CHINA
565'
The creation of the National Army tended to the centralisation of authority, and enabled the Peiyang party to dominate the counsels of the nation. Theoretically all military forces are under the control of the General Staff and the Ministry of War (the President being Commander-in-Chief), and are paid by the Central Government, the authority of the Ministry of War being delegated in each Province to specially appointed Military Commissioners. Provincial civil governors have no authority over the Military (Lu Chun), but can call for their services when needed.
One great difficulty in the organisation of a modern Army was the lack of properly trained officers. The Model Army created by Yuan Shih-kai did much to meet the need. This model army, consisting of 5,000 men carefully selected from the better classes, was drilled by General Wang Shih-cheng, late Minister of War, but it has been absorbed in the regular army. Several military colleges have recently been opened, including an aviation school at Nanyuan.
During 1915 the principle of conscription was approved by the Government, but the financial difficulties which are ever present in China made it impossible to carry it into effect. The system is different from any which obtains in other countries, each district being expected to furnish a given quota of men. For this purpose the country has been divided into six military districts.
As military expenditure absorbs six-tenths of the revenue of the country, disbandment of troops has been considered a first step to re-organisation. Partial dis- bandment has been accepted in principle by the Peking Government, but, owing to the unsettled state of the country and the control of the troops by the Tuchuns, no progress has been made in this direction.
The number of troops under arms in China is estimated at 1,350,000. Very few of these own allegiance to the Government, being merely the retainers of the Tuchuns, who use them against their rivals in the continual fight for personal supremacy which has marked China's history in recent years.
Navy
Under the old régime each Province controlled its naval contingent independently of the Central Government, but the consolidation of authority in Peking which has resulted since the Revolution has secured the placing of the Maritime Forces under the direct control of the Ministry of Navy, although that control at present is rather nebulous. For reasons which are obvious, the extensions which were contemplated have not been effected, but there is every reason to believe that increases in the number of the smaller craft suitable for patrolling the waterways will be sanctioned as soon as funds permit.
Under the programme drawn up by the Naval Commission headed by Prince Tsia Hsun, the following cruisers were added to the fleet-the Ying Swei and the Chao Ho, both built in England, having each a displacement of about 2,600 tons and a contract speed of 20 knots. The main armaments consist of 2.6in. and 4.4in. guns, There are, in addition, a number of torpedo-boat-destroyers built in Germany, Austria and Italy, and two light-draught river gunboats built in Japan. There is no attempt at uniformity-very much the reverse.
The provision of Naval Bases is contemplated. Existing dockyards are inadequate for the requirements of the present fleet, and their plant is obsolete. The number of the personnel cannot be exactly stated.
Practical experience demonstrates that the Chinese bluejacket with training and discipline can rank with any bluejacket in the world. At present, however, he is the sport of rival leaders for power. Half the Navy is in the south, and until the middle of 1922 this half was actively backing the cause of Sun Yat-sen, while the other half ranged itself on the side of one or other aspirant to Northern domination.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
The ports open to trade are:-Newchwang, Chinwantao, Tientsin, Chefoo, Woosung, Shanghai, Soochow, Chinkiang, Nanking, Wuhu, Kiukiang, Hankow, Yochow, Chang-
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