What have been the chief effects of the British occupation of these countries, so far as the natives are concerned? What is the position of Khaibar Pass with respect to the commerce of India? How has the building of the Sind-Pishin Railway strengthened British occupation of India? Singapore and Batavia are the two great focal points of trade in the East India Islands. At the former all trade is absolutely free; at the latter there is both an import and an export tax. What are the advantages of each policy? From the Abstract of Statistics find the trade of the United States with these countries. FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE From a cyclopaedia, preferably the Encyclopaedia Britannica, read the following topics: Caste Lord Clive Rattan Pepper CHAPTER XXXII CHINA AND JAPAN The relative position of China, Russia, and Japan is not unlike that of continental Europe and Great Britain, and the struggle for supremacy in the Japan and Yellow Seas is about the same as that which in times past took place in the North Sea. In the latter case France and Holland were the disturbing powers; in the former, it is Russia. =The Chinese Empire.=--A comparison of the Chinese Empire with the United States shows that the two countries have about the same position and extent of latitude. There is also about the same proportion of highlands, arid lands, and fertile lowlands. The similarity of the two countries in geographic conditions is very marked. The fertile lowland in the east and southeast is one of the most productive regions in the world, and forms the chief resource of the country; on account of its productivity it is densely peopled. The arid and mountain lands are peopled mainly by cattle-herders and nomadic tribes. China is essentially an agricultural country, and the farms are held in much the same way as in the United States, but the holdings are so small that agricultural machinery is not required for their cultivation. Wheat, millet, and pease are grown throughout the lowlands wherever they can be cultivated. The cultivation of rice is confined mainly to the coast lowlands. The amount of food-stuffs produced, however, is scarcely sufficient for home consumption; indeed, a considerable amount is imported, and the imports year by year are increasing. This is due not so much to the density of population as to want of means of transportation of the soil products from inland regions. It is often much cheaper to import food-stuffs from abroad than to transport them, even from an adjoining province.