Tae progress made by. Far Eastern nations in the sciences and industries of the West deserves the encouragement of-all wol ers to both China and and every indication of a move in auch directions should be frankly welcomed, We are sure that no foreigner of broad and catholic views would feel jealous of any effort put forth by the Chinese to establish manufactories in the interior of their country, even if the step in question were to have a temporarily prejudicial effect upon some department of the foreign import trade. The. most we have a right to do is to take a firm stand against any attempt to monopolise an industry or interfere with the undertakings of those who have already commenced its pursuit; but this right is of the last importance, and cannot be too rigorously insisted on. The Chinese have made several attempts to establish industries and manufactures foreign principles, and so long as they do not seek to interfere with the liberty of foreigners we can congratulate them on their enterprise and wish them all success. We see by our Yokohama contemporaries that the Japanese are now beginning to turn their thoughts in imilar direction. The Japan Gazette tolls us that the efforts hitherto made by native entrepreneurs have not proved very successful. Inexperience and the want of sufficient capital have combined to prevent the undertakings of the Japanese in working yarn-factories from prospering; besides which, the proprietors have been obliged to trust too much to the importation from abroad of their raw material, and this has proved a very serious difficulty in their way. A more energetic effort, how-now about to be put forth, and is making proparaing of cloth with the spinning of yarn, For the particulars of the enterprise we are indebted to our contemporary. The promoters are a Mr, Kato Kure and Mr. Ogura Manjiro, and their establishment is to comprise' 10,000 spindles and a weaving machine, the latter having been already ordered from England. The capital of the concern is pnt down at 350,000 yen. Much assistance has been rendered to the scheme by three of the Jwazoku, who have succeeded in obtaining the necessary consent for starting it from the Governor of Kioto Fa. "This," adds the Gazette, to be the fi company to attempt the weaving, industry by machinery; and the worke are to be entrusted to the management of Mr. Kumagoye, who has undergone course of iustraction in spinning and weaving at Messrs, Freemantle's mills in Manchester, and a weaving-factory in Blackburn." There are of course many difficulties in. the way, and of these the principal perhaps are connected with the supply of raw material. The available amount of native fine-staple cotton will apparently have to be supplemented by the import of raw cotton from abroad, and the serious fluctuations in the market price of the latter are likely enough to embarrass the promoters from time to time. Bat this can scarcely be held to validate the soundness of the undertaking, and may be overcome or at any rate counteracted with careful managemont. A remark quoted from the Choya Shimbun is calculated to throw much graver doubt upon the eventual suooess of the promoters, It is stated that their object in starting the manufactory is two-fold: first, to afford. a means of livelihood to the shikoku, or gentry, and secondly to. injure the import trade with foreign countries, This has o ring about it'unpleasantly, suggestive of Ohinese policy. The legitimate objects of a manufactory. are; we take it, to supply a want and atthe same time brig in a reasonable profit to the promoters, If these two things are held in view, and the working of the factory carried on accordingly, there la 8 prima facie probability that the concern will pay. Logitimate on. terprises promoted by legitimate means may be legitimately expected to prove successful. But if once a principle be admitted which from a commercial standpoint may be. regarded as illicit, the plan of working into which the promoters will be betrayed cannot bo.sach as to produce sucosssfal results, This we take to be sound doctrine. A bank which should be established with the prime object of giving employment to a number of disbanded ensigns, and in the hope of ruining other banks that are worked by experienced accountant, would not start on its career under very favourable auspices, That seems to be the principle whioh actuated the promoters of this Japanese spinning and weaving company, and if they carry it on accordingly they are. not very likely to succeed in the second object attributed to them—tho chock. ing of the importation of cotton manufactures from abroad. The movement by which the "ox-retainers of potty military chieftains" are to be suddenly, set down to the laborious and intricate work of spinning cotton, is characteristic toa certain extent of the social and political revolution which has passed over Japan during the past fifteen years; but while we hi indication of a wish to -beat into shuttles and spears into spindles, as a promising and healthy: sign, the practical success attending any such endeavours must be always contingent upon sound commercial princi! and a capacity for continuous hard work,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.