The Hawaiian gazette., 1901-10-11
THE ARMING
OF CHINESE

YOKOHAMA. Sept. 26-Mr Gerow ID.
Brill. well-known official lately in the
! employ of the Chinese government was
| interviewed by press representative.
! 81 am surprised" he said. lat the ex-
traordinary ignorance tina. prevails not
only in the coast ports of China with re-
gard to affairs in the interior of the Ce-
lestial Kingdom. Take. for instance yes
/ terday's kilograms regarding the facto-
ricS for arms, and some smokeless pow
der, which Youanshikai the governor Of
the province of Shantung, is going to
| build. The message, which | presume
came in the first instance from Shanghai
/ or Tientsin, seems to pre-suppose that
! the Chinese are not already making their
own arms and ammunition. AS matter
J of fact apart from the Shuku arsenal,
which was captured by the allies the
Chinese have arsenals and smokeless
powder factories at Hanyang. near Han
kow, at Marking, at Chengtu in Szochu-
en-, at Foochow on the coast. and ! be
lieve also at Canton or somewhere near.
AT Hanyang, before the recent troubles,
they were turning out some fifteen rifles
per day, but then they We're not push
ing things Now all is changed orhc
factories are working at full pressure
night and day. and some hundreds of
rifles are probably produced daily now.
metal for casting big guns, and they also
make quick-iiring machine guns The
rifles are magazine rifles taking SIX car
tridges"
What about ammunition?"
AT Hanyang they started to build
powder factory many months ago. Tn.
work did not progress very rapidly till
the Boxer outbreak; then the Chinese
put on squirt, and the factory was fin
IlaraTnhar lie
ing at full pressure
Can you tell me anything about
Chang -ch-Tungs 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 under
gone thorough reorganization, and al old
and inefficient men and officers have been
weeded out. Thousands of recruits have
been obtained from Human, the Human
ese being the bravest men in China. His
troops are trained by foreign instructors.
The Japanese and German instructors
We're never dismissed When things look
ed very bad last year they abstainrd
from drilling the troops, but they have
come to the front again and are hard at
work now. There are three German in
structors and number of japanese. one
of the Germans is an officer of high
rank"
with what object do you think the
Chinese are preparing?'
at is impossible to forecast the future
There will be trouble of some sort have
no doubt, but 1t might take any direc-
ton. 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 EN-
press Dowager, it will be extremely diff
cult for the powers to coerce them. Look
at the way in which they are arming.
Both Chang ch!-Tung and Youanshikai
are paying great attention to the supply
of officers, the point in which the Chi
nese army is most weak"
Surprising, however, that there is no
more fighting what do you think of the
prospects of the commercial development
of China?"
China will go ahead like a rocket. TIL.
railways that have been planned will
alone transform her. 1t is to be remem-
hered that these railways are now being
built A railway from Picking to Hankow
is now being pushed on at>both ends, and
eighty miles are practically ready on the
Hankow side and construction trains are
running. The line is in the hands of a
Belgian syndicate. From Hankow to
Canton the concession belongs to an
American syndicate, though | hear they
have sold 1t to the Belgians. The Yum
nan railway from India excites great in
terest in China. 1t Is thought that the
line will do much to solidify British in
terestS."
Mr. Brill concluded by referring to the
vast amount of economic wealth that les
undeveloped in Central China.
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