Directory_and_Chronicle_1905 — Page 759

KIAOCHAU

州膠 Kiáu-chau

Tsingtan, situated at the entrance to the Kiaochau Bay 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. The special attention of the Administration has been devoted to the agricultural development of the Protectorate. The local administration consists of a Council, which is composed of all the heads of the several administrative departments under the personal supervision of the Governor and 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 object of the Administration in dealing with the land question has been to secure for every settler the lasting possession of his plot, thereby opposing unhealthy land speculation. Tsingtau is, and will remain, a free port. The 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 Tsingtau 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 Bay of Kiaochau is an extensive inlet about two miles north-west of Cape Evelyn. The entrance is not more than 13 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. On the 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 side 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 of granite and porphry, 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 foreign residential quarter at Tsingtau has been well laid out, and there is a good foreign Hotel. The first sod of the Shantung Railway was cut by Prince Henry of Prussia in October, 1899, and the line to Tsinanfu was opened on the 1st June, 1904. The development of the town of Tsingtau has made considerable progress, the town is partly lit by electricity, houses are springing up in all directions, and a system of water supply has now been completed. The new harbour works are progressing. The outer break-water and two piers are completed, and have been in use since March 1904. A dry dock is in course of construction. There are two German newspapers published, a weekly paper called the the Deutsch Asiatische Warte and a daily paper called Tsingtao Neuste Nachrichten. The climate is temperate, and it is expected that the Bay will in course of time become a summer resort for the residents of Shanghai, there being an excellent bathing beach. The total value of the trade of the port for 1903 was Tls. 14,611,549, which represents an increase of 40 per cent. over the amount in the preceding year, which was, in turn,

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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN