GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



325 



of tin in 1900 was 21,166 tons from Perak, 16,041 

 tons from Selanger, 4,300 tons from Negri Sembi- 

 lan, and 935 tons from Pahang. The average 

 export price was 130 a ton. From Pahang 

 17,048 ounces of gold were exported. Liberian 

 coffee is cultivated in most of the states, and 

 pepper, gambier, sugar, rice, and tapioca are val- 

 uable products. The trade of Perak in 1900 

 amounted to $14,741,148 of imports and $29,190,- 

 663 of exports; of Selangor, $18,406,571 of im- 

 ports and $21,798,444 of exports; of Negri Sembi- 

 lan, $4,281,457 of imports and $7,048,988 of ex- 

 ports ; of Pahang, $973,405 of imports and $2,322,- 

 ;950 of exports; total imports, $38,402,581; total 

 exports, $60,361,045. There were 114 miles of rail- 

 roads in Perak, 97 miles in Selangor, and 25 

 miles in Negri Sembilan on Dec. 31, 1900. Johor, 

 a native state which has placed its foreign rela- 

 tions in the hands of the British, produces pep- 



T, coffee, tea, gambier, sago, and gutta-percha. 



The Cocos Islands, having a population of 554, 

 have been administered from Singapore since 

 1886. They produce coconuts in abundance and 



port oil and copra. Christmas Island, contain- 

 ing immense quantities of phosphate, were an- 

 exed to Singapore in 1900, when 550 Chinese, 



alays, and Sikhs were taken to the island to 



ig phosphate, of which 37,000 tons were shipped 



the first year and in 1901 as much as 200,000 tons. 



Hong-Kong, a Crown colony on the coast of 

 China, has an area of 29 square miles and a 

 population of 283,975 in 1901, exclusive of 13,237 

 soldiers and sailors. The white population in 

 1891 was 8,545, of whom nearly half were of 

 Portuguese origin, one-third British, and the rest 

 Germans, Americans, French, Spanish, etc. In 

 1900 the immigration from China was 121,322 

 and the number of Chinese emigrants was 83,643. 

 In a convention signed on June 9, 1898, China 

 leased to Great Britain for ninety-nine years the 

 Chinese port of Kaulung and territory adjoining 

 Mirs Bay having an area of 376 square miles and 

 a Chinese population of 100,000. A police force 

 of 27 Europeans and 105 Indians has been organ- 

 ized for the new territory, where in 1900 a reve- 

 nue from Crown rents of $17,530 was collected, 

 while expenditure on police was $102,292 and on 

 public works and other objects $243,362. The 

 revenue of Hong-Kong in 1900 was $3,235,329 

 from ordinary sources and $967,257 from premi- 

 ums on land and water account; the expenditure 

 was $3.155,242 for ordinary purposes and $473,205 

 for defensive works, water, and other extraordi- 

 nary purposes. On civil establishments the ex- 

 penditure was $1,532,909. The British garrison 

 is about 3,600 strong, and the volunteers number 

 366. The contribution of the colony in aid of 

 military expenditure was $655,686 in 1900. The 

 debt incurred for water-supply, fortifications, and 

 sanitary works is 341.800. The assets of the 

 colony exceeded the liabilities by $1,532,909 on 

 Jan. 1, 1901. The imports are about 4.000,000 

 and exports 2,000,000. The free port of Hong- 

 Kong is the distributing point for the trade in 

 Indian opium with China and for the trade 

 in kerosene, salt, cotton goods, and many other 

 imports, and it is the port from which much of 

 the tea, silk, and other Chinese products are 

 shipped. The registered shipping on Jan. 1, 1901, 

 consisted of 17 sailing vessels, of 6,590 tons, and 

 40 steamers, of 23,507 tons. During 1900 the 

 number of merchant vessels entered was 5,473, 

 of 7,021.982 tons, besides 17,732 junks, of 1,604,- 

 632 tons. About half the foreign trade is Eng- 

 lish, and the rest is mainly with India, Aus- 

 tralia, the United States, and Germany. The 

 Governor in 1902 was Sir Henry A. Blake. 



