Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/805

 DEFENCE

753

The customs receipts for«4 years^weie (in Haikwan taels)

Year Foreign Trade Home Trade

1917 1918 1919 1920

Total

Taels 31,135,409 29,599,509 38,262,9S3

Taels 7,054,020 6,745,536 7,746,177

Taels 38,189,429 36,345,045 46,009,160 49,500,000

Total

8,244,541 9,606,828 14,569,567 16,8*0 MM

Exchange

Pane*

" tl 63/ 4 76

Iu the Budget for 1918-19 the whole public debt is estimated at 1,886,641,457 dollars, of which 1,644,931,600 dollars is foreign indebtedness.

Defence

Army.

The task of creating an army on modern lines was inaugurated by Imperial decree in January, 1905, and in October, 1907, an edict was issued ordering the formation of 36 divisions in the various provinces of the Empire by 1912. Recruiting for this new annv, which is called the Lu Chun, was on a principle of modified conscription, "the terms of service were 3 years with the colours, 3 in the first reserve, and 4 in the second reserve, or 10 years in all. On January 1, 1916, a modified form of conscription came into force.

These 36 divisions were to have an establishment of about 10,000 combatants each. A division consisted of 2 brigades of infantry, one regiment of cavalry, one regiment of artillery and 9 batteries, 1 Sapper battalion and 1 transport battalion, besides medical and other units, &c. In all the number was nominally about 250,000, actually it was about 180,000. Northern troops have so far shown superiority over the southern troops both in train- ing and armament. No organisation is as yet complete for the second .reserve. Besides the Lu Chun, provincial militia were still in existence. They were the remains of a force which the Lu Chun had superseded and were being organised to form a civil police under the control of the Provincial Viceroys. They consisted only of mounted troops and infantry and some old fashioned artillery.

Theoretically all military forces are under the control of the Ministry of War and are paid by the Central Government, the authority of the Ministry being delegated in each province to specially appointed Military Commis- sioners. Provincial Civil Governors have no authority over the military Lu Chun, but can call for their services when needed : they have control of the police and of the provincial militia, both of which bodies are paid from the provincial revenues.

Since the demise of Yuan Shih-kai the military governors have been practically independent of Peking, and have recruited as they saw tit. The result has been a very large increase in the Chinese military forces, which are estimated to have reached a total of 1,500,000 in 1920. The present state of the exchequer does not admit of the paying off of surplus troops without assistance from foreign funds, and it is realised that if the demobi- lised men are not to become bandits a well considered scheme of disbandment is necessary. During 1920 considerable reductions have been made, and there is some promise of the introduction of a more definite and ordered military establishment.

Natt.

The largest vessel is the protected cruiser Hai Chi, of 4,300 tons displace- ment and 24 knots, carrying a main armament of 2 8-in. guns, 10 4"7-in. guns and 5 above-water torpedo tubes. There are also three 3,000-ton cruisers, Hai