58 THE DECENTRALISATION 



of nations. And yet within the last twenty 

 years another powerful competitor has grown 

 in the East. I mean Japan. In October, 1888, 

 the Textile Recorder mentioned in a few lines that 

 the annual production of yarns in the cotton 

 mills of Japan had attained 9,498,500 lb., and 

 that fifteen more mills, which would hold 

 156,100 spindles, were in course of erection.* 

 Two years later, 27,000,000 lb. of yarn were spun 

 in Japan ; and while in 1887-1888 Japan imported 

 five or six times as much yarn from abroad as 

 was spun at home, next year two-thirds only 

 of the total consumption of the country were 

 imported from abroad. f 



From that date the production grew up regu- 

 larly. From 6,435,000 lb. in 1886 it reached 

 91,950,000 lb. in 1893, and 153,444,000 lb. in 

 1 895. In nine years it had thus increased twenty- 

 four times. Since then it rose to 413,800,000 lb. 

 in 1909 ; and we learn from the Financial 

 Economical Annual for the years 1910 and 

 1911, published at Tokio, that there were in 

 Japan, in 1909, no less than 3,756 textile fac- 

 tories, with 1,785,700 spindles and 51,185 power- 

 looms, to which 783,155 hand-looms must be 

 added. Japan is thus already a serious compe- 



* Textile Recorder, 15th October, 1888. 



f 39,200,000 lb. of yarn were imported in 1886 as against 

 6,435,000 lb. of home-spun yarn. In 1889 the figures were: 

 56,633,000 lb. imported and 26,809,000 lb. home-spun. 



