The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-10-08
CHINESE MAKING GUNS
GREAT ACTIVITY rs SpT-TU
CHINA ARsENALs.
Late Troubles We're In the North But
the South is a Great Menace-RaH-
roads in China

The Japan Gazette rcproduces the
following interview with J. G.. Brill i'm
regard To the manufacture of arms and
ammunition by the southern viceroys
of China
u am surprised" he said "at the ex-
lraordinary ignorance that prevails,
not only In the coast ports of China
with regard To affairs in the interior Of
the Celestial Kingdom. Take, for in
stance, yesterdays kilograms regarding
the factories for arms and some
smokeless powder which Youanshikhai
the Governor of the province of shan
tung, is going to build. The message.
which | presume came i'm the first in
stance from Shanghai or Tientsin seems
To pre-suppOse that the Chinese are not
already making their own arms and
ammunition. As matter of fact apart
| from the Shuku arsenal which was
captured by the Allies, the Chinese have
arsenals and smokeless powder factories
at FoochoW on the coast. at Hanyang
near Hankow, at Marking. at Cheng-
tn in SZechuen. and / believe also at
/ Canton or somewhere near. At Han
yang, before the recent troubles, they
We're turning out some Is rifles per day
| but then they were not pushing things
Now all is changed. The factories are
working at full pressure night and day.
and some hundreds of rifles are prob
ably produced daily now. Then they
have all the machinery and metal for
casting big guns and they also make
quick firing machine guns. The rifles
are magazine rifles taking six cart
ridges"
What about ammunition?"
AT Hanyang they started to build a
powder factory many months ago. The
work did not progress very rapidly till
the Boxer outbreak, then the Chinese
put on squirt and the factory was finish
ed last December and is now working
| at full pressure"
Can you tell me anything about
| Changchi- Tung's Army?"
| Chang chi-Tung is one of the wisest
| men in China. You may guess that he
| is not making arms and ammunition for
| nothing. The provincial army has un-
| dergone thorough reorganizat ton, and
all old and inefficient men and officers
have been weeded out. Thousands of
recruits have been obtained from HUI
nan, the Hunanese being the bravest
men in China. His troops are trained
by foreign instructors were never dis
missed. When things looked very bad
last year they abstained from drilling
the troops, but they have come to the
front again and are hard at work now.
| There are three German instructors and
a number of Japanese. One of the Ger
| mans is an officer of high rank"
with what object do you think the
Chinese are thus preparing"
1T is impossible to forecast the flu
! ture. There will be trouble of some sort
| have no doubt but it might take any
| direction. The Chinese don't know that
they have been beaten. Surprising that
the great Viceroys, who have hitherto
| held aloof, throw in their lot with the
| Dowager- Empress, it will be extremely
difficult for the powers to coerce them
Look at the way in which they are
arming. Both Chang ch'-Tung and
Youanshikai are paying great atten-
| ton to the supply of officers the uoint
IN which the Chinese Army is most
| weak"
''Supposing. however, that there is re
more lighting, what do you thinK of me
| prospect of the commercial deVel1p-
| ment of China?"
China will go ahead like a rocket.
The railways that have been planned
! will alone transform her IT is II be le-
membered that these railways are now
! being built. y railway from Peking to
Hankow is being pushed Oh at both ends
! and eighty miles are prl cticanV reaGy
| on the HankOw side and construction
trains are running. The line is in the
| hands of Belgian syndicate. From
| Hankow to Canton the concession be-
! longs to TN American syndicate though
| near they have sold it to The Belgians
The Yunnan railway from India excites
great interest in China. 1t IS thought
| that the line will do much to soIidtey
British interests"
Mr.. Brill concluded by referring 10 the
vast amount of economic wealth that
lies undeveloped in Central China