

CHINA. 



123 



Manchu, watches over all the other bodies and re- 

 ports to the Emperor shortcomings and delinquen- 

 cies occurring in any branch of the public service. 

 The Tsung-li-Yamen, or Foreign Officers a modern 

 body, which since 1861 has conducted all affairs 

 with the Western nations 

 and with the institutions ! 

 directed by foreigners, such 

 as the maritime customs 

 and the Pekin University. 



The present Emperor 

 reigns under the name of 

 Kwangsu, signifying '* con- 

 tinuation of glory." He is 

 the son of Prince Chun, the 

 seventh son of the Emperor 

 Taokwang, and was born on 

 Aug. 2, 1873, succeeded his 

 cousin Tsaichun on Jan.. 12, 

 1875, under the regency of 

 his aunt, the dowager Em- 

 press Tsu-Hsi, born Nov. 17, 

 1834, and assumed the Gov- 

 ernment on March 4, 1889. 



Area and Population. 

 The area of the 18 provinces 

 of China proper is 1,336,841 

 square miles, with a popula- 

 tion estimated at 386,000,000. 

 The Chinese Empire, includ- 

 ing besides these Manchuria, 

 Mongolia, Tibet, Jungaria, 

 and Eastern Turkestan, has 

 a total area of 4,218.400 

 square miles, with 402,680,- 

 000 inhabitants. 



The number of foreigners 

 residing in the treaty ports 

 on Jan. 1, 1897, was 10,855, 

 of whom 4,362 were British 

 subjects, 1,439 Americans, 

 933 French, 871 Portuguese, 

 870 Germans, 852 Japanese, 

 410 Spaniards, 407 Swedes and Norwegians, and 

 1,011 of other nationalities. 



Finances. The revenue and expenditure of the 

 Pekin Government were previous to the Japanese 

 war estimated at about 89,000,000 taels a yejir. The 

 expenses of the imperial province, including the 

 cost of the Manchu garrisons and of the imperial 

 household, were 19,478,000 taels, the cost of the 

 northern naval squadron 5,000,000 taels, contribu- 

 tions for the southern squadrons were 5,000,000 

 taels, the annual expenditure on forts and guns for 

 coast defense 8,000,000 taels, the cost of garrisoning 

 Manchuria was 1,848,000 taels, that of the defense 

 of Kansu and the Central Asian districts 4,800,000 

 taels, contributions to the provinces of Yunnan and 

 Kweichow were 1,655.000 taels, interest and repay- 

 ments of foreign loans 2.500,000 taels, railroad con- 

 struction cost 500,000 taels, the cost of river em- 

 bankments and other public works was 1,500,000 

 taels, the expense of the customs administration, in- 

 cluding lighthouses and revenue cruisers, was 2,478,- 

 000 taels, and 36,220,000 taels were distributed 

 among the 18 provinces for administrative expenses 

 and the maintenance of the troops. 



The receipts of the board of maritime customs 

 for 1896 were 7,669,640 taels from imports, 8,455,528 

 taels from exports, 1,306,346 taels from the coasting 

 trade, 611,026 taels of tonnage dues, 617,067 of 

 commuted likin taxes, and 3,919',759 taels of opium 

 likin ; total. 22,579,366 taels. 



The public debt at the beginning t>f 1897 con- 

 sisted of a loan of 627,675 obtained in 1874, a loan 

 of 1,604,276 raised in 1878, a silver loan for 1.- 

 505,000 raised in 1886, a German loan of 250.000 



contracted in 1887, another silver loan of 1,635,000 

 raised in 1894, a gold loan of 3,000,000 obtained in 

 1895, various other loans of that year amounting to 

 2,000,000, the Anglo-German loan of 1896 amount- 

 ing to 16,000,000, bearing 6 per cent, interest, and 







TEMPLE AND PRIESTS 1 DWELLING ON A ROCK IN THE YANGTSE-KIANG, NEAR HANKAU. 



about 5,000,000 of internal loans contracted in 

 1895; total, 49,691,951 sterling. 



Communications. The railroad from Tientsin 

 to Pekin, 73 miles, was opened on June 30, 1897. 

 One 12 miles long has been built to connect Shang- 

 hai with Wusung. The railroad that brings coal 

 down from the Kaiping mines to the Petang river 

 has been continued through Taku to Tientsin and 

 Linsi and is being carried through to Shanhaikwan. 



Pekin has telegraphic communication with Eu- 

 rope by a connection with the Russian overland 

 line in the Amur valley, as well as by the cables. 

 The imperial system of telegraphs consists of lines 

 joining the capital with Tientsin and the chief 

 towns of Manchuria up to the Russian frontier, 

 with Niuchwang, Chifoo, Shanghai, Yangchau, Su- 

 chau. all the ports on the Yangtse-Kiang, Canton, 

 Wuchau, Lungchau, and the other principal cities 

 of the empire, and, by the line running from 

 Canton inland to the capital of Yunnan, with the 

 Indian telegraph system, with which a connection is 

 made at Manwyne, on the frontier of Burmah. From 

 Shanghai a line runs to Amoy. Fuchnu, Kashing, 

 and Ningpo. Fuchau is also connected with Can- 

 ton. From Taku a line runs through Port Arthur 

 to the Korean capital. 



Commerce. The total value of imports in 1896 

 was 202,589.994 taels, and of exports 131,081,421 

 taels. The imports of cotton cloth were valued at 

 47,233,000 taels; cotton yarns, 32.010.000 taels; 

 opium, 28.652,000 taels ; rice, 15,022,000 taels ; kero- 

 sene, 9,083,000 taels ; sugar, 7,002,000 taels ; woolen 

 cloth. 5.080,000 taels ; sea products. 4,988,428 taels ; 

 iron, 3,680.000 taels; coal. 3,540,000 taels; fish, 3,- 



