THE CHINESE ARMY.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVIII, Issue 44, 1 November 1900, Page 15

THE CHINESE ARMY.

From carefully prepared information on file in the Bureau of Military Information at the War Department, Washington, the btrength of the Chinese army ia shown to comprise eight banners nominally containing aboutSOOOOO men, descendants of the Manchu conquerors and their allies, The number maintained on a war footing is from .so 000 to 100,000. The whole force is subdivided into three groups, consisting respectively of Manchus, Mongols, and Chinese. It forms a sort of hereditary profession, within which intermarriage is compulsory. Abo t 37 000 are stationed in garrisons in Manchuria ; the Imperial guard at Pekin contains from 6000 to 7000. These are the troops that were expected to defend the foreign legations, and to protect foreign interests from the mobs. The Ying-Ping or National army ia also called the Green Flags and the Five Camps. This army consists of 18 corps, one for each province under the governor or governor-general. The nominal strength is from 540,000 to 600 000 men, of whom about 200,000 are available for war, never more than one-third beinjr called out. The most important contingent is the Tientsin Army Corps, nominally 100,000 strong, really about 35,000, with modern organisation, drill, and arms. They are employed in garrison duty at Tientsin and at Taku and other forts. Besides these forces there are mercenary troops raised in emergencies, and Mongolian and other irregular cavalry, nominally 200,000 strong, really about 20,000, but said to be of no military value. The total land army on peace footing is about 300,000 men, and on war footing at about 1,000,000. The army as a whole, it is said, has no unity or cohesion. There is no proper discipline. The drill is mere physical exercise. The weapons are long since obsolete. There ia no transport, commissariat, or medical service.