Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-08-30
A Chinese Census.

For two and half centuries the tail
has been wagging the dog in the Celes-
tial Empire The ruling dynasty Man
churian, the Emperor and those dictat-
| ing in his name, representatives of a
minority, of say, eight millions i'll a
total Of four hundred millions.
How many people there are in China
can, however, no more be stated ap-
proximately with ordinary presump-
| ton as basis, than it can definitely
with ANYTHING official to go upon. 1t is
true that in 1912 the Pekin authorities
issued, what they termed, an official
statement of the population by provin-
| ces. Forty years later, or in 1882, there
was another publication, ostensibly
| going into detail after the usual census
| fashion. But the inconsistencies, incon
| gfuities and general hap-hazard manner
| characterizing these emanations, stamp
ed them upon a par with all the utteran
ces which the Chinese official succeeds
! in inducing himself to father. He
views an authoritative statement, hay
| ing to do within his province, as merely
calling for the expression OF his own
opinion.
Any award of public funds to him is
not to his notion a compensation fol
duties performed, but present in ap,
| probation of his personal loyalty to
those above him. The contemplation
of division of what may come to him
never enters his head, Besides, 1t Is
not at all necessary as he, of himself,
| knows all that should be known rela-
tive to his bailiwick. To acknowledge
he did not, by calling upon others to
| assist him in ascertaining, would be tG
confess falling short of the standard,
and thereby breed no end of trouble fol-
himself SO. whatever may be asked OF
him in the way of data, is at once for
! warded, the exceeding simplicity OF the
system of aggregation and compilation
avoiding all excuse for delay.
Such thing as house to house can
vas, and an enumeration, however mea
gre in actual detail, has never been
known throughout China. To attempt
it would straightway cause trouble,
every Chinaman thinking it new
scheme to extort money and conducting
himself accordingly.
Some outside authorities estimate the
population of the Empire as high as
| 450. 900, ,000-others as low as 300. .OOO, 600.
Between these totals may, or may not,
be fairly correct. Journeying by the
Yangstee, through what has been well
| termed the Mississippi Valley of China,
making side trips up and down its
numerous tributaries; later, taking IN
| the Southern Cantonese districts, and
subsequently those north from Hankow
| to Tien-Tsin, the traveller would regard
| the higher estimate as not excessive.
But after the trio OF tremendous
stretches from Pekin-the one due west
| to Kashgar. the second northwest over
| the Caravan route to Kiakhta, and the
third straight north to the confluence of
the Shelka with the Amoor, the lesser
figure would seem the more warranted.
The Chinese Empire in its entirety Is
| a gigantic thing geographically,
extending as it does from the eighteen
tn to the fiftyfourth degree north. and
from the seventy y-second east Three
thousand miles one way and 1000 the
other Four and quarter million
square miles, or nearly a million more
than our own total area.
The two provinces in the South.
Kwang -Tung and Kwang-Se, over
which Li-Hung Chang OF present exer-
cises despotic sway as Governor Gen
eral or Viceroy, have an aggregated
area of 15S. 900 miles-a territory larger
than Ohio, Illinois and Michigan com
bined-and an estimated population OF
81, 900, 600, which is greater than the
total of cur population west OF the Al
leghany Mountains.
Canton and Swatow are in Kwang-
Tung and the province is renowned for
its silk products. The province of
Pechilli, in which are both Pekin and
Tien- -Tsin, has an area of 10000 square
miles equal, say, to that of New York,
Connecticut and Massachusetts, a
population of 20, 900, 900, or three times
that of the States named.
Sze-Chuen, in the west, is the largest
province in the Empire, having an area
of 10, 900, square miles-exceeding that
of New England and the Middle States
and a population of 10000, 600, or
equal to that of our entire country. 1t,
like Kwang is noted for the char
acter and extent of silk produced. Hoo
Pin, in Central China, is another big
province with 10000 square miles and
80, 900, 900 population. Hankow is its
great city. Shantung, in the Northeast,
with fifty odd thousand square miles,
has a population of 36,000 900, while
|.Keang- Su and Keang-Si. in the South,
Fukien, in the Southeast, NyanWei, III
the East, and Human, in Middle China,
all exceed 1000, 900 population.