Materbank TT. traaaaetons, for Jul great experience and ability of the Minister of Finance, Mr. Junnosuke Inouye. More however, is wanted to accomplish the undoubtedly difficult task. Retrenchment of governmental expenditure is one of the essentials; this virtue has become the first slogan of the new rulers. But it is invariably so with every new! government and need not mean more than a well meant promise. If we mistake not, the same party, and the same Minister of Finance, has had a try at the resuscitation of the yen, This was at the close of 1926; the attempt was, however, unsuccessful, probably because means employed were artificial. They consisted partly in sample shipments of gold coin to the States and, principally, in the employment Shangha?s Kiukiang. Road organization which acted as sponsor for the yen, probably not fully aware of its mission. As the means were artificial they miscarried; and. moreover, they are unlikely to\ be repeated, even in a revised edition. Therefore one need not expect an immediate resurrection of the yen, Either good trade, leaving favourable balances abroad, or a large foreign loan will do the trick. The first expedient needs time; the second remedy may, after all prove to have been quack medicine. Ard above all, political peace is needed, 4 condition which is not always easy to obtain, The Yen's Vagaries The public does probably not realize to the full extent what these eternal fluctuations mean to Japan, and indirectly to China. Perhaps it will be simplest to state in this connection that, during the past three years the yen has been deviate ing from its base of 49.85 to tne extent of about 15 per cent. and has been constantly fluctuate within this wide margin. After all, this state of affairs is not much better than our silver basis, because nowadays our rates of exchange do not-often incline to a grotter excursiveness than 18 per cent.
The recent history of the yen is rather interesting. Originally de-atmod to personify the golden calt round which the island empire is Yotating, fate willed that its career should "be somewhat adventurous. The World War had brought 0 much business to Japan, that the yen broke its bars and grew in Value to G1 cents (U.S. currency), at which figure it was quoted from January to July, 1919 (average), even after the conclusion of peace, when other countries' cur-rendes began to decline in value. supply of electric plant, to be manu factured in Britain, have just been placed with the General Electric Ca. of China, Ltd. 'The installations. in question are to be erected in centres adjacent to Shanghai, and the machinery consists of the' following:-—One 600 K. W. Fraser & Chalmers: geared turbo generator set with surface condensing plant and switchgear.
The turbo will be manufactured at the G. E, C. Fraser & Chalmers engineering Works, Erith, and the generator, also switchgear, at the General Electric Ca,, Witton Works, Birmingham.
Four power and lighting sets totalling 650 K.W. cor of GEE. Witton generators direct coupled to "Allen" steam engines, complete with ejector condensers.
The generators, also. the control switchgear, willie. manufactured the GEE. Witton Works, Bir-bingham.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.