returning 220,000l.; and sales, with rents of public lands, proThe civil and judicial ducing together about 230,000l. per annum. establishments of the colony cost nearly 370,000l., and the contribution to military expenditure amounts to 160,000l. annually. For public works, from 200,000l. to 250,000l. have been expended in recent years, and about 20,000l. for education.

The public debt of the Colony amounted in 1881 to 1,825,000.

Population.

The island of Ceylon was first settled in 1505 by the Portuguese, who established colonies in the west and south, which were In taken from them early in the next century by the Dutch. 1795-96, the British Government took possession of the foreign settlements in the island, which were annexed to the Presidency of Madras; but two years after, in 1798, Ceylon was erected into a separate colony. In 1815 war was declared against the native Government of the interior; the Kandyan King was taken prisoner, and the whole island fell under British rule.

The extreme length of the colony from north to south, that is, from Point Palmyra to Dondera Head, is 266 miles; its greatest width, 140 miles from Colombo on the west coast to Sangemankande on the east; its area is 24,702 English square

miles.

The following table gives the area and population of the seven provinces of Ceylon, according to the last census, taken March 26, 1871, together with the estimates of population on January 1, 1876:

In 1879 the total population amounted to about 2,558,488, and in 1881 to 2,750,000.

Of the total population enumerated, at the census of 1871, there were 4,732 British; 14,201 other whites of European descent, and the rest coloured. The census returns stated 635,585 persons, or over one-fourth of the population, to be engaged in agriculture.

:- Buddhists,

The religious creeds were returned as follows: 1,520,575; Sivites, 464,414; Roman Catholics, 182,613; Mahomedans, 171,542; Protestants, 24,756; Wesleyans, 6,071; Presbyterians, 3,101; and Baptists, 1,478. The whole of the Christians belonged to the European population.

Trade and Industry.

The declared value of the total imports and exports of the colony, including bullion and specie, was as follows in each of the five years 1875 to 1879:

The commercial intercourse of Ceylon is mainly with the United Kingdom and India. The amount of trade with the United Kingdom is shown in the subjoined tabular statement, which gives the total value of the exports from Ceylon to Great Britain and Ireland, and of the imports of British and Irish produce and manufactures into Ceylon, in each of the five years from 1876 to 1880:

The staple article of exports from Ceylon to the United Kingdom is coffee, of the declared value of 2,550,6881. in 1876; and of 3,942,6641. in 1877; of 2,508,8937. in 1878; of 3,001,0751. in 1879; and of 2,571,546l. in 1880. Besides coffee, the only other exports of note are cocoa-nut oil, and cinnamon, the former amounting in value to 374,9447., and the latter to 91,5441. in the year 1880. Manufactured cotton goods, of the value of 366,591l. in 1880, form the staple articles of British imports into Ceylon.

Ceylon had about 150 miles of railway open for traffic, and 26 under construction, at the end of 1881.

Money, Weights, and Measures.

The weights and measures of Ceylon are the same as those of the United Kingdom. The money of the country is the rupee of British India. For value see page 699.

Statistical and other Books of Reference concerning Ceylon.

1. OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS.

Report of Governor Sir Hercules G. R. Robinson, dated Colombo, September 14, 1867; in Reports, showing the Present State of H.M.'s Colonial Possessions.' Part III. Eastern Colonies. Fol. London, 1868.

Report of Governor Sir Hercules Robinson, dated Colombo, September 14, 1871; in Reports on the Past and Present State of H.M.'s Colonial Possessions.' Part II. London, 1872.

Report of Governor the Right Hon. W. H. Gregory on the revenue, trade, &c., of Ceylon, dated Colombo, October 13, 1873; in 'Papers relating to H.M.'s Colonial Possessions.' Part I. 1874. 8. London, 1871.

Statistics of Ceylon; in 'Statistical Abstract for the Colonial and other Pos sessions of the United Kingdom.' No. XVII. 8. London, 1879.

Trade of Ceylon with Great Britain; in Annual Statement of the Trade of the United Kingdom with Foreign Countries and British Possessions in the year 1880.' Imp. 4. London, 1881.

2. NON-OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS.

Baker (S. W.), Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 8. London, 1855.

Ceylon being a General Description of the Island, Historical, Physical, Statistical. By an Officer, late of the Ceylon Rifles. 2 vols. 8. London, 1876.

Duncan (George), Geography of India. Part II. Ceylon. 8 Madras

1865.

Ferguson (A. M. & J.), The Ceylon Directory and Handbook of useful information. 1876-78. 8. Colombo, Ceylon, 1878.

Pridham (C.), Historical, Political, and Statistical Account of Ceylon. 2 vols. 8. London, 1849.

Ransonnet-Villez (Baron E. von), Ceylon: Skizzen seiner Bewohner, seines Thier- und Pflanzenlebens. Fol. Brunswick, 1868.

