266 



FRANCE. 



Glorieuse Islands, which have only 14 inhab- 

 itants, are attached to Mayotte. The Comoro 

 Islands, in the Madagascar Channel, have an area 

 of 620 square miles, with a population of about 

 47,000, mostly Mohammedans, who cultivate 

 sugar and vanilla and have planted more re- 

 cently coffee and cloves. The budgets of the dif- 

 ferent islands amounted in 1900 to 259,711 francs. 

 Grande Comore has a debt of 950,000 francs. 

 There is a large French coal depot there. The 

 resident at the head of the local administration 

 of Grande Comore is appointed by the Governor 

 of Reunion, who appoints another resident for 

 Anjouan and Moheh, the islands having been 

 placed under his direction in 1896. 



French India consists of the towns of Pondi- 

 rln'ry. Sharidt-rnagar, Karikal. Mahe, and Ya- 

 naon and adjacent districts on the Coromandel 

 coast. The total area is 196 square miles, and 

 the population in 1901 was estimated at 273,185. 

 Tin- Governor, residing at Pondichery, is P. F. 

 Rodier. There is an elective General Council, and 

 the colony is represented in the French Chambers 

 by a Senator and a Deputy. The local revenue in 

 1901 was estimated at 1,255,000 francs. The ex- 

 penditure of France in 1902 was 473,000 francs. 

 The debt consists of a rente of 48,955 rupees a 

 year. Cotton and jute are manufactured and oil 

 is expressed from earthnuts at Pondichery, 

 which exports oil-seeds to France. The value of 

 the imports at this port and Karikal in 1900 was 

 4.037.937 francs, and of the exports 10,722,234 

 francs. The number of vessels entered was 373, 

 of 478,846 tons; cleared, 351, of 478,554 tons. 



French Indo-China includes the colony of 

 Cochin-China and the protectorates of Cambodia, 

 Annam, Tonquin, with the Laos territory, and 

 the territory of Kwang-Chi-Wan, leased from 

 China in 1898. The Governor-General of Indo- 

 China at the beginning of 1902 was Paul Doumer, 

 residing at Saigon. He returned to France, and 

 was succeeded in October by J. B. P. Beau, French 

 minister tp China at the time of his appointment. 

 The military forces consist of 8,860 French troops 

 and 14.935 native soldiers under French officers 

 and non-commissioned officers. The general 

 budget for 1901 makes the revenue $22,998,000 in 

 silver, of which $5,940,000 were derived from cus- 

 toms, $3,700,000 from the spirit monopoly, 

 $6,400,000 from the opium monopoly, $2,400,- 

 000 from the salt monopoly, $807,000 from 

 registration, stamps, and domains, and $3,751,- 

 000 from various sources. The expenditures 

 were estimated at $22,982,000, of which $4,677,- 

 000 were for military expenses, $4,572,000 for 

 administration of the customs and monopo- 

 lies, $1,478,000 for posts and telegraphs, $3,866,- 

 000 for public works, $3,482,823 for the public 

 debt, ana $4,906,177 for various expenses. There 

 have been heavy deficits, which now are said to 

 have ceased. The taxes which bear heavily on 

 the natives are to be lightened. Obstacles to 

 trade in the customs service will be removed. 

 The completion of the railroad system and its 

 extension into Kwangtung, Kwangsi, and Yun- 

 nan are important Government enterprises, and 

 projected irrigation canals for the benefit of the 

 native agricultural interests present . another 

 financial problem. The equilibrium of the budget 

 was disturbed once more in 1902 by bad harvests. 

 The revenue for 1902 was estimated at $-!7. 

