CHINA. 



l.-iws of tho state, and, in general, to 

 1st tho Kmpi-ror in tho administration of tho 



untry. Of Into, tliis board has lost much c,f 

 form.-!- inll'i.-in-i', and the admini-trution of 



e empire i> cliiflly conducted by tlio Council 

 Tliis hoard is composed of tho iin- 



rial princes, the Secretaries of State, tho 

 !.-n;> i the Ministries, and the chiefs of 

 otlu-r branches of administration. It has the 

 duty of drawing up the imperial dcriv.-s 

 inul decisions, and adopting such resolutions 

 a> HIV n.vussary for an effective and well- 

 regulated administration. Subordinate to tho 

 of State, and the Council of tho 

 Empire, are six ministries or executive depart- 

 ments, at tho head of each of which are two 

 presidents and four vice-presidents (one-half 

 Mantehoos and one-half Chinese). Some de- 

 partments, like those of War, of Justice, and 

 of I'nlilir Works, have, moreover, a chief presi- 

 dent. Other boards, dependent upon the Sec- 

 retaries of Stato and the Imperial Council, 

 are, the Colonial Ministry, the Board of Cen- 

 sors, and the Peking or Imperial Academy. 

 The Colonial Ministry is charged with the Ad- 

 ministration of Mongolia and other Chinese 

 dependencies. The Board of Censors consists 

 of two chief censors, of four assistants, and 

 from forty to fifty censors. It is a kind of 

 Court of Revision and Appeal. Its members 

 have the right to bring to the knowledge of 

 the Emperor any remonstrances against ad- 

 ministrative measures, and even to criticise 

 imperial decrees. A department of Foreign 

 Alfjiirs was established in 1860, and consists of 

 the Presidents of tho Executive Departments. 



The public revenue is mostly derived from 

 three sources, namely, customs, licenses, and 

 a tax upon land. The aggregate revenue of 

 the Government is estimated at $200,000,000 

 taels (1 tael = $1.61). The receipts from the 

 customs of the treaty-ports have been regularly 

 published since 1861. The customs duties fall 

 more upon exports than imports ; their total 

 produce at the treaty-ports amounted, in 1871, 

 to 11,216,000 Haikuan taels; in 1872, to 11,- 

 678,636; in 1873, to 10,977,082. China has, 

 as yet, no foreign debt ; it is not known 



whether tho Government has rained or b re- 

 sponsible for loans contracted at horn.-. 



The foreign com men , ,,l China, from 1870 to 

 1873, was as follows (value expressed in taeU): 



The foreign commerce of tho year 1872 was 

 thus divided among the several foreign coun- 

 tries (value expressed in taels) : 



The principal articles of imports and exports 

 were, in 1872 and 1873, as follows (value ex- 

 pressed in taels) : 



The movement of shipping in tho Chinese 

 ports, from 1871 to 1873, was as follows (en- 

 trances and clearances combined) : 



The Peking Gazette of December 15, 1873, 

 contains imperial decrees which confirm tho 

 report that had been current of a success ob- 

 tained by the troops under Tso Tsung-tang, 



over the Mohammedan insurgents in Kansnh. 

 The achievement turns out to be no less than 

 the capture of the city of Su-chow, in the 

 extreme northwest of Kansuh, which has for 