Wei-Hai-Wei, a port on the peninsula of Shan- 

 tung in China, was leased on July 1, 1898, to 

 Great Britain for as long a period a the Rus- 

 sians shall retain possession of Port Arthur. The 

 area of the leased district is 270 square miles, 

 with 123,750 inhabitants. In a neutral zone be- 

 yond the leased territory Great Britain has the 

 right to erect fortifications and post troops for 

 the defense of Wei-Hai-Wei, but Chinese admin- 

 istration must not be disturbed. Parliament 

 voted 130,000 in 1899 for the defense of Wei- 

 Hai-Wei. A battery of royal artillery 128 strong 

 is garrisoned there, with 58 engineers, and 8 

 companies of Chinese infantry, 1,083 men, have 

 been recruited and trained. The British Com- 

 missioner is J. H. Stewart Lockhart. The na- 

 tives are fishermen and farmers. Salt fish of the 

 value of $60,000 are exported. The British Gov- 

 ernment after building two forts abandoned the 

 plan of making Wei-Hai-W T ei a naval base. 

 Early in 1902 the intention was announced of 

 converting it into a sanatorium for officers and 

 men of the fleet and a seaside resort for Euro- 

 peans in Chinese ports. 



Mauritius is an island in the Indian Ocean, hav- 

 ing an area of 705 square miles and a population 

 according to the census of 1901 of 367,472, ex- 

 clusive of 2,935 soldiers living in barracks and 

 non-resident seamen. The Governor is Sir 

 Charles Bruce. There is a Council of Govern- 

 ment consisting of 8 official, 9 nominated, and 

 10 elected members. There were 209,079 Hindus 

 and 34,763 Mohammedans in 1891. The number 

 of Chinese was estimated in 1900 at 3,226. The 

 Orientals are displacing the white Creoles as pro- 

 prietors and planters. The revenue in 1900 was 

 9,179,975 rupees; expenditure, 8,568,943 rupees; 

 debt, 1,189,284, besides which a loan of 32,820 

 was authorized in 1899 for public works and 

 one of 100,000 in 1901 for reafforestation. The 

 imperial garrison in 1900 was 2,139 men. The 

 colony contributed 31,753 for military expenses. 

 The value of imports in 1900 was 18,276,360 ru- 

 pees; of exports, 31,403.286 rupees, of which 

 28,836,354 rupees represent raw sugar; 224,086 

 rupees, rum; vanilla, 169,821 rupees; aloe fiber, 

 940,432 rupees; coconut-oil, 46,479 rupees. There 

 were 266 vessels, of 337,834 tons, entered in 1900 

 and 268, of 333,706 tons, cleared. The registered 

 shipping of the colony consisted of 63 sailing ves- 

 sels, of 5,103 tons, and 3 steamers, of 497 tons. 

 There are 105 miles of railroads and 135 miles 

 of telegraph-line, with cable connection with Zan- 

 zibar by way of the Seychelles and with Aus- 

 tralia and Natal. The dependent island of Rodri- 

 guez has a population estimated at 3,163. Diego 

 Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands, has 700 

 inhabitants, mostly negroes from Mauritius who 

 extract coconut-oil, of which 4,806 hectoliters was 

 exported in 1900. The Seychelles and dependent 

 islands have an area of 148 square miles, with 

 20.275 inhabitants. The revenue in 1900 was 399,- 

 312 rupees; expenditure, 351,920 rupees, including 

 a debt of 55,000 rupees repaid to the Mauritius 

 Government. The imports in 1900 were 980.911 

 rupees in value; exports, 1,036.161. Coconut-oil, 

 soap, vanilla, guano, fish, coffee, cacao, and tor- 

 toise-shell are exported. 



Most of the small islands and groups in the 

 Pacific have been annexed by Great Britain, even 

 the uninhabited rocks in the ocean. Fiji was 

 annexed in 1874, and the rule of the native queen 

 and chiefs was replaced by that of a Crown Gov- 

 ernor, Sir G. T. M. O'Brien in 1902, assisted by 

 a Legislative Council of 6 official and 6 nomi- 

 nated members. The chiefs still administer as 

 salaried officials two-thirds of the provinces and 



