The following history of the Company was given at a banquet celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Nippon Yosen Kish Japan Mail Steamship Company, was held at Tokio on December 16 att, B Hondo, the President of the company, addressing the guests, said Your Excellencies and Gentlemen, In commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha, the Directors of th have had the bonoor of inviting to a banquet those friends, both foreiga a Japanese, with whom the Company has bad close relations and to whose favour it owes n9 emall part of its prosperity. It is a source of great gratification to us that ea many distinguished persons have accepted our invitation, and have come to grace our board this evening, in spite of the cold and of the maltiterious business incidental to the close of the year.
Foh twenty-five years have elapsed since this Company was formed on the first of October, 1885, by amalgamating the Union 8.8. Ca. (Kyodo Unya Kaisha) and the Mitenbishi Mail 8.8. Ca. Daring that interval our Company has surmounted many difficulties and attained its present position. I beg therefore that you will allow me to make brief statement about the connexion now existing between the State of Japan and the work of the Nippon Yosen Kaisha. By way of preface it is eceseary that I should refer to the general condition of the conotry's maritime carrying trade previous to the formation of this Company, At the beginning of the Mei ships in their possession to the new Government, These vessels numbered 35 or 36, and their aggregate tonnage was 15,000 or 16,000 tons. With them a shipping Company was formed in the year 1871, under the name of, first, the " Kaiso Kaist and, iter-wards, the ""Yubin Jokisen Keisha"; the principal basines of this Company being to carry, between Tokio, Osaka and Kobe, rice received in payment of taxes. It was the pioneer shipping company of Japan. In 1874 " military expedition bad to be sent to Formosa, and to meet transport requirements the Goveroment purchased 13 steamers, and with these, as well as with 18 vessels previonly chartered to the Yubin Kinen sibs, the Mitsubishi Mail 8.8. Ca, plied to the Government for ma sistance to purchase the Yokohama-Shanghai line of the Pacifc Mail 8.8. Ca., as well as the four steamers employed by thst Company on the service, together with its property at Shanghai. An annual subsidy of Y.250,000 was then granted by the Treasury to the Mitsubishi Kaisha, and this was the begin ning of State aid to the maritime carrying trade in Japan.
To 1877 the Civil War i posed the insufficiency of the Mitsubishi Kaisha's carrying capacity, and ten steamers were purchased - which were chartered to the Government ion of peace, extended its only in domestic waters Chinese and Korean, thus furnishing to the people object-lessons in quickness and safety of steamship transit compared with sailing vessels, Company's wen operations practically the same as that of the Miteobiebi Keirha, and such keen competition sprang op that a steerage between Yokohama and Kobe could be purchased for 25 sen, and the steamers, in their rivalry of speed, might som times be seen ranning with redsbot fannels. Tu short, a war was waged that could not fail to be fatal to one or other
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.