INDO-CHINA
772
INDOCHINA
society, to secure obedience to the parental and royal
authority.
(3) Tong-king is bounded on the north and north- east by China, on the east by the Gulf of Tong-king, on the south by Annam, and on the west by Laos. Its area is about 46,300 square miles; its population is estimated variously between ten and fifteen millions. Its surface may be divided into three distinct sections: (1) the fiat alluvial plain (the Delta) to the south and east, which constitutes about one-seventh of the total surface; (2) an intermediate plateau of about 15,000 square miles, and (3) the mountainous and mineral region bordering China. The Delta, which alone con- tains about 10,000,000 inhabitants, is the great centre of industry, and, both in the fertility of its soil and in the number of its waterways, bears a striking resem- blance to Cochin China. The principal rivers are the Song-koi (Red River), which rises in Yun-nan, and its two great tributaries, the Song-lo and Song-bo (the Clear and the Black River). Linked by a myriad of canals and arroyos, these afford an easy, if slow means of communication between the various commercial centres, but their utility is greatly impaired by the violence of their currents during the wet season, and by the bars, shelving ridges, and shallows, which obstruct their courses. The remarkable absence of large trees in the Delta is attributable to the ty- phoons: the great forests of the interior are still practically unexploited owing to the lack of proper means of transport. It is a noteworthy fact, for which no scientific explanation seems yet forthcoming, that along the coast of Tong-king there is but one tide daily for the greater portion of the year. This is be- lieved to be the only part of the world where this phenomenon occurs.
As elsewhere in Indo-China rice is the principal crop. It gives two harvests annually, but periodical failures, here as in Annam, contrast unfavourably with the constancy of the harvests in Cochin China. Maize, sugar-cane, buckwlicat, millet, sorgho, and tea are also extensively cultivated. All the European vegetables thrive in the country, and experimental plantations of coffee have met with a most gratifying success. The gardens surrounding the villages are filled with banana, orange, papaw, tamarind, cinna- mon, and pine-apple trees. Cotton and mulberry- trees are cultivated everywhere along the banks of the rivers, while the cultivation of jute has greatly in- creased of recent years. Some of the mines of Tong- king are of great importance, although the disturbed history of the country has prevented their develop- ment. Along the coast is a large bed of anthracite of excellent quality, which is at present being worked at Hongay and on the Island of Ke-bao. The moun- tainous regions contain almost every variety of min- eral, but little attempt has yet been made to exploit them. Lead, argentiferous copper, sulphur, tin, cin- nabar, and nitre have received attention; the gold- mines, however, are almost abandoned, and on the silver and iron mines work has ceased.
Although the administration of Tong-king bears a great resemblance to that of Annam, tnere are some marked differences, all tending to inflate the influence of France. In Tong-king the office of France is not confined to a general direction of the central govern- ment and public services as in Annam: the Treaty of 1884 entitles her to appoint, side by side with the An- namite functionaries, residents in all important cen- tres, where their presence should be deemed desirable. Although these officials take no part in the details of the local administration, they control the acts of the district mandarins, and have thus the virtual direction of the political, judicial, and financial administration of the interior. Hanoi (106,260), the chief town of Tong-king, replaced Saigon as capital of French Indo- China on 1 January, 1902. It is situated on the right bank of the Song-koi about eighty miles from the coast.
Founded during the early centuries of our era, it was
until recently little more than a collection of native
villages. Rid to-day of the marshes which disfigured
it, it is rapidly becoming a charming town. Its green
lawns, luxuriant shrubberies, and quaint intermixture
of native and European building form a pleasing
frame for the celebrated Pagoda of Vong-dinh. The
railroad from Haiphong to Hanoi passes over the huge
bridge across the Song-koi. In view of the extreme
fierceness of the river during the period of the floods,
this bridge (about l\ miles in length) must be re-
garded as a triumph of engineering skill. Haiphong,
the principal commercial port of Tong-king, is situ-
ated at the confluence of the Cua-cam and Song-tam-
bac, about twenty miles from the coast. Vessels of
more than twenty feet draught can cross the bar only
at high tide. When Haiphong was conceded to France
by Annam in 1874, the town was only a small native
market; it is to-day a prosperous city of over 20,000
inhabitants. Hanoi and Haiphong are l:ioth incor-
porated cities administered by a mayor and municipal
council. Besides the mayor, who is appointed by the
Governor -General, each council contains fourteen
members — ten elected by French residents and nat-
uralized citizens of France and four liy notables.
At Hanoi the four native councillors must be Anna-
mite; at Haiphong two are Annamite and two Chinese.
(4) Cambodia, the centre of the ancient Khmer Empire, is bounded on the north-west and north by Siam and the Laos territories; on the cast by Annam; on the south by Cochin China; on the south-west by the Gulf of Siam. To celebrate the restoration of the provinces of Battambang and Siem-reap — in which territory stand the famous ruins of Angkor, the capi- tal of the Khmer Empire — the Conseil Svpfrieur met at Pnom-penh in Decemlier, 1907, on which occasion Iving Sisowath declared the deep debt of gratitude which Cambodia owed to France. The area of Cam- bodia is about 37,500 sq. miles; its population is esti- mated at from 1, . 500,000 to2,500,000. The population of Cambodia is almost entirely confined to the vicinity of the ports and the banks of the rivers. The country is covered with immense forests yielding gamboge, gumlake, and cinnamon, and frequented by elephants, tigers, and countless other species of wild game. From the elevated regions in the west of the territory rush down impetuous torrents, which, on reaching the plain, develop into great rivers and after a short course enter the sea or the Me-kong. The chief agricultural products are rice, cotton, areca-nut, indigo, mulberry- trees, tobacco, cardamoms, and pepper. Successful experiments have within late years been made in tea and coffee plantation. Fishing is an important in- dustry of the country — not alone for the fish ascending the Me-kong and along the coasts, but also for mother- of-pearl and holothures. The little port of Ha-tien has become the central market of the mother-of-pearl industry, which is practically monopolized by the Annamites. The silks woven Ijj- the Cambodian women according to a method inherited from a long- past civilization are much sought after. Cambodia possesses iron, gold, and sapphire mines, still in gen- eral awaiting development. Being a maritime coun- try, it has a brisk commerce. This is almost entirely in the hands of the Chinese, who import European produce and export rice, pepper, mother-of-pearl, shells, and silk. Jet is found on the Island of Fu- kwok; of this the natives make charming trinkets mounted on gold, which have a brisk demand.
Cambodia is divided into fifty-seven provinces, and the administration differs little from tliat of Tong- king. Pnom-penh (population 50,000) on the right bank of the Me-kong is the capital of the country and the seat of the royal residence. Its mayor is always chosen by the Governor-General from the ranks of the higher civil servants of Indo-China. The municipal council also includes five French and three Asiatic
