Foochow.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IV, Issue 237, 3 September 1884, Page 2

Foochow.

The following description of the positions and defences of Foochow, supplied to the Argus by a gentleman who has just returned from that city, will help to elucidate the position of affairs m the Franeo-Uhinet.e war :— Foochow, the capital of the rich province of Foo-kcn, and one of theprincipal ports open to foreign commerce, is situated on the river Miv, about 35 miles from the sea. From the entrance to the river to the Pagoda anchorage — the farthest point to which sea-going vessels can venture — all- along the banks there are, he says, strong fortifications, especially ho m the Kirapai and Mingan Passes. The forts, chiefly earthworks, are armed with powerful Krupp and Armstrong guns, and as the river is m a deep gorge, they command the enti'anco. For years back the Chinese, who, under English, American, and Gorman officers, have gaiucd considerable experience m methods of modern warfare, having been adding to, enlarging, and improving the forts on the River Mm, and recently they have been exerting themselves to render the forcible , entrance of an enemy impossible. Behind the precipitious banks of the river on one side there is a range of mountains, rising m some places to a height of 2000 ft. Ihese mountains would offer but slight cover ior troops, for they are barren, and the Chinese are concentrating their efforts upon securing themselves against an attack from the sea. When our informant was at Foochow a few weeks ago, he observed that day after day Chinese steam launches were busily employed m conveying officers backwards and forwards between the many forts. Large bodies of men were engaged m strengthening the naturally strong position, and along the river banks for many miles masses of troops were being drilled, chiefly by native, but here and there by German officers. Indeed, as our informant describes the scene, there would appear to have been ample evidence that the Chinese were determined to offer no quarter to the French— when they came. The feeling m the ciby of Foochow, which has a population about double that of Melbourne, was, a few weeks ago, extremely The animosity of the Chinese to the French was very bitter. . \Lri- Foochow the whole of the foreign population hardly numbers 300, and there is no saying what might happen to these unfoitunate people were war to break out suddenly, for the average Chinaman does not distinguish between the nations of Europe, and the English would, m all probability, suffer with the French. There is communication by wire between the Pagoda anchorage and the city, and to Hongkong there are two telegraph services. Troops were being brought from north and south towards the River Mm. The arsenal at Pagoda anchorage was kept more than ordinarily busy. Nearly 2000 workmen are engaged m the manufacture, under the direction of European superintendents, of war material, and ever siuce the war m Tonquin, the arsenal has been unceasingly at work. At the Pagoda anohorage, where inan-okwar junks lie, the water is from five to eight fathoms deep. From thence to the city it is shallow. Commerce was not interupted at the time oui'injbrpoautt'iofr, hnfc fi»n«n t-Ka. state of feeling m the city, he would not be surprised at any moment to hear that it had been. There are about twenty European firms m Foochow. The annual value of the imports is stated at LI ,500,000, and ihe receipts at 1,3,5000,000 sterling. Commercial intercourse with Australia and New Zealand is on the increase. The treaty of 1858 renders the navigable rivers of China free to British ships, and the relations between the two countries have been, for the last twenty years, at all events, of a friendly character. Foo-ken is a rich tea-growing provinoe; and m place of the Aberdeen clippers which m the tea season used to lie scores deep m the Pagoda anchorage waiting for orders, the river is now crowded with steamers. The city of Foochow proper is nearly three miles from the north bank of the river. It is surrounded by a wall 30ft high and 12ft thick. The half dozen gateways are guarded by fantastic looking watch-towers. It is not, however, to these the .Chinese will look as a means of defence, but to the forts bristling with Armstrong guns along the river bank.