Unvsuat interest has attached to the discussion of the Japanese Budget for next year, which will be placed before the House of Representatives when it reassembles at the end of January. The knowledge that Japan cannot continue to add to her national expenditure at the same rate as in the past, inasmuch as her income has not been increasing pro rata with her expenditure, and that all her resources of revenue have been full exploited, has excited public curiosity tos high degree, and speculation as to the solution that the new Ministry' would find has been not untinged with anxiety. This, however, was somewhat allayed by the declaration of the Minister of Finance, Mr. Yamamoto, that he would insist on a policy of rigid retrenchment. To clash with this excellent intention there were unfortunately the claims of the Ministers of War and of the Navy to satisfy, both of whom avowed that increased expenditare on naval armament and the expansion of the army were imperative. Other members of the Cabinet, while admitting that the items that the various departments proposed to insert in their budgets were all of urgent necessity, were of opinion that the country's finances must be framed in conformity with the national revenue. A point had been reached, it was felt, at which the Ministry was compelled to recognize that the country was unable to bear further taxation; while farther national loans could, at best, only put off the settlement of the problem for a few years. Notwithstanding these cogent arguments, the Go-yernment Departments asked for increased votes for the next fiscal ear. These the Finance Minister rigidly refused to entertain. Consequently a ('ahmet crisis was threatened.
In this apparent deadlock, some examination of Japanese finances on. broad lines as they stand to-day may be instructive and not uninteresting. Last year the turnover of Japan's foreign trade was Yen 930,000,000; while this year, up to the end of October, it had reached Yen 840,000,000. "As compared with last year, the imports increased by
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.