Public Works £385,680
Customs and "régies" 618,654
Naval and Military Services 527,663
Loans[3] 417,421
_Shipping._--The following table shows the total tonnage of shipping
entered and cleared at the ports of French Indo-China in 1905 and its
distribution over the countries of the Union:--
+--------------+-----------------------+
| | Tonnage. |
| Country. +-----------+-----------+
| | Entered. | Cleared. |
+--------------+-----------+-----------+
| Cochin-China | 1,117,054 | 1,007,510 |
| Tongking | 242,119 | 348,947 |
| Annam | 28,065 | 26,406 |
| Cambodia | 2,520 | 2,012 |
+--------------+-----------+-----------+
| Total | 1,389,758 | 1,384,875 |
+--------------+-----------+-----------+
Over half the tonnage was French (698,178 tons entered); the United
Kingdom came second (284,277 tons); Germany, third (205,615 tons).
_Commerce._--The value of the trade of French Indo-China increased
from £6,796,000 in 1896 to £16,933,000 in 1905, its average annual
value for the years 1896-1905 being £12,213,000.
The following table shows the movement of commerce in 1905:
+------------------+------------+-----------+------------+
| | Imports. | Exports. | Total. |
+------------------+------------+-----------+------------+
| | £ | £ | £ |
| France | 4,314,586 | 1,233,295 | 5,547,881 |
| French colonies | 163,568 | 76,855 | 240,423 |
| Foreign countries| 5,704,257 | 5,440,156 | 11,144,413 |
+------------------+------------+-----------+------------+
| Total | 10,182,411 | 6,750,306 | 16,932,717 |
+------------------+------------+-----------+------------+
In 1905 the principal foreign countries from which goods were imported
were:
Hong Kong for £2,473,882[4]
Singapore " 598,449
China and Japan " 1,473,704
Burma and Siam " 289,542
The British Isled " 141,381
The United States " 126,425
The principal countries to which goods were exported were:
Hong Kong for £1,706,597[4]
China and Japan " 497,288
Singapore " 360,510
Burma and Siam " 80,071
The British Isles " 55,539
The principal imports were:
Wheat for £214,156
Rice " 226,755
Raw opium " 271,582
Raw cotton " 167,020
Wine " 340,027
Pit coal " 206,221
Petroleum " 388,163
Gold " 203,369
Iron and steel " 353,214
Tin " 526,428
Cotton thread " 672,040
Jute tissues " 254,255
Cotton tissues " 922,250
Silk tissues " 241,113
Paper " 344,633
Metal-work " 1,170,576
Arms, powder and ammunition " 170,882
The principal exports were:
Dried fish, salt and smoked for £151,415
Rice " 2,848,389
Pepper " 214,297
Pit coal " 182,077
Tin " 553,914
Cotton thread " 421,162
The customs tariff is substantially the same as that of France, severe
import duties being levied on foreign goods. French goods pay no
import duty and goods exported thither are exempt from export duty,
with the exception of sugar, which is regulated by special
legislation, and of various other colonial products (e.g. coffee,
cocoa, tea, vanilla, pepper) which pay half the duty applicable to
similar foreign products according to the minimum tariff. Goods from
French colonies pay no import duty. About 53% of the imports,
comprising nearly all manufactured goods of European origin, come from
France. China, Japan and Singapore are the other chief sources of
imports. The Bank of Indo-China (capital £1,440,000) besides receiving
deposits and discounting bills, issues bank-notes and has, till 1920,
the privilege of lending money on security.
_Communications._--The railway communications of French Indo-China
comprise lines from Hai-Phong to Lao-Kay, continued thence via the
Nam-Te valley to Yun-nan; from Hanoi northward to Lang-Son and south
to Vinh; from Tourane to Kwang-Tri via Hué and from Kan-Tho
(Cochin-China) to Khanh-Hoa (Annam) via My-Tho, Saigon, Bien-Hoa and
Jiring with branches to Phan-Tiet and Phan-Rang. The three last are
the completed sections of a line which will unite Tongking with
Cochin-China. The towns in the deltas of the Mekong and Red river are
united by a network of canals. The mandarin road following the coast
line of Annam connects Tongking with Cochin-China, but the easiest
means of communication between these two territories is by sea, the
voyage from Saigon to Tourane lasting three days, that from Tourane to
Hai-Phong, thirty hours.
