels might be of real value for convoying troop- ships, shelling rebellious towns, etc., but as the Chinese have no naval base and no docking facilities in Northern waters, and as the ships are ill-found and with indifferent persounel, they would be of little use against a resolute foreign enemy. The destroyers were captured at Taku on June 17th, 1900, by the British destroyers Fame and Whiting and appropriated by the allies. The Chinese flagship at the Bar, while not actually seized, was rendered useless by removing the breech-blocks of the guns and by being placed under rigorous supervision. The remainder of the Fleet fled to the Yangtsze. Robert Hart in a scheme of military reorganisation prepared in 1904 recommended the creation of three naval squadrons, the Northern, the Southern and the Central, each to consist of 10 battleships and first-class cruisers, 10 second-class cruisers, 10 torpedo-boat destroyers, and 50 torpedo-boats, with a crew of 10,500 men. The scheme is apparently pigeon-holed at Peking for the present, but six torpedo-boat destroyers have recently been built for China in Japanese yards, and four river gunboats were launched in 1908 from Hongkong yards.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Sir
The ports open to trade are:-Newchwang, Chinwantao, Tientsin, Chefoo, Shanghai, Soochow, Chinkiang, Nanking, Wuhu, Kewkiang, Hankow, Yochow, Changsha, Shasi, Ichang, Chungking, Hangchow, Ningpo, Wênchow, Santu, Foochow, Amoy, Swatow, Canton, Samshui, Wuchow, Kongmoon, Nanning, Kiungchow, and Pakhoi. Lungchow, Mêngtsz, Szemao and Tengyueh, on the frontiers of Tonkin and Burmah, and Yatung in Tibet, are stations under the cognisance of the Foreign Customs. Mukden, Antung and Tatiengkow and many other inland places in Manchuria have recently been opened to foreign trade. The import trade, exclusive of the Colony of Hong- kong, centres chiefly at Shanghai, Tientsin, Hankow and Canton, while the bulk of the exports pass through the ports of Shanghai and Canton. The annual value of the trade of China coming under the supervision of the Imperial Maritime Customs was as follows:-
Net Imports from Net Exports to Foreign Countries. Foreign Countries.
Total of Net Imports of Foreign trade. Native Goods
1904...Hk. Tls. 344.060,608 Hk. Tls. 239,486,683 Hk. Tls. 583,574,291 Hk. Tls. 163,073,177
1905...
""
447,100,791
"}
227,888,197
""
1906...
""
410,270,082
""
236,456,739
""
1907...
416,401,369
264,380,697
>>
""
674,988,988 646,726,821 680,782,066
""
""
""
166,884,461 158,276,126 137,552,030
1907 equals at-
Ex. 1.51, Mex. $628,766,067
Mex. $207,703,565 £22,352,205
Ex. 3s. 3d., £67,665,222
Mex. $399,241,825 Mex. $1,027,980,920
£42,961,863
£110,627,086
The following was the net value of commodities imported direct from and exported direct to Foreign Countries in 1906. These figures do not include the trade carried on with neighbouring countries in Chinese junks, which does not come within the control
Hongkong
Imports Exports .Hk. Tls. 155,642,016
Total
of the Foreign Customs :--
97,226,434
252,868,450
Japan (including Formosa)
""
57,461,419
39,347,476
96,808,886
Great Britain
35
77,562,700
12,107,645
89,670,345
United States of America
""
36,903,476 26,597,660
63,501,136
India
32,913,847
3,179,695
36,093,542
France
3,158,626
"9
30,658,585
33,817,211
Germany
"4
16,177,400
6,109,195
22,286,595
Russia, Siberia & Russian Pacific Ports...
"
913,351
17,201,208
18,114,559
Belgium
10.581,048
""
3,978,652
14,559,700
Straits and other British Colonies.....
7,386,544
"
5,016,028
12,402,572
French Indo-China..
9,216,818
Масао..... Italy
19
1,700,077
10,916,895
5,844,116
4,091,762
9,935,878
""
608,813
8,038,074 8,046,887