364 



JAPAN. 



987,799, and expenditures $17,792,372. In 1889- 

 ; 90, $21,805,736 were distributed for the relief 

 of various victims of accident, inundation, earth- 

 quake, shipwreck, etc., or remitted in taxes to 

 the poor or incapable, the expense being borne 

 out of the national and local treasuries. In the 

 budget for 1893 the revenue is fixed at $85,431,- 

 456, and the expenditure at $83,759,967. The 

 items of revenue are : Taxes, $66,676,136 ; licenses 

 and fees, $2,173,089 ; receipts from Government 

 industries, $10,625,659; extraordinary revenues, 

 $4,788,844, etc. In expenses the Crown receives 

 $3,000,000; Foreign Affairs, $689,153; Home 

 Department, $7,875,096; treasury, $28,586,197: 

 war, $12,856,631 ; navy, $5,915,586; justice, $3,- 

 635,320; education, $1,045,975 ; agriculture, $1,- 

 062,134; communications, $5,929,617; extraor- 

 dinary expenditures, $13,164,255. 



Army and Navy. The number of military 

 functionaries in Government pay in 1889 was 

 247,237, of whom 528 are superior officers, 3,959 

 officers, 8.294 noncommissioned officers, 1,478 

 students, 230,632 soldiers and military workers, 

 and 1,716 clerks or office men. Of young men 

 enrolled for conscription there were 360,357, or 

 7'70 in every 1,000 inhabitants, of whom 5-79 per 

 cent, were selected for active service or the re- 

 serve, while 63 - 52 per cent, were exempted. The 

 actual number of men under arms in the six 

 military districts is nearly 60,000. In 1890 there 

 were 14,039 men in the employ of the Navy De- 

 partment, of whom 250 were superior officers, 

 1,048 officers, 1,977 noncommissioned officers, 

 316 students, 9,083 marines, and 1,365 office em- 

 ployees. Of men-of-war, there were 34, with 198 

 guns, manned by 5,991 officers and men. 



Trade. The aggregate volume of foreign 

 trade has increased enormously during the past 

 decade, though a marked decrease in imports is 

 noted (we give the figures in silver yen or " dol- 

 lars "). The grand total for 1891 is considerably 

 larger than that of 1890, being $142,454,540 

 against $138.332,086, but the trade itself shows a 

 wide difference, for whereas in 1890 the imports 

 exceeded the exports by $25,000,000, the con- 

 ditions were reversed in 1891, when the exports 

 were $16,500,000 larger than the imports, these 

 variations being caused principally by fluctua- 

 tions in the trade in silk. The imports of 1891, 

 however, being $19,000,000 less than those of 

 1890, and smaller than those of any year since 

 1887, show a bad market for foreign goods. In 

 cotton yarns, for example, the imported value in 

 1888 was $13.662.004; in 1800, $9,928,060; and 

 in 1891, $5,589,289. In gray shirtings, the fall 

 from $2.332,564 in 1888 to $1.656,680 in 1891 is 

 noticeable. On the other hand, raw cotton is in 

 greater demand, making a new trade with the 

 United States, the imports for 1889, 1890, and 

 1891 being as follow : 



The cause of this increase in imported raw 

 cotton and of decrease in imported yarn is the 

 establishment of native cotton mills. In 1883 

 there were but 2 cotton-spinning mills in Japan ; 

 in January, 1892, there were 36 in operation, in 



29 of which 377,000 spindles employed 4,640 men 

 and 14,012 women, turning out 5,000,000 pounds 

 of yarn a month. The special cause of this 

 improvement, apart from Japan's excellent situ- 

 ation, the low price of coal and labor, with the 

 absence of factory laws permitting the work to be 

 carried on day and night, is the great fall in the 

 price of silver, which has caused an enhancement 

 in the price of English yarns when brought to 

 Japan. In the volume of foreign trade for 1891 

 Great Britain has lost her leading position, and is 

 now distanced by the United States, which had a 

 total of $36,635,802, or $10,000,000 in excess of 

 1890, while Great Britain fell behind nearly 

 $6,500,000, and now figures for only $25,62!),! 87. 

 It will also be seen that in the import of raw 

 cotton the Chinese staple has fallen into disfavor, 

 while the demand for American cotton has greatly 

 increased. In raw silk the United States took 

 $17,000,000 in 1891, against $9,000,000 in 1890; 

 and of silk handkerchiefs 750.632 dozen, valued 

 at $1,823,877. The total volume of trade with 

 Great Britain and her colonies is set down at 

 $52,500,000. Of trade at the various ports, Yoko- 

 hama shows an increase of nearly $6,000,000, 

 Osaka of $1,000,000, while Kobe, Nagasaki, and 

 Hakodate show a falling off, and the minor ports 

 opened to trade slight increase. The trade move- 

 ment in 1891, from the Japanese point of view, is 

 shown in the official compilation set forth by the 

 Revenue Bureau of the Department of Finance : 



VALUE OF EXPORTS AND IMPORTS (IN SILVER YEN). 



VALUE OF EXPORT AND IMPORT OP GOLD AND SILVER. 



COMPARISON OF VALUE. 



Totals of trade at the ports : Yokohama, $78,- 

 523.709 ; Kobe. $47,434,219 ; Nagasaki, $6,774,- 

 455; Osaka, $5,065.807; Shimonoseki, . $1,722,- 

 840; Hakodate, $856,189. Ten other ports are 

 now open to direct foreign trade, though not to 

 foreign residence. 



VALUE OF COMMODITIES IMPORTED AND EXPORTED. 



