The Daily News. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28. JAPAN'S ECONOMIC POSITION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 59, 28 February 1908, Page 2

The Daily News. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28. JAPAN'S ECONOMIC POSITION.

•lapan is evidently on Uie brinw oi i liimueial upheaval, judging by Hie to kio cablegram published m our \\ ednusday's issue. Twenty-two linns, tincab.e states, have lailed, and mice sinali banks have suspended payincm. It is somewhat strange that in recent economic reports from -lapan, the dominant note lias been the. success of ■lap-

aucse shipping, especially ill the Indian trade; tliougn tlieie are not. wauling critics who attribute lliis to the Stale subventions, a ii. .ivy l.i.s upon the nalinii. S,.iuo lime agu the .Manchester Cuai.liau -oiimled a note of warning as W cerium -lapanese companies, inclu-l-])fz milling concerns. The company pr i-

muLiT. s.ud lilt' Cuaidian. Imil lnni hard at work, niul ox|iorionoo was pro.iiig [lmi ii considerable number ill ilie-e lion companies had lii-on very llllloil over-capitalised. "In ny case- I lie -hare '.no standing ill ii heavy discount. i.l'loii. in fact, ill rubbish prices: and ■ •no m tin- leading Toki.i ooiiinieivi.il papers ha- oxprc-.-cd tin- opinion limi tlu- proem war flill »oo u large pi-'-portion of tin- n-« voiitino- in liquidation. I'llllHlUlU-lv iho |Ullllio are now pu-lt\ well ulivo lo llio actual Mai.' .it affairs, mid owing i» tho dillieulv experienced iu obtaining tin- neco-saiv capital not u low ambitious schemes iiavo l*ad lu bo iiliiiiiilmieil. In several i.llior on son ill llio mining in'il maunlecturing industries siniiliir enterpriseappealing ti"' l>»hlic n«! , l ,orl li;m ' '" u "' l it prudent to amalgamate liofuro commencing operations, which have I lion been on ii imioli iinii'o modest scale than was originally intended. As far as the nil toil spimiinii industry is concerned, tho l'oinarkablo prosperity still ouiir tinnos. and in most casus moralised dividonds arc being paid this y«ir. Thus, a Tnkin correspondent of IhoKol-ni-ehe Zeitung reports that the Osaka Company is paying 50 per colli (against 411 per cent): tho Amagasaki Spinning ('(inipaiiy. which paid all ]ior cent for tlm previous half-year, proposes paying a further 8(1 per cent: the Set hi Company is paying 70 per cent., (against 3(1 per cent.); the Kanogifutchi Company HO per cent (against 20 per emit): the Code Company 40 per wnt lagninst DO per cent); the Osaka Spinning Company 3(1 per cent; and the Kicliuwada Company .">() por cent., and in all cases very substantial amounts have lieon placed to tho reserve funds. The publication of those results is naturally rendering the workpeople vorv rustless, and tiioy are becoming increasingly persistant in their demands for higher wa{fos. Strikes are becoming common, and it is pretty evident that tho present ridiculously low rates of pay canuot continue nuieli longer.' 'l'll,. Tokio correspondent of the Standard has also written:—The increased eo-t of living consequent upon the lowwages, combined with excessive taxation, i- causing a steady growth of m cial and industrial unrest throughout .lapan. frequently resulting in violent expressions of protest, especially among the laboring classes, who fool tlie siresmost. Tin- Japanese -National Debt at Ho- end of March. 1007. was 221S million you I U227,OOO.OOOI: this im- an increase of Dili million yon I .CS-ViiHl.-000) for Ihe Year, and was almost four limes ms large as in March, 1004. before (ho war broke out. The debt was thus brought lo 4."i yen I U4 12s lid') per lion! of iho population, as compared with | onlv 11.21 veil (CI Us) at the end of 1 the linaiu-iiil year. 1003-4. The .lap a mi-.- foreign trade underwent a re F niarkable change in Willi. Compared with Ihe previous year, the imports decline! by 70 million yon, and the export- increase! by 102 million yen.

Tims an exec-s of imports of inerchanilise. uftich hi I'.loo amounted lo lii 7 million yen i L17.IOO.noil) has hcesi .•hanged into an excess of exports of nearly live million veil I CinO.Oiini. ;irobahly H"- first true excess of exAllowing for bullion and specie, there i< still an excess of imports of uearl.'. !H million yen I Ll.OUO.iltiOi. The last Japanese liudgi-t showed the expenditure to be Lia.iKlO.OOil. and the regular income L42.i11in.11110. showing, apparent Iv. a deficit of L 20.0110.111111. Hut .M. vVakni-uki. Imperial .lapaiu-e Spe.-i.il Finance Commissi,mcr in London. •■l.iiui-i thai ihe iwo item- do nut cor

lo cover the ordinary expendiiiirc. ,\!i-!i lolal- about f 12.01111.(1(10. 'I he ordinary revenue i- -nlv a Irille 1.---.ban nilli.- - lo meet the cmnionliii :rv expen-litiir--. In November l.i-t the Time,' -fokio coric-poiident telegrapiic I rinl ,•■ regard- Ho- liudgei for nexl j ie:ir. lie -laval miliiary aiithorili' - had aereul to all extension of and time for i-airyiug out 'he extraordinary expenditure programme, but there wa- a sliedu increa-e in the indirect taxes - namely, alcohol, tobacco, -ugar. ami .kero-enc. -This settlement." adds Hie eoiTc-pondent. "gives much satisfaction to the nation, as dispelling the fear that economic principles might Is- sacriiiecd mi the altar of armaments and expansion."