The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-02-10
Gordon's Advice to the Chinese.

Colonel Gordon's advice to the Chinese
is briefly to this effect "You have o
military organization and discipline
which is suited to your people do not
alter it. Arm them in large numbers
with breech. leaders which will carry 1000
yards. Better these than q superior
class carrying 1900 and do not manufac-
ture them yourselves. You can buy
them abroad cheaper and better; and
they should be on one system applicable
to the whole. Then numbers, which
China has the advantage over all other
nations, will tell. Chinese power is in
in her numbers, in the quick movement
of her troops, the little baggage they re-
quire, and their few wants." Hence he
concludes, "China should never engage
in pitched battles; her strength is in her
quick movements, in cutting of
the trains of baggage and
enemies, and in night attacks not pushed
home. Rockets, not cannon, in such
service, to be moved with the troops.
China should not attack forts; she ought
to wait and starve her foes out and worry
them day and night" These directions,
1t will be seen, all have reference to de-
fensive operations on land if invaded,
and in the calculation that rapid march
ing, surprising conveys and cutting off
supplies, with the aid of the heliograph.
would enable them to weary out their
enemy and sicken his troops. As to the
coast defense, he recommends that it
should be protected by torpedoes, sown
thickly-even at the risk of occasionally
blowing up junk or two-and so scat
tered that the enemy cannot learn where
to look for them. "Anxiety as to their
whereabouts would make people i'll and
croos," he adds, land they should
be cheap, and fred by o fuse,
and not so expensive and COM
plicated ones, fred by electricity. China
should buy no more big guns; they cost
money and are great deal Of trouble TO
keep in order, and the enemys ships
have too thick sides to be pierced"
Again, "China should defend her sea-
coast by very heavy mortars; they cost
little, are easy to use, can be fred from
places the enemy cannot see, and he
cannot get safe from mortar-shot-it
falls on the deck, and there 1t breaks
everything. China can get 500 mortars
for the same money she gets an 18-ton gun
for, and if she loses them, the loss is lit
tie. No enemy could get into a port
which is defended by 1900 large
mortars and plenty of torpedoes.
So, also, the Chinese feet should
consist, on the same principle, of
small, quick vessels, with light draught
and no great weight of armor. China's
strength is in the creeks, not on the open
sea. China needs no Europeans to help
her to carry out this programme, and it
is cheap as we'll as feasible one. If
China cannot do this for herself, then no
one else can do it for her. But as long
as Pekin is the seat Of Government,
China can never afford to go to war with
any first-class Power-it is too near the
sea. The Emperor queen bee) must be
in the center of the hive. Finally, and
the sting as we'll as the moral of the
whole is there, "No iron clads or iron
gunboats can help China till she has
place to keep them in. But China can
have no place (asylum) to keep them till
she has an army, and China cannot have
an army when Generals keep 1000 men
and draw pay for 5000. These Generals
ought to have their heads cut uf.-Con-
temporary Review.