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Show THE CHINESE ARMY AND NAVY. Some of the Russian newspapers, in view of the contingency of a war with China, give some particulars of the military and naval forces of that country. The chief portion of the Chinese army consists of "the First Army Corps," composed of eight Mantchou eight Tartar, and eight Chinese corps, and the garrison of Pekin. The soldiers of "the First Army Corps" are seldom drilled, and are mostly armed with old swords, bows, spears, and other antiquated weapons. Being badly paid, they earn their living by working at all sorts of trades, and are of but little use as soldiers. Their total strength, exclusive of officers, is about 105,000 men. The garrison of Pekin, also badly armed, consists of 17,500 men. Besides these there are two corps 16,500 strong, which form the emperor's bodyguard, and a division of infantry of 20,000 men whose duty it is to keep order in the capital and its suburbs. There is also a third army, which during the present century has been almost exclusively employed in time of war. This is the so called "Green Banner Army," which is composed of eighteen army corps, in correspondence with the eighteen provinces of the empire. Each army corps has five divisions, and each division five camps. A general commands each division, and the civil governors are the commanders in chief of the troops stationed in their respective districts. The total strength of the "Green Banner Army" on paper is about 651,000 men, with 7,000 officers, but it is probably that not more than one half of this force could be brought into the field. Barely 50,000 of them are armed with European weapons and drilled according to the principles of European tactics; the remainder still carry spears, matchlocks, and short swords. Finally, there is a kind of irregular volunteer corps, which is called in when the regular army has proved incapable of suppressing an insurrection or putting down brigandage. The corps is even worse armed than the others, possesses but little training, and is hardly amenable to discipline. As for the Chinese navy, its ships are for the most part badly constructed and insufficiently manned. There are a few European officers, but the majority of the naval officers are Chinese, who are very ignorant and inefficient. The fleet is divided into three groups, those of Canton, Fukien and Kiang-su. The Canton division consists of twelve vessels, three of which are screw junks, two English gun-boats, and seven steamers, also purchased in England, and commanded by foreign officers. The ships of the Fukien fleet were built at the docks of Foo-choo, under the direction of a French Lieutenant of the navy in the Chinese service. These ships are provided with good engines and are armed with French naval guns. Among them are a corvette with thirteen guns, six gunboats, and eight transport ships. The Kiang-su Division consists of two frigates, nine gunboats, and a few transports, badly built and manned. It is said that the Chinese Government is now preparing to reorganize its army and navy, and some Chinese officers have been attached to a Prussian regiment with this object. - Pall Mall Gazette. |