| Show THE population OF CHINA L little tt doubt it contains one third world s population some doubt has been thrown by re cent travelers upon the correctness of the accepted notion that china Is a land of teeming population it haa has been asserted that the human hilea along the seaboard and the great rivers of china ought not to be taken aa as a basis for estimates that in those parts of the empire which lie off the main routes of traffic the natural and artificial water courses the population of china Is comparatively thin A census recently taken by the peking government for the purpose of assessing taxes to meet the indemnity payments seems however to prove the accuracy of the older estimates tha the census shows that the eighteen brov arces of china proper contain inhabitants that manchuria has 8 and mongolia thabet and chinese turi Tur estan lestan a little over 10 the total population of the empire is according to this enumeration the absolute reliability of asiatic statistics is ques cloned nevertheless the agreement of the results of the census with the accepted estimates Is so close as to invite confidence the statement that the chinese empire contains one third of the human race will hereafter ba be regarded nore than ever as an lp proximate truth |