_History_--The beginning of French influence in Indo-China dates from
1787, when a treaty was concluded between Gia-long, king of Annam
(q.v.), and the king of France, whereby Tourane and the island of
Pulo-Condore were ceded to the latter. The successors of Gia-long were
averse from French influence and instituted persecutions of the
Christian missionaries and natives, which led, in the reign of Tu-duc in
1858, to the arrival at Tourane of a French and Spanish fleet. The
capture of that town was followed early in 1859 by the storming of
Saigon, which Rigault de Genouilly, the French admiral, chose as his
base of operations. The French and Spanish were, however, too few to
take the offensive, and were forced to submit to a blockade, conducted
by the Annamese general Nguyen Tri Phuong, at the head of 20,000 troops.
It was not till February 1861 that reinforcements under Admiral Charner
reached Saigon, and the Annamese were defeated and My-Tho taken. A
revolt against Tu-duc in Tongking, and the stoppage of the rice supplies
from Cochin-China, obliged the king to submit, in 1862, to a treaty by
which three provinces of Cochin-China were ceded and other concessions
accorded to France. However, it was only after further military
operations that Tu-duc consented to the ratification of the treaty. In
1863 Admiral de la Grandière was appointed governor of Cochin-China and
in the same year France established her protectorate over Cambodia. It
was under La Grandière that the exploration of Mekong was undertaken
(see GARNIER, M. J. F.) and that in 1867 the three provinces of
Cochin-China left to Annam were annexed. French intervention in
Tongking, which began with the expedition of François Garnier to Hanoi
in 1873, culminated after a costly and tedious war (see TONGKING) in the
treaties of 1883 and 1884, whereby Annam and Tongking passed under the
protectorate of France. The latter treaty, though its provisions were
subsequently much modified, remains theoretically the basis of the
present administration of Annam.
From 1884 onwards the history of Indo-China may be divided into two
distinct periods, characteristic of the political conception and
governmental system adopted by the French government. In the first
period, 1884-1891, the French agents in Tongking and Indo-China
generally proceeded under cover of the treaty of 1884 with the definite
conquest and annexation of Tongking and also Annam. Cochin-China itself
openly designed to seize the southern provinces of Annam, upon the
borders of which it lay. This policy, momentarily checked by the war
with China, was vigorously, even violently, resumed after the treaty of
Tientsin (June 1885). The citadel of Hué was occupied in July 1885 by
General de Courcy. The Annamese government forthwith decided upon
rebellion. An improvised attack upon the French troops was led by the
ministers Thu-yet and Thu-ong. The revolt was promptly suppressed. The
regent Thu-yet and the king Ham-N'ghi (crowned in August 1884) fled. At
this time the French government, following a very widespread error,
regarded Tongking and Annam as two distinct countries, inhabited by
populations hostile to each other, and considered the Tongkingese as the
oppressed vassals of the Annamese conqueror. To conquer Annam, it was
said, would liberate Tongking. This misconception produced the worst
consequences. With the flight of the king civil war commenced in Annam.
The people of Tongking, whose submission the court of Hué had not dared
to demand, began to rise. Taking advantage of this state of anarchy,
pirates of the Black Flag, Chinese deserters and Tongkingese rebels
devastated the country. The occupation of Tongking became a prolonged
warfare, in which 25,000 French, compelled to guard innumerable posts,
had to oppose an intangible enemy, appearing by night, vanishing by day,
and practising brigandage rather than war. The military expenditure, met
neither by commerce, which had become impossible, nor taxation, which
the Annamese could not pay nor the French receive, resulted in heavy
deficits. The resident-general, Paul Bert, who hoped to gain the
confidence of the mandarins by kindness and goodwill, did not succeed in
preventing, or even moderating, the action of the military régime.
Than-quan, Hon-Koi, Lao-Kay, Pak-Lun and Kao-Bang were occupied, but the
troops were driven back to the delta and almost invested in the towns.
