Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-07-07
HER FIGHTING FORCE
The Chinese Navy is Small, but Not
to Be Despised.
ABLE TO DO LOTS OF DAMAGE
A Large Army of Disciplined and
WeII-Armed Men.
TRAINED BY EUROPEANS
TRAINED BY EUROPEANS


and the hordes Of antagonizing natives,
armed with the crudest of fighting imple-
ments This assurance Is based merely
upon the very uncertain status Of affairs
and the assumption that the allied forces
are dealing only with an insurrectionary
body too big for suppression by the do
nestle troops. Let matters develop into
governmental hostility, and the attitude of
the Chinese navy becomes another thing.
The imperial navy Is more imbued with
a 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. 1t is reasonable to
count upon a fairer view OF the present
purpose Of the allied forces in shielding
their subjects resident there: but the mo-
ment the Boxers become the opponents of
the throne the navy must become 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 de-
scr1bed 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 very
desperate odds or to them in some form
of nautical guerrilla warfare possible of in
finite damage.
The Chinese Navy.
The Chinese navy has never recovered
from its conflict with Japan and today can
not boast of a single armored craft in the
whole Of the fleet, or two fleets-for so the
service is divided. This at once narrows
Its service, but it does not preclude the
commission of some pretty serious dam
age 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 IA. 8 and 16-knot speeds, while the
six remaining can do from 20 to "a knots
and are evolutions of the Armstrong cruiser
or fine rapid-tire gun power. Our New Or
leans and Albany are smaller versions Of
the class. There are six other cruisers of
older date-14 and 15-knot craft-armed
with pretty heavy Krupp guns of effective
pattern The Hai-Chi and the Hai-Tien,
built in 1897 and 1898, of 4 300 tons dis
placement. They each have a main bat
terry of two powerful 3-inch and ten Al
inch quick-fring rifles, with a supplemental
force of sixteen 3-pounders, six 11-pound-
ers and a number of smaller quick-firing
pieces. They carry five torpedo tubes. and
have compliments of nearly four hundred
persons. With a forced draught speed of
twenty-four knots, these ships would be
a serious menace to transports not heavily
conveyed, and to unguarded merchantmen
they might prove even more costly dan
ger The Hai-Shen Hai-Shew and Hal
Yung. built in Germany in 1897 and 1898,
are vessels of $500 tons displacement. and
can do their POI knots under forced
draught. Each of them carries three 90
inch and eight finch quick-firing krupp
rifles. together with an auxiliary force of
dozen small rapid-tire pieces. They have
three torpedo tubes, of which one is of the
latest underwater type. Their compile
ments are $50 persons. Their logical appli-
cation, under present conditions, would be
to attack the commerce of the allied pow
ers or to pick off the wandering gunboats
of the enemy.
Torpedo Cruisers and Destroyers.
OF gunboats or torpedo cruisers as the
official list is pleased to call them, there
are nine-one of 81 knots. one of % knots
three of 16 knots and four of II knots-the
last four could hardly do much against the
modern speedy torpedo boat. OF gunboats
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 thirty-fiye-
knot speed-boats that equal to any
thing of the kind possessed by any other
naval power. OF China's torpedo boat flo
tilla there remain of the fleet she had be-
fore war with Japan thirty f1rst-cass tor
pedo boats to which should be added two
fine German boats of recent date. These
vessels can make from eighteen to twenty
four knots, and are to be counted a pretty
formidable force. There eleven smaller
boats of a nineteen-knot type, also sur
vivors of the with Japan. Many OF
lneSe tCTpeuo DOdlS nave DeeH kept IN con-
slant use in the customs revenue service,
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 YES
sci.
An Active Force.
AS we estimate a modern navy, China's
present force would certainly have no show
in a stand-up fight with armored ships, but
with her cruisers and gunboats told off for
commerce destroying and transport attack,
and her torpedo boats and destroyers in
hardy hands set against the enemys forces
of all sorts-for a torpedo boats sting may
mean battle ships death-the Chinese
navy becomes anything but passive force.
In fact. inspired by that reckless spirit
easily aroused in the Chinaman halfway
we'll led, a Chinese torpedo boat or de
stroyer'' might accomplish a great deal
more than a modern battle ship in the same
hands. for the fear of death and the facing
of appalling odds are things weighed lightly
by the Monaghan mind when once thor
oughly aroused.
The Chinese Sailor.
Generally the ships Of the Chinese navy
have been undermined, but there are
water-bred and seafaring natives enough to
man any number of Chinese fighting ships.
In physique the native sailorman is a fine
man, and of his endurance the whole world
knows. In the battle of the Yalu the
Chinaman proved, in many instances the
sterner stun in him. and that baptism of
| fire has done a vast deal to strengthen the
| fighting spirit Of the present Chinese jacky.
| Mentally he is fatalist, and the prospect
| of death does not phase him If he be prop
erly led, and there are plenty Of his own
| countrymen and men of other nations only
too ready to lead him If occasion require.
| Naval Schools.
1t is not generally known that the Chi
| nese have their own naval schoos-two, In
fact-and that they are no longer dependent
| uron foreigners for their engineer and ex-
| ecutive officers.
The sum granted yearly from the i'm
| perial exchequer for the whole of this work
| is AZ 900 Tsaopng taels. approximately $780,
| 600. Each student costs the government to
| house feed clothe, provide with books and
| instruments, and even liberal pocket money
| from Chinese point of view, $3.50 year.
| or $500 to turn out an efficient executive
o. engineer officer. pledged to government
! service for life.
Everything is done In the English Ian
/ l,ottA 90