 142.000 in silver, and the expenditure at $27,128,- 

 <MH). The expenditure of France was 33,574,923 

 francs. Free passages were given to 238 French 

 emigrant! to Indo-China in 1900 and to 237 in 

 1901. The railroad from Saigon to Mytho. 51 

 miles, has been in operation many years. A line 



in Tonquin from Phulang-Thuong to Langson, 

 64 miles, was completed in 1894. Loans were 

 authorized in 1898 by the Franch Chambers for 

 the construction of a system of railroads 

 throughout Indo-China. Contracts were made in 

 1900 for lines from Hanoi to Vietry, to Haiphong, 

 to Ninh-Binh, and to Yinh. The line was extend- 

 ed from Langson to the Chinese frontier in that 

 year and southward to Gialam, on the opposite 

 bank of the Red river, from Hanoi. The rail- 

 roads from Hanoi to Yietry, 98 miles, and from 

 Hanoi to Ninh-Binh, 73 miles, were completed in 

 1902. Lines from Yietry to Laokai, 140 miles, 

 from Ninh-Binh to Vinh, 133 miles, and from 

 Tourane to Hue, 65 miles, were projected; one 

 from Saigon to Tanlinh, 82 miles, was building; 

 and lines from Panlinh to Lang-Biang and Khan- 

 hoa, 290 miles, from Hue to Kwangtri, 53 miles, 

 and from Laokai to Y.unnansen, 285 miles, were 

 being studied. The imports and exports of Indo- 

 China have grown from 215.000,000 francs in 1896 

 to 534,000,000 francs in 1902. Special imports 

 have risen from 81,000,000 francs to 202,000,000 

 francs, and special exports from 88,000,000 francs 

 to 160,000,000 francs. The largest share in this 

 increased trade has gone to France, whose im- 

 ports into Cochin-China increased from 30,000,- 

 000 francs to 100.000.000 francs, while exports to 

 France increased from 10,000,000 francs to 39,000,- 

 000 francs. 



Cochin-China is represented by a Deputy in the 

 French Chamber. The area is 23,160 square miles; 

 the estimated population, 2,323,499, of whom 

 4,451 are Europeans; 73,234 of the natives are 

 Roman Catholics and 1,688,270 are Buddhists. 

 The native military force numbered 2,405 in 1902. 

 About one-fifth of the area of the country is cul- 

 tivated, the principal crop being rice, which cov- 

 ered 2,910,033 acres in 1900. There have been 

 153,600 acres acquired by 355 Europeans. The 

 production of rice was 607,800 tons in 1900. 

 The exports of rice were 607,800 tons, val- 

 ued at 89,225,000 francs. Exports of fish were 

 8,975,000 francs in value; of colonial products, 

 5,700,000 francs. Other exports are cardamom- 

 seed, copra, silk, cotton, pepper, and hides. Cof- 

 fee is being planted, mostly by Europeans. The 

 total value of imports in 1900 was 121.675,000 

 francs; of exports, 107,350,000 francs, of which 

 25,450,000 francs went to France and French col- 

 onies. There were 573 vessels, of 770,422 tons, 

 entered and cleared at the port of Saigon during 

 1900. The length of telegraph-lines is 2,276 miles, 

 with 3,840 miles of wire. The local revenue and 

 expenditure in 1901 was estimated at $4,204,244 

 in silver. 



Cambodia became a French protectorate in 

 1862. The area is 37,400 square miles. The popu- 

 lation consists of about 1,200.000 natives of vari- 

 ous races, 250,000 Chinese and Annamites, 40,000 

 Malays, and 350 Europeans. The native ruler is 

 King Norodom. Pnom-Penh, the capital, lias 

 about 50,000 inhabitants. The production of pep- 

 per in 1900 was 750,000 kilograms. Rice is also 

 an important crop. Other products are cotton, 

 salt fish, tobacco, betel, indigo, cinnamon, and 

 coffee. The local revenue in 1901 was estimated 

 at $1.951,487 in silver, out of which the King and 

 royal family receive $525,000 for the maintenance 

 of the court. ' 



The French protectorate over Annam was es- 

 tablished in 1886 and Thanh-Thai was made 

 King in 1889. Hue, the capital, with 30,000 in- 

 habitants, is garrisoned with French troops, and 

 the Government is carried on by native officials 

 under French supervision. The area is 52.100 

 square miles, with a population estimated at 



