German French 98 per cent, The remaining 2 per cent being made up by the shipping of all other nationalit The same report contains the following interesting remarks on the Japanese silk vieee goods production, though the exact meaning of the opening sentence is not very clear:—'* Home consumption has also made marked progress, especially in the direction of goods suitable for export, the excellence and. cheapness of labour in this count enabling goods to be produced at marveliously cheap prices, and of very good taste and worknunship. Up to the present it has been the light cheap fabrics, such as handkerchiefs, of which an item appears the first time for the year under review, amounting to £178,442 and neckties, &o., that have been in most demand; but bro cades and heavy dress materials are now exciting a good deal of attention, and are likely to find a considerable market in Europe. It is to be regretted that the statistics of export of "silk manufactured goods" have thus far been inadequate, and of very little value as regards this class of goods. The trade is a growing one, and deserves to be watched from its infancy." Out of 153 foreign firms in Yokohama on Bist December last, and 1,462. foreign residents, there were 57 British firms and 694 residents, the Americans coming next, with 26 firms and 259 residents.
The Japan Mail says that the disagreeable catfish which lies imprisoned under the islands of Japan began to wriggle on the night of the 2nd {ustant, no less than four district groups of earthquake shocks being felt at Tokio during the afternoon and hight, the most severe being on the morning of the 3rd. Tt was feared that these shocks would be followed by a serious earthquake, but with the exception of a slight movement on the morning of the 4th, the catfish appears to have remained quiet, up to the latest date received.
Te is stated by the Keisai Zasshi that, with a view of furthering the silk trade in Japan, two establishments are to be started, the in coe ce nm om country, where may be sent for s, without charge, to be certified Tree from adulteration; the other, a conditioning house in Yokohama, which is to have foreign experts of reputation on its staff, so that its certificates may command universal confidence.
The Japan Railway Company has recently held its thirteenth general meeting, at which the accounts for the past half-year were presented, anda dividend to shareholders declared at the rate of 12 per cent. per annum. The total receipts for the all year were brought Savard, 746,416 yen were ordinary ut, of which 48,882 yen were traffic receipts, 12,887 yen were miscellaneons receipts, and the balance was received from the government for use of the line and.
subsidy. The total expenditure on traffic and management was 276,23 yen; 43,686 yen were placed to reserve, 688,083 yen were paid in dividend at 12 per cent, and 30,029 yen carried forward, Lieutenant Younghusband, who travelled cal last year from been lecturing at Simla on China and the fr ing to Cashmere, has Chinese army. He described Manchuria as favourably as Mr, James and our own cor: respondents have done, but he said thet Turkestan was a very different land, It was nearly all desert, with small oases, ever fell. Water was obtained principally where towns were situated. Rain hardly from streams which flowed from the Tien-shan and other mountains. China's hold on this distant province was stronger than was sometimes supposed. The indigenous population have a most profound respect for the Chinese. Throughout the wide parts of Central Asia the people had a much deeper respect for China than for either England or Russia, and considered China as far the greatest Power, As regards the Chinese army, beyond the'special force organised in the European fashion for the de. fence of Peking, it hardly existed except on paper. Both in the war against Yakub Beg and in the Tongking war troops had to be specially raised for the occasion, and this was done with the greatest difficulty.
The Singapore Free Press says of the trade with British North Borneo:—No better proof of the steadily increasing trade tween Singapore and British North Borneo can be found than that, where some years ago, and not so very many either, there were only one or two steamers carrying on the trade, there are now at Toast half s dozen, and we hear that more will shortly be put on the line, Yesterday the Parana and Hong Ann sailed for Labuan and Sandakan, to be followed on Friday by the Royalist and Spaniel.
The Free Press says:—Baron von Hu, and Baron von Schulenberg with Captain Sachs of the German Consulate returned to Singapore on the 29th October from their search for the late Landgrave of Hesse, who disappeared overboard while travelling to Singapore from Batavia in the steamer Volga. The scene of the occurrence was not far from Muntok, and enquiries have been made at that place, Palembang, and Rhio, but entirely without result, us von Hugo, von Trott, and von Schulenberg will return to Europe by the next German mail, the Neckar.
The Bureau Veritas Monthly List of Wrecks and Casualties recorded in August last, published on the 1st of October, gives the' total losses of sailing Is for the month at 98. Of these just under half, 48, were stranded, 12 were lost by collision, and 2 by fire; 13 foundered, 2 were abandoned, 19 were condemned, and 2 were missing. The sailing-vessels more or less da amounted to 281; of these, 63 were stranded, 78 damaged by collision and 9 by fire; 60 reported themselves as leaky, and 81 suffered from stress of weather, The number of steamers totally lost 13, 5 being stranded, 7 lost by collision, and only one foundering. The damaged steamers were 160; of these 45 were stranded, 53 were in collision, 8 were injured by fire, 1 was leaky, 5 suffered from stress of weather, and 38 reported injuries to their engines and boilers, Among the steamers we find the Angers, stranded while on the voyage from Foochow to Sydney leaving Shanghai for Newchwang; the the Choysang, damaged y collision while Maha, damaged in a typhoon between Nagasaki and Hongkong; and the Oceanic, damaged by collision at San Francisco,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.