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Atlas of Germany's Colonies and Illustrated Yearbook, edited by the German Colonial Society, 1908, Retrospect on the Development of the Kiautschou Protectorate in 1908
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Retrospect
on the Development of the Kiautschou Protectorate in 1908
(p.34) Entire East Asia still suffers from the consequences of the
Russo-Japanese War and suffers from a general depression. In contrast to our
hopes the situation, in context with the conditions on the world market, has
deteriorated considerably, and at certain places has caused serious crises. In
Tsingtau, too, many Chinese merchants had to suspend payments; other merchant
houses long established in East Asia vould hold on to their position with great
sacrifices. That Tsingtau, too, has suffered, is a proof for the economic
importance of our "place in the sun". Since the end of 1907, the
collapse of the value of silver and a strong development of the newly introduced
Chinese copper 10 cash coins added to the problems.
For the report year from October 1907 to September 1908, a decrease of the value
of total trade from 51.6 million Dollar to 49,7 million Dollar has to be
registered. The exports have risen, from 15.1 million to 18.5 million Dollar.
The imports of not Chinese origin have declined considerably, i.e. just because
the population of the hinterland was not capable of making purchases as it was
to be wished for Germany's industry. It is to be regarded as a glimpse of hope
that things improved markably in the last months of 1908; the revenue of the
Chinese customs office in Tsingtau in December 1908 rose by more than 50 %, and
navigation, both in terms of number and tonnage, has increased.
So there is hope, that in accordance with the recovery of the economic
conditions on the world market, 1909 again will see an increasing tendency.
(p.35) Tsingtau as staple port and transfer port, where the European goods
coming in from the sea, especially German goods, are distributed, more than any
other of our colonies is a traffic colony.
Therefore it is to be highly emphasized to create large, modern port facilities
there, the loading and offloading facilities of which indeed surpass those of
all other ports in East Asia. In Tsingtau, even the largest ships can offload
their goods directly at the Quay into railroad waggons. In the report year a
small crisis had emerged when the loading, offloading and storing service was
newly regulated; fortunately it looked worse than it was, and it was quickly
solved when the governor interfered.
Hand in hand with the port operates the railroad network, which in connection
with the Schantung railroad, now operating for almost 5 years, penetrates deeper
into the hinterland. Tsi-nan-fu, the terminus of our Schantung Railroad, now
will be connected to the north and the south, with the large, new line leading
from Tientsin to the Yangtse Kiang, which officially is referred to as the
Tientsin-Pan-kou Line, and which will be constructed and operated as a Chinese
state railroad. Two thirds of the line over 1000 km long, the stretch from
Tientsin to the southern border of Schantung Province, shall be financed with a
German-Chinese loan. In the current year construction shall be begun from
Tsingtau, simultaneously in northern and southern direction. (1)
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at
the lotus ponds of Tsinanfu |
The
supply of the entire superstructure material as well as of the bridge in the
northern stretch has been ordered from German firms, and the orders from this
project directed at our railroad and machinery industry, at first instance,
amount to c. 22 million Mark. It should be mentioned, that from the construction
capital of the Schantung Railroad of 64 million Mark more than half was spent
for purchases from Germany's industry, at a time when the domestic economy was
not in a good shape.
The development of the mining industry of the hinterland has seen the continued
progress of the works of the Schantung-Bergbau-Gesellschaft on her two coal
fields near Po schau and Wei-hsien. In the former field in the Hungschan
open-cast mine a coal was produced the command of the East African cruiser
squadron conducted larger experiments with. In consequence, a contract was
concluded with the Schantung-Bergbau-Gesellschaft for the establishment of a
deposit of Hungschan coal in the area of the Tsingtau shipyard, where the
cruiser squadron will take up, in future, its entire demand of coal, as far as
it is loaded in Tsingtau. The cruiser squadron thus is has been logistically
considerably relieved. The number of Chinese miners in the service of the
Schantung-Bergbau-Gesellschaft in the Kiautschou area surpasses 4000 by far.
The Kiautschou administration, over developing the economic sector, does not
neglect the cultural aspect of its great colonizatoric task. It pursues the aim,
to turn the colony, under German administration now for eleven years, into a
center of European and especially German culture in East Africa [sic !]. This
goal is served by the school for young Chinese, which shall not only give them a
thorough knowledge of the German language, but also educate (p.36) them in
modern branch sciences, so that they can be of useful service to their country.
On the basis of a six-form preparatory institute for cous of the age of 13 to 19
years, as a superstructure a college of four separate departments follows, a
state economiv, a technical, a medical department and a department for
agriculture and forestry. Here, instruction will extend over 3-4 years. The
school entirely is under German administration and the German staff will be
appointed from Germany. The Chinese government pays a not very high subvention
and sends an inspector, and to graduation examinations a government commissioner
from Peking.
These purely cultural efforts in the area of education hopefully will have the
consequende that our German economic interests will also benefit. The
administration stresses that the assistance to be provided by us in the form of
education is of decisive importance for our relation with the Chinese
government.
In other aspects the German investments do not reach by far what other peoples
have accomplished. In the way aforementioned we will naturally get into closer
relation with the Chinese government, here and there mutual understanding will
grow.
Colonial
Literature and Maps 1908/09 : Kiautschou.
Adressbuch des Deutschen Kiautschougebiets fur 1907-08. (Directory of the German
Kautschou Area for 1907-08) 3 Mark.
Denkschrift, betr. die Entwickelung des Kiautschougebiets in der Zeit vom
Oktober 1806 [sic!] bis Oktober 1907. (Memorandum pertaining the Development of
the Kiautschou Area from October 1806 [sic !] to October 1907) Reichsdruckerei
Berlin 1908. 3 Mark.
- betr. die Entwicklung des Kiautschougebietes in der Zeit vom Oktober 1907 bis
Oktober 1908. (Memorandum pertaining the Development of the Kiautschou Area from
October 1907 to October 1908) 85 pp., with 7 annexes, among them 2 maps. 1909. 3
Mark.
Rohrbach, P. Deutsch-Chinesische Studien. (German-Chinese Studies) 124 pp. 1909.
1.50 Mark.
Stenz, Geo. M. Beiträge zur Volkskunde Süd-Schantungs. (Contributions to the
Ethnology of Southern Schantung) 1908. 8 Mark.
Further notes on literature and maps can be found in Dietrich Reimer's
"Mitteilungen für Ansiedler, Farmer, Tropenpflanzer, Beamte,
Forschungsreisende und Kaufleute". Issued quarterly, single issues at 30
Pfennig; yearly issue, postage included, at 1.60 Mark. Available at all
bookstores or directly from Dietrich Reimer (Erich Vohsen), Berlin SW 48.
(1)
The mentioning of Tsingtau here obviously is erroneous; it should be Tsinan-fu.
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Source:
Deutscher Kolonial-Atlas mit Jahrbuch, (Atlas German Colonies, with
Yearbook), edited by P. Sprigade und M. Moisel, Yearbook and Remarks by
Hubert Henoch. Berlin 1909, p.34ff. |
GM
(digitalisation) and AG
(translation)
posted on the web for psm-data;
many thanks to
Staatsbibliothek
zu Berlin / Preußischer Kulturbesitz
Kartenabteilung
Dokument in deutscher
Sprache
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