78
CHINA
at Shanghai, on the foreign model, but has since been greatly strengthened. The fleet of China now includes five armoured ships, namely, the Ting Yuen and Chen Yuen, built at Stettin in 1883, which are of 7,430 tons displacement, have 14 inches armour, and each carry four 30 cm. and two 15 c.m. Krupp guns, eight machine guns, two light guns, and two launching carriages for torpedoes; the King Yuen and Lai Yuen, built at Stettin in 1887, which are of 2,850 tons displacement, have 9 in. armour, and each carry two 8 in. 10-ton breech-loaders, two & in. breech-loaders, seven machine guns, and one torpedo tube and three launching carriages; and the small armoured gunboat Tien Sing, with 18 inches armour on the belt and 3 in. on the turret, and carrying one 17 c.m. Krupp gun. Amongst the unarmoured vessels are two Armstrong cruisers with protected decks, the Chih Yuen and Ching Yuen, built in 1887, and carrying three 8-in. 12-ton breech loaders and four torpedo tubes; the cruiser Tsi Yuen, built at Stettin in 1883, with protected deck, and carrying two 21 c.m. and one 15 c.m. Krupp guns, four light guns, six machine guns, and four torpedo tubes; two Armstrong cruisers built in 1881, the Chao Yung and Yung Wei, with partially protected decks, and carrying two 10 in and eight 44 in. breech-loaders; the Hai An, a frigate built cruiser carrying two 21 c.m., four 15 c.m., and twenty 12 c.m. Krupp guns; the cruisers Nan Shuin and Nan Thin, built in Germany in 1884, carrying two 8 in. and eight 4 in. Armstrong breech-loaders; the cruiser Yang Pao, carrying three 8 in. 10-ton and seven 44 inch breech-loaders; the gun-vessels Mei Yuen and Tsing Yuen; and eleven so-called alphabetical gunboats. Of the latter the first four are 118 feet 6 inches long, with a draught of 7 feet 6 inches, and a displacement of 400 tons. They each carry a 27-ton gun. The next four, which arrived in China in October, 1879, are built of steel, and are double-ended, the stern lines being exactly after the model of the bow rudders. They measure 127 feet in extreme length and 125 feet at the water line, with 29 feet beam, a depth of 12 feet 3 inches, mean draught of 9 feet 6 inches, and a displacement of 440 tons. The main feature of these boats is the 11-inch 35-ton muzzle-loading gun carried by each. They are further armed with two 12-pounder breech-loading Armstrong guns and four Gatlings. The last three, which arrived in China in July, 1881, are almost identical in style with their immediate predecessors, and each carry one 35-ton gun, but are also provided with two 13-pounders, two Gatling, and four Nordenfeldt guns. They were all built on the Tyne by the Elswick Company. Lu Shun Kou, known as Port Arthur, which is on the south coast of Shingking, strongly fortified, and Wei Hai Wei on the south coast of Shantung, are the chief naval stations.
Trade and Industry.
The ports open to trade are:-Canton, Hoihow (in Hainan), Pakhoi, Swatow, Amoy Foochow, Takow and Tainanfu, Tamsui and Kelung, Wenchow, Ningpo, Shanghai, Chinkiang, Wuhu, Kiukiang, Hankow, Ichang, Chefoo, Tientsin, and Newchwang. Under the provisions of the Chefoo Convention, permission was also accorded to British merchants to trade with Chung-king and Yunnan-fu, and the former port was in 1891 formally opened to foreign trade and residence, but steamers are not allowed to proceed there. The import trade, exclusive of the Colony of Hongkong, centres chiefly at Shanghai, Canton, and Tientsin, while the bulk of the exports pass through the ports of Shanghai, Hankow, Foochow, 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 Foreign Countries. 1870...Hk. Tls. 71,000,278
Net Exports to Foreign Countries.
Total of Foreign Trade. Hk. Tls. 61,990,235 Hk. Tls. 132,990,513
Net Imports of Native Goods. Hk. Tls. 30,409,512
1875...
"
67,803,247
**
1880...
99
79,293,452
"
68,912,929 77,883,587
136,716,176
"
42,927,455
"9
1885...
89,200,018
19
65,005,711
1886...
87,479,323
"}
77,206,568
"}
1887...
"
1888... 1889...
"
"
102,263,669 124,782,803 110,884,355
"
"9
"
85,880,208 92,401,067 96,947,832
""
"9
157,177,039 153,205,729 164,685,891 188,123,877 217,183,960 207,832,187
"
56,826,447
"}
57,117,407
""
>>
"
99
58,445,766 63,467,830 65,146,457 69,784,606
1890...
127,093,481
"
1891...
134,003,863
13
87,144,480 100,947,849
"
**
1892...
135,101,198
>>
102,583,525
214,237,961 234,951,712 237,684,723
"}
74,017,519
"}
80,085,179
"
76,717,668
1892 equals at
Ex. 1.54 Mex. $208,055,845
Mex. $157,978,628
Mex. $366,034,473
Mex. $118,145,206
Ex. 48. 4td. £29,412,657
£22,333,288
£16,702,075
The increase in the last six years is partly accounted for by the Native Customs stations outside Hongkong and Macao having been placed under the Foreign Inspectorate; the trade passing these stations was not formerly included in the returns.
£51,745,945
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