The s.s. Victoria, which arrived at Hongkong on the 2ist with a cargo of coal from Nagasaki, had a narrow escape. She ran on the rocks at Wanchai, and was ashore for two hours, but fortunately it was on a rising tide, and she came off with little age.
The Daily Press understands that the Punjom etc, Gold Mining Company is Japanese Government. He was especial designated for the post by Signor Zanardell, the Llalian Miniter of Justice, to, whom the Japanese Minister at Rome, Marquis Tokugawa, applied for advice in the matter.
Those who remember Mr. C. Nembrini-Gonzaga, who was at one time attached to the Italian Consulate here, will be glad to hear that he has just been appointed to the and Literature at the Imperial Cniversity, newly established chair of Italian Language Tokio, about one hundred students "being already entered for the course. At the inauguration of the chair, the new Professor nade vldlress, int which he dilated 1 the ins portance of a knowledge of Italian, West, and promised to those who studied it the four great languages of the
ample reward not alone in the aid it would give them to trace the roots of English words, but also in the literature to which it would introduce them—the literature of Dante, who with Homer and Shakespeare constitute the supreme triad of the Occidental Olympus.
The total value of the raw silk shipped to foreign countries from Japan in the twenty years ending 1887 was a little over two hundred million yen, 'The dealers in cotton yarn in Japan are beginning to be alarmed at the rapid development of the spinning industry in that country. At present, with the existing mills, Japanese yarn' is quoted at $93, against $83 for Bombay, but if Bombay yarn should recede to its old price of $70, the native yarn would be unsaleable, and the threatened competition will sadly complicate the market.
Japanese principally concerned in causing Welearn from the Rising Ssu that the four the death of the French sailor at Nagasaki jon the 16th ultimo have, after trial, been sentenced to from three months' imprison-j ment to six years' hard labour.
Sound political economy is making way {im Japan. There is a strong movement to follow Great Britain in abolishing export duties altogether, and import duties on a large number of articles on which they are hardly worth the expense of collection, The Keisai Zasshi, ignoring Chinaaltogether, asks why Japan should alone of all the nations of the world levy duties on exports?" The Yomiuri Shimbun advocates the abolition of export duties, "with the view of permitting Japanese products to find their way unburdened into the markets of the world, and of encouraging home industries and manufactures." The Keizai Zasshi has compiled a table showing that in 1887, of about one hundred dutiable articles of export, 48 yielded more than 4,000 yen each, and contributed 1,529,918 yen while the remainder yielded less than 1,000 yen each, and contributed only 32,690 yen, so that the loss if the latter class were made duty-free would be very trifling, in fact, considering the reduction in the labour of the Customs' officers, would probably be an actual gain. A similar table for 1883 shews that of about four hundred Varieties of dutiable imports, 97 pistded more that 1,000 yen each, or 1,212,593 yen in all, while the remainder yielded less than 1,000 yen each, or 130,298 yen in all. Thus it would be profitable in every way to reduce the list of dutiable goods to less than 100 imports and less than 50 exports and probably still more profitable to the country to abolish export duties in toto.
An examination of the returns of the foreign trade of British North Borneo for the two years 1886 and 1887 does not make the colony upbear to be progressing so fast as one would hope. The total net increase in the value of the imports for the year, excluding treasure, is about $160,000, or nearly 20 per cent; which is nearly all, as might be expected, in clothing and food, etc., cloth showing an increase of $43,000, pin of $7,000, provisions of $19,000, rice of $43,000, and tobacco of $4,000. ' But when we examine the table of exports, we find that, if we exclude treasure, there was an actual net decrease of over $30,000, or about 6 per cent. and this decrease was made up by important articles of export, such as beeswax $4,000, birdanests $3,000, sago flour $25,000, seed pearl $5,000, timber $5,000, tobacco $21,000, and trepang $4,000. Against these there were a large number of small increases, rattans, rawsago, and india-rubber being the principal. In his notes on the tables the Treasurer General explains that the decrease in sago flour is due to the stoppage of the factory, but that another factory is now in operation; while the decrease in tobacco is due to the failure for Want of capital of the Chinese Sabah Company, just when it was on the eve of success." The Treasurer General winds up with the hope of more rapid progress, as the numerous Planting Companies get into work.
We tind in Kullow's the following remarks on the Geman trade in woollens in Shanghai. The writer has been discussing the ousting by English cloth of the Silesian cloth which had itself ousted the Russian sloth, Ho mys The importance of this matter is sufficient to justify the manufacturers concerned in sending out an expert to China for this purpose. The cost of such mission which would amount to about 12,000 inks, for one year can hardly be regarded as too high when we consider the importance to us of the Chinese market which is undoubtedly capable of further development. For instance we have to thank a former expert for the introduction of the above mentioned branch of industry which has suffered so much of late, That tleman was the first one to point out the fact that the manufacture of similar fabrics those which were imported exclusively from Russia vid Kiachta, would open j The German woollens drove the Russisn up a lucrative field for German industry.
makes right out of the market and asserted their posi in the same for several deceuniumsuntil they were in their turn super-soded by their new competitors. The same expert was of the opinion in his report of 1860-61 that most of the popular and leading Tinea in woollens a" fon English long ells, lastings, Spanish st Kamelots could also be manufacture Germany at a profit, but his advice in this
Perhaps now is the time, as the German tuarter was not then sufciently sppresiated. woollens have met the same fute as the Russian, to give practical effect to his sugtions with due regard to the altered contions of the market,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.