Disappointed in his hopes and worn out rather by anxiety than work,
Paul Bert succumbed to his troubles in November 1886, seven months after
his arrival in the country. His successors possessed neither the
strength nor the insight necessary to grapple with the situation. M.
Constans, however, appointed "provisional" governor-general after the
death of M. Filippini, succeeded to a certain extent in reviving
commerce in the towns of the delta. MM. Richaud, Bihourd and Piquet,
successors of M. Constans, were all powerless to deal with the
uninterrupted "bush-fighting" and the augmentation of the deficit, for
no sooner was the latter covered by grants from the mother country than
it began to grow again. At the close of the financial year in 1890
France had paid 13,000,000 francs. In April 1891 the deficit again
approached the sum of 12,000,000 francs. The rebels held almost all the
delta provinces, their capitals excepted, and from Hanoi itself the
governor-general could see the smoke of burning villages at the very
gates of his capital.
At this point a complete change of policy took place. M. de Lanessan, a
Paris deputy sent on a mission in the course of 1887, made himself
acquainted, with the government and the court of Hué. He recognized the
absolute falsity of the story which represented the Tongkingese as the
oppressed subjects of the Annamese. He demonstrated the consanguinity of
the populations, and after intercourse with the regents, or ministers,
of Hué he realized that the pacification of the country depended upon
harmonious relations being established between the general government
and the court. Appointed governor-general with the fullest powers on the
21st of April 1891, he presented himself at Hué, concluded with the
_comat_ an agreement based on the principle of a "loyal protectorate,"
and reassured the court, up to this point uneasy under menace of
annexation. The _comat_ shortly issued a proclamation under the great
royal seal, never hitherto attached to any of the public acts imposed
upon the king by the governors, who had been unaware of its existence.
In this proclamation the king ordered all his subjects to obey the
governor-general and to respect him, and commanded rebels to lay down
arms. The effect was immediate--disorders in the delta ceased. The
pirates alone, in revolt against the king of Annam and all authority,
continued their brigandage. But the governor-general instituted four
"military districts," the commanders of which were commissioned to
destroy the pirates. At the same time he placed a force of native
police, the _linh co_, at the disposal of the mandarins, hitherto
regarded with suspicion and intentionally deprived of all means of
action. Order was restored within the delta. In the mountainous
districts infested by pirates roads were opened and posts established.
The chief haunts of the pirates were demolished, and during 1893 the
foremost pirate chiefs gave in their submission. The Indo-Chinese budget
regained its balance. On the Chinese frontier agreements were concluded
with Marshal Sou, in command of the Chinese forces, regarding the
simultaneous repression of piracy in both countries. But on the Mekong
difficulties arose with the Siamese. For centuries Siam had occupied the
right bank of the Mekong, and her troops had crossed the river and
occupied the left bank. Luang-Prabang was in the hands of the Siamese,
who had also established posts at Stung-treng and elsewhere. Friction
occurred between the French agents and Siamese soldiery. After the death
of Inspector Crosgurin on the 5th of June 1893 the French government
occupied Stung-treng and Khong. France demanded explanations and redress
at Bangkok, but the court refusing concessions, an ultimatum was
presented to the king by M. Pavie, French minister to Siam. The terms of
the ultimatum not having been complied with within the given time, the
French flotilla, consisting of the gunboats "L'Inconstant" and "La
Comète," crossed the bar of the Menam on 13th July 1893, forced the
entrance of the channel, and anchored at Bangkok, before the French
legation. A second ultimatum was then presented. It contained the
following conditions:--First the occupation of Chantabun by the French
until the Siamese should have entirely evacuated the left bank of the
Mekong; secondly, the Siamese to be interdicted from maintaining
military forces at Battambang, Siem-Reap, and generally from
establishing fortified positions within 15½ m. of the right bank of the
Mekong; thirdly, Siam to be interdicted from having armed boats on the
great lake Tonle-Sap. This agreement was executed immediately, the
Laotians being eager parties to it. On the 29th of September 1893 the
king of Luang-Prabang made his submission to the French government, and
besought it to use its influence with the court of Siam for the return
to their families of the sons of princes and mandarins then in schools
at Bangkok. The Siamese evacuated the left bank of the Mekong, and
France took possession of Laos, a treaty, on the basis of the ultimatum,
being signed on the 1st of October 1893. The disputes to which this
affair with Siam had given rise between France and Great Britain were
amicably settled by an agreement concluded on the 15th of January 1896.
