The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-11-26

merchants doing business in her seaport
towns all the neede-guns which Prussia used
when she went to war with Austria in 1866.
She has fully 100000 of these besides large
number Of Schneider rifles and also some
Remington rifles, think. 1 have no doubt
that China could easily arm 100000 men
with these improved arms. China has also
purchased through European houses a num-
Der of Krupp and Armstrong cannon.
The Chinese navy is offo11nidable strength.
1t includes about a dozen men-of-war of the
latest armament and power, dozen or so
corvettes and another dozen revenue cruisers.
Each OF the latter carries three heavy guns
Some of these vessels were constructed in
England and some in Germany. All the
war vessels have English engineers and some
OF them are differed by Englishmen.
The Chinese are making modern cannon
themselves now. They have foundries near
Shanghai, where they are casting steel can
non. These are made exactly as the Eu
ropeans make them. apparently. Whether
or not they are as good don't know There
are large arSenals in different parts of China
where arms and vast quantities of ammuni-
ton and other materials of war are stored.
Certain it is that the bulk of the artillery be-
longing to the government is in fine cond!-
ton.
The ports of China are at least better pro-
tected than those OF the United States. Each
seaport town has stone fort armed with
heavy modern guns, When England and
France went to war with China quarter of
century ago the Celestials were without
the knowledge and implements OF war which
they now possess. They had no good rifles;
their cannon, constructed by themselves
upon their own models, were clumsy and
Intellectual arms their soldiery were timid
and even cowardly. Their training in
European methods of warfare and their SUI
perior equipment make them much more
formidable now. OF course, against an equal
number OF Europeans, a Chinese force would
probably be able to oppose but q weak re-
sistance.
The Chinese are not warlike nation, but
the vastness of the Chinese population and
the immense distance between France and
China must be taken into account / think
that if France goes to war with China France
viii get whipped. She could not
land sufficiently large army to accomplish
much against the power which the
Chinese could oppose to her to resist inya-
sion. Ten thousand French troops have been
landed in Tonquin, but 10000 men would
be an utterly Insignificant force against the
hordes of China. France would probably
undertake the invasion with an additional
army of 10000. She would transport these
undoubtedly on the vessels OF Franco-Cbi-
nese steamship lines. These include forty
line steamers-the equal in sea-going quail
ties of Cunarders and other transatlantic
steamers but larger in size. Each of these
could furnish transportation for 1000 to
1,5O0 soldiers. The Chinese feet and forts
would be apt to make very formidable re-
sistance to their landing The French could
not land in Hong Kong because that is an
English colony. They would probably try
to land in Shanghai and go up to Picking,
the capital of the country, as they did in
1852 or they might try to land in Canton.