380
CHINA.
members, under two presidents, the one of Tartar and the other of Chinese birth" By the ancient custom of the empire, all the members of this board are privileged to present any remonstrance to the sovereign. One censor must be present at the meetings of each of the six government boards.
The estimates of the public revenue of China vary greatly, and while they are stated by some to exceed 100 millions sterling, are held by others not to come up to half that amount. Official returns of the Chinese Government, published in 1844, stated the annual revenue at that time at Tls. 191,804,139, or £63,934,713. From missionary reports, as well as the accounts published in the Peking Gazette, it would appear that there are almost constant deficits, which the governors and high officers of provinces must cover by extraordinary taxation.
The public revenue is mainly derived from three sources, namely, customs duties, licenses, and a tax upon land, but the receipts from customs alone are made known. According to the returns published by the government, the total receipts from customs were as follows in each of the thirteen years from 1865 to 1877 :--
BAVENUE
YEAR.
1865...
1866...
1867...
1868.
1869... 1870.
1871...
REVENUE.
YEAR.
*Haikwan Tls.
8,289,281
1872......
8,781,875
1873..
8,864,817
1874..
9,448,474
1875..
9,878,848
1876...
9,543,977
1877.....
11,216,146
*Harkwan Tis.
11,678,636
10,977,082
11,497,272
11,968,109
12,152,921
12,067,078
China had no foreign debt till the end of 1874. It was announced on December 30th, 1874, that the Government had contracted a loan of £627,675, bearing 8 per cent. interest. The loan was issued at 95 per cent. through the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, under Imperial authority and secured by the customs' revenue. Two other loans, one in 1877 and one in 1878, have since been issued by the same Bank under authority of the Chinese Government.
Population, Trade, and Industry.
The population of China is very dense in some provinces, but of the number of inhabitants an approximate idea only can be formed, although official enumerations of the same are stated to have taken place at intervals since the year 703, or for more then eleven centuries. According to the most reliable estimates obtainable, based upon Chinese official returns, the area of the empire and its dependencies, embraces 186,887 geographical, or 3,924,627 English square miles, with a population in round numbers of some four hundred and twenty-four millions, distributed as follows:-
China proper Dependencies:-
Manchuria Mongolia
Thibet
Corea...
•
...
•
...
Total
AREA.
Engl. sq. miles.
POPULATION.
1,534,953
405,000,000
362,313
3,000,000
•
1,288,035
2,000,000
643,734
6,000,000
90,300
8,000,000
3,919,335
424,000,000
The standing military force of China consists of two great divisions, the fin formed by the more immediate subjects of the ruling dynasty, the Tartars, and the second by the Chinese and other subjects races. The first, the main force upon
which
* The Haikwan Tael, in which the Customs Revenue and all values are stated, is equivalent-in English moner,
on London for 1877.
to 8a. Od., in American money (gold), to $1,47, and in French money, to francs 7.60, at the average Sight Exchange
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