Schmarda (L. K.), Reise um die Erde: Zeilon. Vol. i. 8. Braunschweig,

1861.

Sirr (H. C.), Ceylon and the Cingalese. 2 vols. 8. London, 1851.

Tennent (Sir James Emerson), Ceylon: an Account of the Island, Physical, Historical, and Topographical. 5th ed. London, 1860.

CHINA.

(CHUNG KWO, THE MIDDLE KINGDOM.')

Reigning Emperor.

Tsaitien, Emperor-Hwangti-of China, born 1871, the son of Prince Ch'un, brother of the Emperor Hien-fung; succeeded to the throne by proclamation, at the death of Emperor T'oung-chê, January 22, 1875.

In official language the sovereign of China is called Tien-tze, the Son of Heaven, and also described as feng t'ien ming, one who has received the Divine commission as ruler; he is the Vicegerent of Heaven upon earth. The Hwangti is both the secular and spiritual ruler of the Empire, exercising at once the highest legislative and executive power, without limit or control.

The present sovereign, surnamed Kwangsu, or 'Continuation of Glory,' is the ninth Emperor of China of the Tartar dynasty of Tsing, 'The Sublimely Pure,' which succeeded the native dynasty of Ming, 'The Bright,' in the year 1644. There exists no law of hereditary succession to the throne, but it is left to each sovereign to appoint his successor from among the members of his family. The late Emperor, dying suddenly in the eighteenth year of age, did not designate a successor, and it was in consequence of a palace intrigue, directed by the Empress Dowager, widow of the Emperor Hienfung, predecessor of T'oung-chê, in concert with Prince Ch'un, that the infant son of the latter was made the nominal occupant of the throne.

Government and Public Revenue.

The fundamental laws of the empire are laid down in the Ta-tsinghwei-tien, or Collected Regulations of the Great Pure dynasty,' which prescribe the government of the state to be based upon the government of the family. The Emperor is considered the sole high priest of the empire, and can alone, with his immediate representatives and ministers, perform the great religious ceremonies. No ecclesiastical hierarchy is maintained at the public expense, nor any priesthood attached to the Confucian or State religion.

The administration of the empire is under the supreme direction of the Interior Council Chamber,' comprising four members, two of Tartar and two of Chinese origin, besides two assistants from the Han-lin, or Great College, who have to see that nothing is done contrary to the civil and religious laws of the empire, contained in the Ta-tsing-hwei-tien, and in the sacred books of Confucius. These members are denominated 'Ta-hyo-si,' or Ministers of State. Under their orders are the Liu-poo, or six boards of

government, each of which is presided over by a Tartar and a Chinese. They are:-1. The board of civil appointments, which takes cognisance of the conduct and administration of all civil officers; 2. The board of revenues, regulating all financial affairs; 3. The board of rites and ceremonies, which enforces the laws and customs to be observed by the people; 4. The military board, superintending the administration of the army; 5. The board of public works; and 6. The high tribunal of criminal jurisdiction.

Independent of the Government, and theoretically above the central administration, is the Tu-chah-yuen, or board of public censors. It consists of from 40 to 50 members, under two presidents, the one of Tartar and the other of Chinese birth. By the ancient custom of the empire, all the members of this board are privileged to present any remonstrance to the sovereign. One censor must be present at the meetings of each of the six Government boards.

The amount of the public revenue of China is only known by estimates. According to the most authentic of these, the total receipts of the government in recent years averaged 25,000,000?, derived from taxes cn land, grain, licences, and customs duties upon exports and imports. The receipts from customs alone are made public. They amounted to 7,872,257 haikwan tael, or 2,361,6771. in 1864, and gradually increasing, had risen to 12,483,988 haikwan tael, or 3,745,1967., in 1878. The customs duties fall more upon exports than imports, The expenditure of the Government is mainly for the army, the maintenance of which is estimated to cost 15,000,000l. per annum on the average.

China had no foreign debt till the end of 1874. In December 1874 the Government contracted a loan of 627,6751., bearing 8 per cent. interest, secured by the customs revenue. A second 8 per cent. foreign loan, likewise secured on the customs, to the amount of 1,604,2767., was issued in July 1878.

Army and Navy.

The standing military force of China consists of two great divisions, the first formed by the more immediate subjects of the ruling dynasty, the Tartars, and the second by the Chinese and other subject races. Under the first are included the Manchu, Mongol, and Chinese Bannermen, distributed in permanent garrisons over the great cities of the empire, while the second is made up of purely Chinese troops. The Manchu Tartars, founders of the present dynasty, when they conquered China, in 1644, divided their army into four corps, distinguished as being under white, blue, red, and yellow banners. Four bordered banners of the same colours were subsequently added, and in course of time there were added to these eight similar corps of Mongols and eight of Chinese, who had cast