CHINA. The navy of China was never an or ganized force. The fleet was made up of squadrons supported, officered, and manned by different sec tions of the Empire. and the squadrons were called the squadron. squadron, and °anion squadron. The war with Japan swept away all the armored vessels and many of the unarmored ones and left the navy in a de plorable state, from which it has not yet recov ered. There is not now, and there has not been at any time, any well-considered plan of supply ing officers to the fleet, although there has been for many years a naval school at Nanking at which a few officers are educated by foreign in structors. What officialism and corruption failed to do in weakening the fleet, incompetency in the older officers accomplished. The principal dockyard is at Fu-chow, but there is a naval arsenal at Shanghai and small yards at Tientsin and Canton. The vessels possessed in 1902 in the different squadrons were 2 protected cruisers of 24 knots speed and 4300 tons (launched 1897 98), 5 protected cruisers of 2500 to 2950 tons (launched 1883-97), 3 cruisers of 2200 tons (launched 1883-90). 9 cruisers of 1200 to 2100
tons (launched 1875-87), 1 steel screw training ship of 1800 tons (launched 1895), 6 torpedo gun vessels of S50 to 1030 tons, 12 gunboats of 340 to 580 tons (launched 1869-95), 1 special service vessel (cruiser and cable ship) of 1400 tons, 1 armored gunboat of 200 tons (launched 1875). 6 small wooden floating batteries for river operations, 22 gunboats belonging to river and customs service of 120 to 850 tons, 4 dispatch ves sels and training ships of 1200 to 1500 tons (launched 1869-79), 3 armed transports, 1 sail ing training vessel of 400 tons, and 21 torpedo boats of 27 to 120 tons (launched 1885-99). Four torpedo-boat destroyers built by Schichau in 1898-99 were captured by the allied forces at 'F;iku in 1900 and added to the British, French. German, and Russian navies.