The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-05-08 00:00:00

THE CHINESE ARMY.

In London, on Friday in last week, at the Royal
United Service Institution, Sir Rutherford Alcock
presiding, Captain W. Gill, R.E., read a paper on the
Chinese Army. He gave an account of the present
alien dynasty under the Manchu Sovereign, and
described the "Banner Army," so called because it
was ranged under eight banners, numbering roughly
some 230,000 non-commissioned officers and privates,
besides 40,000 e/eves (paid expectants to the higher
ranks) and 5,000 artificers and followers. There are
about 86,000 in Pekin, another 50,000 are distributed
about the province of Pe-Chih-Li, there are 40,000 in
Manchuria, and the remainder furnish the Tartar
garrisons of the chief cities throughout the Empire.

By far the most important of all the Banner Forces
is that which is known as the Hiau-Ki-Ying, and
which, according to Sir Thomas Wade, is the only
corps which can have any claim to be considered as
an army. They number some 36,000, besides 26,000
e/eves. - -

~............
But it is commonly believed that of the whole
Banner Forces throughout the Empire at the present
time no more than 30,000 of the Hiau-Ki-Ying in
Pekin, with, perhaps, another 18,000 of those that
make up the twenty-five garrisons, can be said to be
effective. Military exercises are almost universally
carried on in the Imperial hunting-park--an immense
tract of country surrounded by a wall, the access to
which is jealously forbidden to foreigners. In Pekin
there is a force of field artillery with modern breach-
loading guns, but of their numbers and effectiveness
he could form no idea.
Captain Gill then proceeded to speak of the force of
the Green Standard called Luk-Ying, which was, in
fact, the sonstitutional army of China—the Banner-
men being the soldiers of an alien, though suzerain
Power. The duties of the Luh-Ying were, however,
by no means confined to those of a European army;
the responsibilities of a police •force were imposed on
them ; by far the larger portion of the Luh-Ying land
force seemed to be devoted to the duty of preventing
robbery, contrabandism, and other crimes. Besides the
land force, the Luh-Ying manned the navy of the sea-
board provinces, and had a distinct organization of divi-
ions and garrisons, each under its general. So completely
were these forces under the Governors-General of
provinces that even the Imperial Cabinet at Pekin
fonnd it very difficult, and someti;nes impossible, to
, induciahese officers to move their army beyond the
iyotder§" of their ProVinee.''' The strength of these pro-
Vticial'arraieh varied tVith-ilie size of•the province and
With ttho dutieilsthey had .to y)erforzia:: Taking all the
"provinces, the average for each WAS about 34,500
- me# and 640 officers—me officer to 52 men.' Of :
.'
the "fri9.:4114-ties Pt the, uation ha-Aid-- Valh e Chinese 4-
rre, tharctr pndwing„.frugal,aud-
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enec.1.3443T those ot the Worth,:e,,re a fine. pvople ,phyt.:.
mcfallyi the
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Il'
ti hout complaint, eyTh are law-ab'di g, d end,'
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tii'git:re.iya,tddtin,:Petiiird.a4ioo,n.n:s i
for4ee showii us,what it•might-be . the soldiers were
re- perlylrakledi.
proporbr_paid. properly (*live .ifred, and Droporiv looked ,
after.'! : 11.0.held.that the Ghinese,,i4.
aqed conlidence, wppld fort *nlivl' '''' - -''
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, Iter fill

The Otranto Municipality, will celebrate, on the
14th of August, the annive.rsary of the 800 martyrs slaughtered
Achraet Pasha, under the orders of Bfahmoud 11.
ericish invasion of Southern Italy,
there
gbYthe