OF INDUSTRIES. 59 



titor of the great industrial nations for tissues 

 altogether, and especially for cottons, in the 

 markets of Eastern Asia ; and it took it only 

 five-and-twenty years to attain this position. 

 The total production of tissues, valued at 

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

 14,270,000 in 1895 and to 22,500,000 in 

 1909 cottons entering into this 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, 

 and to 411,600 in 1910, while the exports of 

 silk goods rose to nearly 3,000,000.* 



As to the coal and iron industries, I ventured 

 in the first edition of this book to predict that 

 the Japanese would not long remain a tributary 

 to Europe for iron goods that their ambition 

 was also to have their own shipbuilding yards, 

 and that the previous year 300 engineers left the 

 Elswick works of Mr. Armstrong in order to 

 start shipbuilding in Japan. They were engaged 

 for five years only the Japanese expecting to 

 have learned enough in five years to be their own 

 shipbuilders, This prediction has been entirely 

 fulfilled. Japan has now 1,030 iron and machine 

 works, and she now builds her own warships. 



* In 1910 the imports of cotton and woollens were only 

 2,650,500, while the exports of cotton yarn, cotton shirtings, 

 and silk manufactures reached a value of 8,164,800. 



