Jean Marie Antoine de Lanessan and Roland Truslove

“ Religions.—The Annamese religion is a somewhat vague and very tolerant Buddhism, which in practice resolves itself chiefly into the worship of ancestors. Certain ceremonies performed in Cambodia resemble distantly the Brahminical cult. The Roman Catholic religion has been introduced by missionaries. The course of its history has not been free from catastrophes and accidents. There is an apostolical vicariate in Cochin-China, one in Cambodia and several mission stations in Tongking. ”

“ This coast-belt constitutes the habitable and cultivable portion of Annam proper, and consists of alluvial matter accumulated at the mouths of mountain streams, and marshes and swamps enclosed between land and sea by sand ridges heaped up by wind and tide. The high valleys and plateaus originally belonged to the empire, the limits of which, although invaded and occupied by Siamese, formerly extended to the banks of the Mekong. The western slopes form part of the French Laos possessions. The Mekong valley includes Laos, Cambodia and the greater part of Cochin-China. ”

“ The French and Spanish were, however, too few to take the offensive, and were forced to submit to a blockade, conducted by the Annamese general Nguyen Tri Phuong, at the head of 20,000 troops. It was not till February 1861 that reinforcements under Admiral Charner reached Saigon, and the Annamese were defeated and My-Tho taken. A revolt against Tu-duc in Tongking, and the stoppage of the rice supplies from Cochin-China, obliged the king to submit, in 1862, to a treaty by which three provinces of Cochin-China were ceded and other concessions accorded to France. ”

“ Rubber is also exploited. Cotton, previously cultivated in Cochin-China and Cambodia, gives excellent results in Laos. Tea, of which there are a certain number of plantations in the highlands of Tongking and Annam, grows wild in Upper Laos, and in quality closely resembles the Pou-eurl or Pueul variety noted in Yun-nan. Cocoa, coffee and cotton are cultivated in Tongking and Cambodia. Cinnamon and cardamoms are gathered in Laos and Annam. Ground nuts, sesame, sugar canes, pepper, jute, tobacco and indigo are also grown. ”

“ The French inhabitants number about 13,000.
The configuration of the country is determined by two rivers of unequal importance—the Mekong and the Song-Koi—and a continuous chain of mountains, an offshoot of the great Chinese group of Yun-nan, which, making a double curve, forms an immense S. South and west of this mountain chain the country forms part of the Mekong basin. To the north and north-east of the chain the valley of the Song-Koi, or Red river, constitutes almost the whole of Tongking, of which its delta represents the most fertile and populous if not the largest portion. ”

“ The Superior Council meets not only at Hanoi, the seat of the government, but also at Saigon, Hué and Pnom-Penh. It delegates its powers to a “permanent commission” consisting of thirteen of its members, and dispensing with the attendance of the local authorities of regions other than those in which the place of meeting is situated. The Superior Council meets annually to receive the general budget and the local budgets which “must be accepted by the governor-general at a session of the Superior Council.” ”

“ For centuries Siam had occupied the right bank of the Mekong, and her troops had crossed the river and occupied the left bank. Luang-Prabang was in the hands of the Siamese, who had also established posts at Stung-treng and elsewhere. Friction occurred between the French agents and Siamese soldiery. After the death of Inspector Crosgurin on the 5th of June 1893 the French government occupied Stung-treng and Khong. France demanded explanations and redress at Bangkok, but the court refusing concessions, an ultimatum was presented to the king by M. Pavie, French minister to Siam. ”

“ After the appointment of M Doumer, successor to M Rousseau, who died on the 10th of December 1896, this decree was again put in force on the former scale, and in 1898 it was supplemented by the decrees of the 3rd and 31st of July, which definitely established the political and financial unity of Indo-China. The governor-general is the sole intermediary between the Indo-Chinese Union and the home government, the powers of which, with few restrictions, are delegated to him. ”

“ The buffalo is commonly found wild in Laos; as a domesticated animal it also holds a prominent place. The zebu bull is used for transport purposes. Attempts to acclimatize the Arab horse and to introduce sheep from Aden and China have failed. There is, however, an indigenous race of horses, excellent in spite of their small size—the horses of Phu-Yen. Among birds the woodcock, peacock and numerous species of duck inhabit the woods and marshes. ”

“ Goods from French colonies pay no import duty. About 53% of the imports, comprising nearly all manufactured goods of European origin, come from France. China, Japan and Singapore are the other chief sources of imports. ”

“ M. de Lanessan, a Paris deputy sent on a mission in the course of 1887, made himself acquainted with the government and the court of Hué. He recognized the absolute falsity of the story which represented the Tongkingese as the oppressed subjects of the Annamese. ”

“ Tongking has a winter season—October to May. The temperature, lowered by fog and the rains, does not rise above 75.2° and descends to 50° over the delta, and to 44.6° and even 42.8° in the highlands, where white frost is occasionally seen. The summer, on the other hand, is scorching. The wind veers to the south-east and remains there until October. The temperature rises to over 83°; often it reaches and continues for several days at 95° or even more. The nights are distressingly airless. The Laos country in the interior and lying at a high altitude is cooler and drier. ”

“ Among its preoccupations are the reconstitution of the schools of Chinese characters in Cochin-China, the remodelling of the programmes of the triennial examinations in Annam and Tongking (see Annam) with a view to completing them with a summary knowledge of French and science, the improvement of the teaching given in the pagodas in Cambodia and Laos, and the foundation of a university comprising classes for natives. In 1906, in Cochin-China, where the largest sum (£45,000 in 1906) is devoted to instruction, 22,500 children received a French education. ”

“ Public Works.—The order of the 9th of September 1898 placed the public works of Indo-China under the “direct authority of the governor-general as regards works entered to the general budget account.” There is a director of public works in Indo-China at Saigon, a director of engineering in the other countries. In 1895 a “special service” was created in Tongking to consider railway business.
Posts and Telegraphs.—The country is divided into two sections for the purposes of this service, the one comprising Annam, Tongking and Upper Laos, the other Cochin-China, Cambodia and Lower Laos. ”

“ In the centre and south of the Indo-Chinese mountain chain are found, under a multiplicity of names—Phon-tays, Souis, Bah-nan, Bolovens, Stiengs, Mors, Kongs, &c.—people of Malayan origin mixed with all the races of Indo-China. Laos is inhabited by an essentially miscellaneous population—falling into three main groups—the Thais ”

“ People.—The population of French Indo-China falls into five chief divisions—the Annamese, forming the bulk of the population in Annam, Tongking and Cochin-China and four-fifths of that of the whole country ”