The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-07-15
CHINA 5 ARMY and navy
THEY MAY HAVE TO BE RECKON
ED WITH BY ALLIED
POWERS
NATIVES GENERALLY BRAVE
Eight Modern Protected Cruisers
and Torpedo Boats in the Navy
and 10000 Land
Force.

navy; that, instead, all attention should
be centered upon the Chinese army and
the hordes of antagonizing natives arm
ed with the crudest OF fighting imple-
ments. This assurance is based merely
upon the uncertain status Of affairs and
the assumption that the allied forces are
dealing only with an insurrectionary body
too big for suppression by the domestic
troops Let matters develop into gov
ernmental hostility, and the attitude OF
the Chinese navy becomes another thing.
The imperial navy is more imbued with
q spirit Of progress and European tolera-
ton than the Chinese army, and, so far
as that breeds a kinder regard for the
kindred arms of other nations, it is rea-
sonable to count upon a fairer view of the
present purpose of the allied forces in
shielding their subjects resident there; but
the moment the Boxers become the ex-
pOnents of the throne, the navy must be-
come involved in the support of the
kingdom and at once be reckoned with as
an effective unit of Chinese might
Flippantly, the Chinese navy has been
described as of no moment; but the allied
forces will do well not to consider her
few effective ships in that Indifferent
light, for there are soldiers of fortune in
plenty only too glad to lead those vessels
against desperate odds, or to use them in
some form of nautical guerrilla warfare
possible Of infinite damage.
The Chinese navy has never recovered
from its conflict with Japan, and, today,
cannot boast of a single armored craft in
the whole of the fleet, or two fleets, for so
the service is divided This at once mar
rows its service, but 1t does not preclude
the commission of some pretty serious
damage to the fleets or transports of the
allied powers. The imperial service has
eight protected cruisers of modern design,
the oldest being but ten years old OF
these ships two of them have AS and 1e
knot speeds, while the six remaining can
do from 20 to "a knots, and are eVolu-
tons Of the Armstrong cruiser of fine rap
id-flre gun power. Our New Orleans and
Albany are smaller versions of the class
There are six other cruisers Of older date
IA and 10 knot craft-armed with pretty
heavy Krupp guns of effective pattern.
The Hai-Chi and the Hai-Tien, built in
'91 and IS, are of 4,300 tons displacement.
They each have main battery of two
powerful S-inch and ten 47-inch quick
firing rifles with supplemental force of
sixteen 2-pounders six 11-pounders, and
a number of smaller quick-fring pieces.
They carry five torpedo tubes and have
compliments OF nearly 400 persons With
would be a serious menace to transports
not heavily conveyed, and to unguarded
merchantmen they might prove even a
more costly danger.
The Hai-Shen, Hai-Shew and Hai-Yung
built In Germany in 80 and '98, are YES
sells of $500 tons displacement, and can
do their 20.7 knots under forced draft
Each o. them carries three 5.9-inch and
eight 4-inch quick-firing Krupp rifles, to-
gether with an auxiliary force of a dozen
small rapid-fire pieces. They have three
torpedo tubes, of which one is of the lat
est under water type. Their compliments
are $50 persons. Their logical application,
under present conditions, would be to at
tack the commerce Of the allied powers,
or to pick off the wandering gunboats of
the enemy.
OF gunboats, or torpedo cruisers, as the
official list is pleased to call them, there
are nine, one of "A knots, one of % knots,
three of Is knots and four Of II knots
the last four could hardly do much
against the modern speedy torpedo boat.
OF gunbo6ts and torpedo gunboats of
older design the navy has eleven, but
they are of more defensive than offensive
value.
OF torpedo boat destroyers, there are
four new German-built vessels of 35-krot
speed-boats that are equal to anything
of the kind possessed by any other naval
power. OF China's torpedo boat flotilIa
there remain of the fleet she had before
war with Japan thirty frst-class torpedo
boats, to which should be added two fine
German boats of recent date. These YES
sells can make from eighteen to twenty
four knots, and are to be counted
pretty formidable force. There are eleven
smaller boats Of a 19-knot type, also sur
vivors of the war with Japan. Many of
these torpedo boats have been kept in
constant use in the customs revenue serv-
ice, and their crews are perfectly familiar
with the mechanical handling of the
craft which. before everything else, IS
the prime consideration In the successful
management and endurance of this type
of fighting vessel.
As a modern navy estimates, China's
present force would certainly have no
show in a stand-up fight with armored
ships, but with her cruisers and gun
boats told off for commerce destroying
and transport attack and her torpedo
boats and destroyers in hardy hands set
against the enemy's forces of all sorts
for torpedo boats sting may mean a
battleships death-the Chinese navy be-
comes anything but passive force. In
fact, inspired by that reckless spirit cas-
lily aroused In the Chinaman half way
well led, Chinese torpedo boat or de-
stroyer might accomplish a great deal
more than a modern battleship in the
same hands, for the fear of death and
the facing Of appalling odds are things
weighed lightly by the Mongolian mind
when once thoroughly aroused.
Generally, the ships of the Chinese navy
have been undermined, but there are
waterbred and seafaring natives enough
to man any number Of Chinese fighting
ships. In physique, the native sailorman
Is Il fine man. and of his endurance the
whole world knows. In the battle of the
Yalu, the Chinman proved in many in
stances the sterner stuff in him, and that
baptism of fire has done vast deal to
strengthen the fighting spirit of the pres
ent Chinese jacky. Mentally, he is a ia
talist, and the prospect of death does not
affect him if he be properly led and there
are plenty of his own countrymen and
men of other nations only too ready to
lead him if occasion require
1t Is not generally known that the Chi
nese have their own naval schooIs-two.
in fact-and that they are no longer de-
pendent upon foreigners for their en-
gineer and executive officers.
The college at Marking was established
by the Chinese government In 1896, at the
instance of Viceroy Tseng-Ko-Chuan
and, under the direction of Project Shen-
Tun-HO, with the object of providing ex
ecutive and engineer officers for the Nan
yang, or southern squadron, then consist
ing Of fourteen vessels of modern type:
the Peiyang, or northern squadron. be-
ing supplied with officers by the college
at Tien Tsin, established in 1882. and
destroyed by the allied forces during the
recent attack.
The college at Marking provides for the
education and maintenance of 100 stu
dents, sixty being trained for the line
and the other half for engineer duty.
They are entered for course of from