Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 July 1912 — Shipbuilding In China. [ARTICLE]

Shipbuilding In China.

According to a Shanghai telegram, the Chinese government accepted the bid of the Kiangnan arsenal for the construction of four warships at about 1,500,000 taels. The arsenal, under control of Liang-Kiang, viceroy, engages principally in the manufacture of arms. Although it has equipment for shipbuilding, it has not turned out any warships in the history of Its existence for the last twenty-odd years, its experience so far having only consisted in putting together gunboats that wer built in foreign countries: Again, at the Mamel dockyard at Fukien one gunboat was constructed in 18*99 and another in the following year, which were completed in 1902. But they were small ships, each having the displacement of 861 tons. The present order, consists of two gunboats with tile displacement of 1,000 tons each and two smaller river 'gunboats. Inasmuch as the Mamel dockyard is under the management of French people, this is the first time that China has ever attempted to build her own warships at her own dockyard.