Directory_and_Chronicle_1884 — Page 176

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CHINA.

331

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decorations to the living. The public revenue is mainly derived from three sources, namely, customs duties, licences, and a tax upon land, but the receipts from the foreign customs are alone inade known. According to the returns published by the Government, the total receipts from foreign custoius were as follow in each of the fourteen years from 1869 to 1882:-

1869

1870.

1871.

1872.

1873.

1874. 1875.

TJAX.

ELTENCE.

Haikwan Ts.

9,878,848

1876

9,543.977

1877.

11,216,146

1878.

11,678,636

1879.

10,977,082 1880.

11,497.272 11,968,109

1831

1882.

THAR.

RETEXTE.

Haikan Tis.

12.152,921

12,067,078

12,483,9

13,531,670

14,258,583

14,685,162

14,085,672

Chin had no foreign debt till the end of 1874. It was announced on December 30th, 1874, t'at the Government had contracted a loan of £627,675, baring 8 per cent. interest. The loan was issued at 95 per cent. through the Hongkong aud Shanghai Bank, under Imperial authority and secured by the customs revenue. Three other loans, one in 1877, one in 1878, and the third in 1881, have since been issued by the sa.ne Bank under authority of the Chinese Government.

AREA AND POPULATION.

China proper, exteuding over 73,093 geographic 1, or 1,534,953 English square miles, is divided into eighteen provinces, the area and population of which are given as follow in the most recent estimates, partly based on official returns :-

Chibli Shantung

Shansi

Honan..

Kiangsu

Anbwei

Kianggi Fobkien Chekiang

Hupeh

Hunan

Shensi

Kansuh

PROVINCE.

Szechuan

Kuangtung Kuangsi...... Yunnan

Kweichau

PROVINCIAL CAPITAL.

ARCA ENGLISH SQUARE MILES.

ESTIMATED

POPULATION.

Peking.

Teipan

Taiyuen

Kaifung

58,949 28,114,023 65,104 28.958,764 55,268 27,260,281 65,104 23,037,171

Nanking.

Nganking

92,661

Nanchang

Foochow

Hangchow

37,843,501 34,168,059 72,176 30,426,990 53,480 38.889,432 39,150 26,256,784

Wuchang

Changchau

381,724

37,370,098

18,652,507

Sigan

10,207,256

Lanchow

154,008

15,193,135

166,800

21,435,678

79,456 19,147,030

78,250

7,313,895

107,869

5,561,320

64,554

5,288,219

1,534,953

405,213,152

Chingtau,,

Canton..

Kwelin

Yunnan

Kweiyang

Total.

The above population, giving 263 souls per square mile throughout China proper, appears to be excessive, considering that some of the outlying portions of the immense territory are by no means densely inhabited. Nevertheless, other returns than those of the above tables, said to be official, give still higher figures. It is stated that in s census taken in 1842 the population of China was a-certained to number 414,686,594, of 320 per English square mile, and that in 1852 it had risen to 450,000,000, or 347 inbalitants per square mile. But there is, probably, less accuracy in the given results of the latter enumerations than in the preceding estimate, which is doubtless considerably over the mark. Rebellious and famines have, in some provinces, greatly thioned the population, and there is reason to believe that the estimates above given considerably exaggerate the number of the Chinese race.

CHINA.

According to a return of the Imperial Custon s authorities, the total number of foreigners in China was 3,817 at the end of 1877. Among them were 1,851 natives of Great Britain and Ireland, 383 of the United States, 353 of Germany, und 176 of France, all other nationali ies being repres uted by very few members. More than one-half of the total number of foreign rs resided at Shangbai, the remainder being scattered over the other ports open to foreign commerce.

In addition to China proper there are i's depen lercies. These chiefly consist of Mongolia, with an area of 1,288,035 square miles, with some 2,000,000 people; and Manchuria, with an area of 302,313 square miles, and a population of 3,000,000. The latter is being steadily and rapidly colonis, d by Chinese, who will soon outnumber Thibet, which is also practically a dependency of the Manchus in their own la: d 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.

Of all the numerous kingdoms that formerly acknowledged the suzerainty of the Dragon Tir. ue and paid tribute to the Emperor, Korea is the only one that still yields willing allegiance. The Chinese Government bas, however, no control over the internal affairs of Korea. The Japanese in luced the Korean Government to In May, 1882, Commodore Shufeldt enter into treaty relations with them in 1876. negotiated a treaty with Korea on behalf of the United States (since ratified by the Washington Government), and shortly after Korea entered into treaties with England and Germany, but these have not been ratified. The area of Korea is 90,300 square miles, and the population is variously estimated from 8,000,000 to 10,000,000.

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 The first, the main force upon which second by the Chinese and other subject races.

the Imperial Government c-n rely, form the so-called troops of the Eight Banners, and garrison all the great cities, but so as to be separated by walls and forts from the population. According to the latest reports, the Imperial army comprises a total of 850,000 men, including 678 companies of Tartar troops, 211 companies of Mongols The native and native Chinese infantry, a kind of militia, numbering 120,000 men. soldiers do not as a rule live in la racks, but in their own houses, mostly pursuing some civil occupation.

The Chinese navy is in process of formation. It consists mainly of small gun- boats built at the Namoi Arsenal, Foochow, and at Shanghai, on the foreign model, and the entire navy is manned by about 6,000 sailors and carries 280 guns. Included in these are the revenue cruisers, several of which were built in England. The principal vessels in point of size are two wooden frigates, 2,800 tons builder's measurement, after which comes the Yung Wo, a wooden corvette of 1,300 tons builder's measurement, 11 guns. The most formid: ble vessels now possessed by China unquestionably are the ironclud turret ship Ting Yuen, built in 1883, at Stettin, and two guu-vessels, the Chao Yung and Fung Wei, built on the Tyn, and sent out to China in the autumn of 1881. These vessels have a displacement of 1,350 tons, are built of steel, and are propelled by twin screws driven by compound engines of, tog ther, 2,600 indicated horse-power. They each carry two 26-ton breecb-loaling guns, one mounted forward and the other at, four 40-pounder bre-ch-loading guns, two 9-pounder breech-loaders, two Nordenfelts, and four Gatlings. They are both armed with a formidable steel knife-edged ram, and carry steam-cutters fitted with spar torpedoes. After these come the eleven The gunboats named after the letters of the Greek alphabet from Alpha to Lambda first four are 118 feet 6 inch s long, with a daught of 7 feet 6 inches, and a displace. ment of 400 tons. They each carry a 27)-ton gun. The next four, which arrived in China in October, 1879, are built of stel, and are double-ended, the stern lines being cactly after the model of the bow rudders. By this improvement they can be used either as stern racers or bow chasers, and the extreme firen ss of the run enables them to steam backward almost as rapidly as forward. They measure 127 leet in extreme length and 125 feet at the water line, with 29 feet beam, a depth of 12 feet