Government—At the present time the po litical organization of Indo-China is that of an adult colony. The decrees of October 1887 and 31 July 1898 created the Indo-Chinese union, centralising in the hands of a general governor the superior administration of the colony of Cochin-China and the protectorate of Cambodia, Annam and Tonkin. Nowadays the general government of Indo-China comprises five distinct regions : Cochin-China, 'capital Saigon, over which France exercises direct au thority; Annam, capital Hue; Tonkin, capital Hanoi ; Cambodia, capital Pnom-Penh; the three latter are protectorate countries where the rights of the sovereigns and the authority of the native officials appointed by them are respected; Laos, which can be considered as French terri tory despite the presence at Luang-Prabang and in other parts of this country of native princes or chiefs who continue to exercise over the population, with the consent of France and under its control, certain vestiges of suzerainty.
The territory of Kwang-Tchu-Wan pos sesses its own administration. The powers of the governor-general are set forth in the decree of 20 Oct. 1911; he holds mandatory authority from the French Republic for the whole of French Indo-China and is assisted by a general secretary and a government board. The various countries comprising the general govern ment of Indo-China possess their administra tive autonomy with certain reservations ; they are each administered under the superior au thority of the governor-general by a lieutenant governor in Cochin-China, by superior residents in Tonkin, Annam, Cambodia and Laos, and by an administrator in the territory of Kouang Tchu-Wan. Apart from privy and protector ate councils operating in Cochin-China, Tonkin, Annam, Cambodia and Laos, other deliberating or consultative assemblies exist in the various countries of Indo-China; such as the colonial board of Cochin-China (an emulation of the "C.onseils Centraux" in the mother and the municipal boards of Saigon, Hanoi and Haiphong. The receipts and expenses of the general government and of the various countries composing French Indo-China are grouped in a general budget in which the common receipts and expenses are given, and in local -budgets relative to each particular colony. The coun tries which constitute the Indo-Chinese Union are divided into provinces, at the'head of which are placed administrators of the civil services who take the title of residents in the protec torate countries and goVernment commissioners in 'Laos. It should be noted that besides- the French administration there is always the native administration. The Tong-doc, the Tuan-phu, the Phu and the Huyen still govern respectively in Annam and Tonkin the provinces and cir cumscriptions; the consultative native- chamber and the provincial councils of Tonkin hait been given new powers by the local degree of 19 March 1913; Cambodia also possesses its native consultative assembly and in the Laos dis trict the government commissioners have as as sistants °Mandarins," if not like the other countries of the union, native chiefs who by their situation and authority are most useful auxiliaries.
No French colony is more densely populated than Indo-China, none possesses a richer soil, so suitable for the most varied products or more abundant and intelligent labor. Its re
sources are immense. A European can, if he takes proper hygienic precautions, easily live in the country which is not too close to the swampy regions of the coast, or the forests of the interior. These conditions explain the rapid development made by Indo-China from an eco nomical and commercial point of view since French occupation.
Live Stock.— The distance of Indo-China from France does not allow of the exportation of live stock and for the present the prepara tion of preserved is the only form in which Europe has benefited from its cattle breeding industry. According to the latest esti mates drawn up in 1916, the Indo-Chinese live stock amounted to no less than 634,525 head of oxen, 523,553 cows, 289,939 calves, 618,939 buffaloes, 631,709 female buffaloes, 334,024 buffalo-calves, 2,662,534 pigs. The skins and horns of the oxen and buffaloes give rise to a certain amount of exportation (3,000 tons of raw hide in 1913). Silk is exported to an amount of about 100,000 kilos (220,000 lbs.), but a large quantity of the silk produced is em ployed for local uses. The "stock-laque," an insect product, may later on give rise to a good business.
Fisheries,- Indo-China, with its 2,500 kilometers (9,650 miles) of coast, its large rivers, its numerous arroyos and especially the great lakes in the Cambodia region, is essen tially a country suitable for the fishery indus try on a large scale. Deep sea and river fishing permits of the exportation of a large quantity of dried and salted fish, of by-products and of fish oil. The government grants concessions' of fishing rights from which it derived a revenue estimated at 500,000 piastres for 1915. The value of the fish exported from Indo-China gives 12,000,000 for Cambodia, 3,000,000 for Annam and 200,000 to Tonkin; the totality of fishing products exported for 1913 amounted to 18,000,000 francs . ($3,600,000). Another local industry allied to the fishing trade is the preparation of different fish sauces, the most noted of which is the nuoc Other Products.—Among the vegetable products, fatty matters hold a prominent place. The exportation of copra fluctuates between 6,000 and 8,000 tons. Arachide is cultivated in Annam where, however, it is mostly consumed locally. Castor oil, the exportation of which has Increased from 42 tons to 600 tons, is principally shipped to China. Cotton oil is also cultivated locally. Rice is the principal crop of Indo-China and is consequently exported in large quantities. Indo-China is second only to Birmania as regards rice exports, being more important than Siam. Laons and Annam do not export rice and Cambodia only in small quan tities (about 150,000 tons), but Tonkin et ported in 1915 250,000 tons and the figures for Cochin-China — the principal exporter .were 1,295,000 tons in 1914 and 1,085,000 tons in 1915. Rice is treated at Cholon, the big Chinese town near Saigon. Maize was first exported in 1904 and from that time its culti vation has considerably increased, being classed at the present time third in the list of exporta tions, accounting for nearly 16,000,000 in 1913. Arrowroot, manioc and sofa are cultivated for local consumption.