, 1883-07-26

ine ,he equipments AID aee-u1'' re
mcnt5 OF the Chinese soldiers used
Sc, .ata Is the CaSh-ar 7...r. s1E-" ie.-
years ago, and still the sol" armament
Of 2 large portion Of the imperial
forces. Every Chinese soldier was
fr.y:Ied with shield anJ hc-aet,
l@o double eiged swords. Il match
LEX and spear, bow and arro"=. =
curias5 Of quilted and double cotton
cloth. with knobs Of brass ana non
plates. 50 that they might be c,a-i'-
cred Us walking arsona!s.
FOUNDING \ HATY.
The foundation Of = Chiun-e navy
was laid in 1877. when th" govern
laent received four ironcIad gun
boats built in England, which yEare
supplemented by four others. also
constructed in England, in 1879. In
1880 an ironclad frignt" was .,ui!s
in Germany to the order Of the Chi
Ie5e government. and the empire now
possesses Il fleet Of ffty-Six vessels,
divided into three squaGrous,
stationed respectively al Canton,
Too Choo and Shanghai Times have
changed since her last Wa nth
France and England twenty two
years AGO. China now Possesses Hu
efficient fleet. built III the latest style
and officpred by French, European
and American officers. She possesses
an active and efficient army III the
field OF 100000 strong, without sub
tracting from the strength Of her
numerous garrisons, which could he
easily raised to 1,O00,00j0 men. and
this army, commanded also by Nes
tern officers, is no longer equipped
rs in the past, with antiquate1 weap
ons, but armed with the best and
most modern rifles, clad and discip-
lined in the European style, ana pos
sessing rs its commander in chief
the warlike and energetic prince
Chun, the enperor's father
RESOURCES TGR VAR.
China possesses 1888 iorts, no
longer undefenaed on Hanks and rear
as of old, but perfectly constructed
and armed with hrupp guns. She
has i'll addition est;.b!isod two aesen-
ais. one ut Foo Chow, the othcr at
Kianguan, Hear Shanghai. capable
of turning out III one year twenty
Armstrong forty Founders, and each
employing upward OF iGJJ natives.
In 1879 the twenty Armstrong; above
mentioned We're completed aud tested
by English engineers. Since then
from the Shanghai arsenal have been
launched four or iyc y9;ir ve5-a!a oi
5000 tons burden, SO tiI3t fo- haT ;r-
maments, artillery. munitions oi wHr.
if pressed, China could depend On
herself. As the learned Abbe Hue
says: For the equipment o; her
army she would have no need .: i5ur-
eign nations for material. workmen
or invention. All these she could
find in her own country" For hor
navy she possesses ineXhaustibIe re-
sources III the numerous fishermen
to be found ON her lakes, rivers seas,
whose ranks would furnish men ex-
perienced III navigation. 1t IS not
therefore, by any means, a foregone
conclusion that France will have ii
all her own way, though she seems,
Judging by the ridicu!ously small
credit granted blythe Legi stature for
the equally small expeditionary force.
to be confident of the result. Natur-
ally the French officers now com
manding Chinese officers will be re-
called, but the other western officers
will remain. China is resolved not
to allow her dignity IS auzerain Of
AMMAN to be abated one title, while
France, eager in her pursuit of a
colonial empire, can scarcely have
weighed well the power Of her foe,
or the strength of the Chinese
empire, The issue of the approach
ing struggle is one which is of mo-
ment to all foreign nations trading
with China, as without doubt her
policy and attitude towards America
and Europe would be materially
altered were the result disastrous to
France. The anti-foreign party
would again obtain the ascendancy.
while the Tarter petentate would
once more regard al foreign nations
as vassals and tributaries and assert
the same prerogatives over them as
of old.