28 FIELDS, FACTORIES AND WORKSHOPS. 



grew up regularly. From 6,503,300 Ib. in 1886, it 

 reached 91,950,000 Ib. in 1893, and 153,444,000 Ib. in 

 1895. In nine years it had thus increased twenty-four 

 times. The total production of tissues, valued at 

 1,200,000 in the year 1887, rapidly rose to 14,270,000 

 in 1895 cottons entering into the amount to the extent 

 of nearly two-fifths. Consequently, the imports of 

 foreign cotton goods from Europe fell from 1,640,000 

 in 1884 to 849,600 in 1895, while the exports of silk 

 goods rose to 3,246,000. Moreover, the coal and iron 

 industries grow so rapidly that Japan will not long 

 remain a tributary to Europe for iron goods ; nay, the 

 ambition of the Japanese is to have their own ship- 

 building yards, and last summer 300 engineers left the 

 Elswick works of Mr. Armstrong in order to start ship- 

 building in Japan. But they were engaged for five years 

 only. In five years the Japanese expect to have learned 

 enough to be their own shipbuilders.* As to such plain 

 things as matches, the industry, after its failure in 1884, 

 has risen again, and in 1895 the Japanese exported over 

 15,000,000 gross of matches valued at 1,246,550. 



All this shows that the much-dreaded invasion of 

 the East upon European markets is in rapid progress. 

 The Chinese slumber still ; but I am firmly persuaded 

 from what I saw of China, that the moment they will 

 begin to manufacture with the aid of European ma- 

 chinery and the first steps have already been made 

 they will do it with more success, and necessarily on a 

 far greater scale, than even the Japanese. 



But what about the United States, which cannot be 

 accused of employing cheap labour or of sending to 

 Europe " cheap and nasty " produce ? Their great 



* The mining industry has grown as follows : Copper extracted : 2407 

 tons in 1875; 11,064 * n I 887 > Coal: 567,200 tons in 1875; 1,669,700 

 twelve years later ; 4,259,000 in 1894. Iron: 3447 tons in 1875 ; 15,268 

 in 1887 ; over 20,000 in 1894. (K. Rathgen, japan's Volkwirthschaft 

 nnd Staatshaushaltung, Leipzig, 1891 ; Consular Reports.) 