This "declaration," virtually ratifying the treaty concluded in 1893
between France and Siam, settled the limits of the zones of influence of
the two contracting powers in the north of the Mekong regions and on the
frontiers of Siam and Burma. Great Britain resigned to France the
regions of the Muong-Sing which she had previously occupied. The great
part of Siam included in the Menam basin was declared neutral, so also
the Me-ping basin in the north, Meklong Pechaburi and Bang Pa Kong
rivers in the south. The neutral zone, 15½ m. wide on the right bank of
the Mekong, was formally recognized.
In 1904, by a new Franco-Siamese treaty setting aside that of 1893,
Chantabun was evacuated and the neutral zone renounced in return for the
cession of the provinces of Bassac and Melupré and the district of
Dansai (comprising the portion of Luang Prabang on the right bank of the
Mekong) and the maritime district of Krat. By a further convention in
1907 Siam ceded the provinces of Battambang, Siem-Reap and Sisophon, and
received in return the maritime province of Krat and the district of
Dansai ceded in 1904. At the same time France abandoned all designs on
territory of Siam by giving up certain areas obtained for the purposes
of railway building on the right bank of the Mekong.
[Illustration: Map of French Indo-China & Siam.]
After the recall of M. de Lanessan in 1894 (see above), and before his
successor, M. Rousseau, was able to acquaint himself fully with the
condition of the country, military expeditions began again and the
deficit soon reappeared. Tranquillity, however, being restored,
attention was given to public works. On the 12th of October 1895 M.
Rousseau left to ask parliament to vote a loan of 100,000,000 francs. On
the vols., of February 1896 a law was passed authorizing a loan of
80,000,000 francs, and on the 14th of March 1896 an office for the
financial control of the government-general of Indo-China was
established. In the interval a French company had obtained from China a
concession to prolong the railway from Langson to Lungchow on a
tributary of the Canton river. M. Rousseau, who died on the 10th of
December 1896, was replaced by M. Dourner, previously minister of
finance, under whose government was realized, as has been before stated,
the union of Indo-China. On the 20th of December 1898 M. Doumer obtained
from parliament authorization to contract a loan of 200,000,000 francs,
the proceeds of which were appropriated to the construction of railway
lines.
AUTHORITIES.--M. J. F. Gamier, _Voyage d'exploration en Indo-Chine_
(Paris, 1873); J. M. A. de Lanessan, _L'Indo-Chine française_ (Paris,
1889); P. Doumer, _L'Indo-Chine française_ (Souvenirs) (Paris, 1905);
F. Bernard, _Indo-Chine_ (Paris, 1901), L. Salaun, _L'Indo-Chine_
(Paris, 1903); A. Girault, _Principes de colonisation et de
législation coloniale_ (Paris, 1907); M. Petit, _Les Colonies
françaises_ (2 vols., Paris, 1902); J. C. Gervais Courtellemont,
_L'Indo-Chine_ (Paris, 1902); A. Neton, _L'Indo-Chine et son avenir
économique_ (Paris, 1904); A. Pavie, _Mission Pavie Indo-Chine_
(1879-1895); _Géographie et voyages_ (Paris, 1901-1906); H. Lorin, _La
France: puissance coloniale_ (Paris, 1906); M. Monnier, _La Tour
d'Asie: Cochinchine, Annam, Tonkin_ (Paris, 1899); E. Bonhoure,
_L'Indo-Chine_ (Paris, 1900); R. Castex, _Les Rivages indo-chinois_
(Paris, 1904); L. de Reinach, _Le Laos_ (Paris, 1902) (this work gives
a very complete bibliography); _Annuaire général administratif,
commercial et industriel de l'Indo-Chine_ (Hanoi); _Revue Indochinois_
(Hanoi); C. Madrolle, _Guide-Books_ (Paris, 1904-1907); _Bulletin
économique de l'Indo-Chine_ (Saigon). (J. M. A. de L.; R. Tr.)