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After spending some time in Yokohama I went to the oapital, Tokyo. I called at the British Legation to present my letter of introduction from the British Foreign Office to the British Minister, Sir Claude Mac Donald. Unfortunately, this being the hot season, all the leading people are away from Tokyo at their summer residences, and Sir Claude Mao Donald was out of town. His private secretary said, however, that he expectsd him back in a few days, and in the meantime he forwarded my letter of introduction. Sir Claude gave it his immediate attention and forwarded me an official introduction to the Minister of Commerce and Agriculture, His Exoellenoy Baron Hirata. His Excellency kindly granted me an interview at his residence and appeared to be highly interested in my mission to the East. After an hour's interview I could gather that the possibility of business between New Zealand and Japan is very remote. The Japanese are very poorly paid, the average rate of wages being Is. per day of sixteen hours. The Baron stated that his countrymen do not at present, as a nation, eat mutton, butter, or cheese, as the people cannot afford such luxuries. Hβ hopes that at some time in the future they may use more of these articles of food. In Japan the native population is about forty-three millions, while the European and other white residents number only about ten thousand. The forty-three million natives do not use our products, and the other ten thousand residents would occasionally like to have the opportunity of purchasing a small quantity as a rarity. I am quite convinced, after careful and exhaustive inquiries in all the leading oities of Japan, that there is no market here for our leading lines. It would be a pure waste of time and money for our exporters to try this market. The only articles that might find a market here, in limited quantities, when low in price, are wool, hops, leather, and flour ; and I had much pleasure in handing to Mr. Sankow, to exhibit in the Imperial Commercial Museum, woolsamples from Blenheim, flax from Auckland, hops from Nelson, and woollen patterns from the different mills in New Zealand. I also arranged with the s\me gentleman, who is Director of the Imperial Commercial Museum, that if you decide to forward samples of our timber, woollen goods, and other products, he would give us space and fit up a case for a New Zealand exhibit. I should add that His Excellency Baron Hirata specially desired me to convey to the New Zealand Government, through you, some expression of the high esteem in whioh our oountry is heid by His Excellency's Government. In the official statistics of imports oompiled to 1898 Australasia and Canada figure very insignificantly. The ohief imports from other points are oil, cotton, carriages, sugar, and machinery. New Zealand, of oourse, cannot compete with the whereas the small imports of our ohief commodities, suoh as butter, bacon, &c, as officially recorded, prove very conclusively the limited nature of the demand. For instance, the total import of butter from all foreign countries in one of the best years, 1895, only reached a value of a little more than £10,000, two-fifths being contributed by America. Following is the population, according to the latest census, of some of the principal towns in Japan: Tokyo, 1,425,366; Kyoto, 351,461; Osaka, 811,855; Yokohama, 193,762; Kobe (and Hyogo), 214,119; Nagasaki, 106,574; Nagoya, 239,771; Hiroshima, 114,231. I have, &c, J. Graham Gow, The Hon. Sir Joseph G. Ward, K.G.M.G., New Zealand Trade Representative. Minister of Industries and Commeroe, Wellington, New Zealand. Trade with China. —From Japan Mr. Gow proceeded to China. His report on the subject of trade with China is as follows :— Sib,— Hongkong, 11th September, 1902. I have now great pleasure in forwarding you my report re business with China. The first port I visited was Shanghai, which is decidedly the largest oommeroial city in the East, but unfortunately the foreigners form a small section of the community, the population not exceeding seven thousand. The natives, as in Japan, do not use our products, therefore there is little hope of doing business with Shanghai in the meantime. Sheep are exported from the Shanghai district to all ports of China and Japan ; the mutton is very good, and is sold at 2Jd. to 3d. per pound. Beef 3d. to 3Jd. per pound, and fowls and ducks at prioes ranging from 6d. to Is. each. Game is very plentiful in season, and is sold at extremely low prices. I had a long interview with Mr. Ingles, of Messrs. Jardine, Matheson, and Co., who is chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, and also with Mr. Wright, of Messrs. Butterfield and Swire, the Vice-President; and, from the information reoeived from these gentlemen, it is quite apparent that business between New Zealand and Shanghai is impossible at present. In the course of my interview with the gentlemen above referred to, they told me they had a tremendous amount of correspondence from America and Canada, and find it very difficult to make the merchants of these countries understand the limited market there is in China for their products. I may also state there is no oold-storage at Shanghai. I arrived in Hongkong last week; here they have got cold-storage of small dimensions. Mr. Gait, merohant, introduced me to Mr. Parlane, manager of the cold-storage oompany, and in my interview with this gentleman he stated that the business to be done in frozen mutton was very limited. The firm of Messrs. Butterfield and Swire, who have a large fleet of steamers trading all over eastern waters, have a line of steamers running to Australia; two of these steamers are fitted up with refrigerating-chambers. The monthly shipment of mutton from Australia to this port is about five hundred caroases during the summer, increasing to about fifteen hundred in the winter months, and the greater part of this is sold to the navy and military. I attach herewith the price-list of the ooldstorage company, from which you will see the prices are cut very fine, and I may say that if it was not for the faot that the meat is oarried by the steamers of Messrs. Butterfield and Swire, which firm has an interest in the coldstorage company, there would certainly be nothing whatever in the business. A great portion of the mutton sold here comes from Shanghai ; steamers arrive nearly every day with live-stock. The meat-market here is a splendid place ; mutton is sold at 3d. per pound, and beef at 2Jd., and the quality is very good. I find the butter that is in the Hongkong market just now is New Zealand, but in most cases it is sold as Australian. Bacon and Ham. —The market for these produots is very small, and I find that about seventy-five per oent. of the supply comes from America. The importation of flour is very great; it comes from the Pacifio Coast, and is sold here at £6 10s. per ton. New Zealand has a very remote chance of doing business in this line, as special facilities are offered to the merchants in the way of shipping from the ports of San Francisco, Tacoma, and Vancouver, and the rates are very low. I may state that there is a weekly service from each of the ports mentioned, and the length of voyage to Yokohama is twelve to fourteen days, and to Hongkong twenty-one to twenty-four days. Freight on flour from any Pacifio Coast port to Hongkong is $5 (Mexican) —equal to Bs. 6d.—per ton. I have, &c, The Hon. Sir Joseph G. Ward, K.C.M.G., J. Graham Gow. Minister of Industries and Commerce, Wellington, New Zealand. Trade with India, Singapore, and Ceylon. —On leaving China Mr. Gow proceeded to India via Singapore and Ceylon. He reports as follows : — Sib,— Calcutta, 26th Ootober, 1902. I have the honour, in continuation of previous correspondence, to report to you some results and impressions of my visits to Singapore, Colombo, and Calcutta. I left Hongkong on the 13th September, 1902, and arrived at Singapore on the 18th September. I lost no time in oalling on the Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Gunn, formerly a bank-manager, and who has been resident in Singapore for thirty-five years. From Mr. Gunn I reoeived every kindness and attention, and in view of his lengthened residenoe in the place his views are entitled to considerable respect. He 'kindly placed his services