Lion and Dragon in Northern ChinaJohnston, Reginald Fleming, Sir
History
Lion and Dragon in Northern China
Johnston, Reginald Fleming, Sir
Weihai (China) -- History; Weihai (China) -- Social life and customs
Litigation regarding land-tax payments is exceedingly
rare and the whole system works without a hitch.
For administrative and magisterial purposes the Territory is divided
into two Divisions, a North and a South. The North Division contains
only nine of the twenty-six Districts, and is much smaller in both
area and population than the South, but it includes the island of
Liukung and the settlement of Port Edward. Its southern limits[60]
extend from a point south of the village of Shuang-tao on the west to
a short distance south of Ch'ang-fêng on the east. A glance at the
map will show that it comprises the narrower or peninsular portion
of the Territory. The headquarters of this Division are at Port
Edward, where is also situated the office of the Commissioner. The
North Division is under the charge of the North Division Magistrate,
who is also Secretary to Government and holds a dormant commission
to administer the government of the Territory in the Commissioner's
absence. The South Division comprises all the rest of the leased
Territory, including seventeen out of the twenty-six Districts, and is
presided over by the South Division Magistrate, who is also District
Officer. His headquarters are at Wen-ch'üan-t'ang[61] or Hot Springs, a
picturesque locality near the old boundary-line between the Jung-ch'êng
and Wên-têng districts and centrally situated with regard to the
southern portion of the leased Territory. Separate courts, independent
of one another and co-ordinate in powers, are held by the North and
South Division Magistrates at their respective headquarters.
The District Officer controls a diminutive police force of a sergeant
and seven men, all Chinese. His clerks, detectives and other persons
connected with his staff, are also Chinese. Besides the District
Officer himself there is no European Government servant resident in
the South Division, which contains 231 out of the 315 villages of the
Territory and a population estimated at 100,000. The whole of the land
frontier, nearly forty miles long, lies within this Division.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account