three times those for the corresponding period of 1909. The yarn used in Japan is chiefly of count 16 to 20. and there has been a brisk demand for the coarser counts of yarn during the last few months as all the factories are now working at full strength. The principal factors which contribute to the prosperity of the industry are cheap machinery and a plentiful supply of cheap labour. Most of the machines used in the Osaka factories are made in the city from American models, the prices being very much lower than for imported machines. American sewing machines are largely used for finishing the more expensive quality of underwear. The price of undershirts for the Indian and Chinese markets ranges from 80 sen (1s. 8d.) per dozen. The trade in buttons has also developed considerably of late. The export is chiefly to Germany-about 60 per cent.-and in recent years Japanese buttons have been exported to that country and re-exported as German manufactures after bleaching. Recently, however, the bleaching process has been discovered in Japan and the demand for buttons has increased. The shells were formerly found in Kiushiu, but are now imported from South Sea Islands. There are two companies in Osaka formed recently for the collecting of shells. The principal factories are at Osaka and Kobe. Miscellaneous.-The manufacture of machinery of all kinds is extensively carried on in Osaka. There is a growing demand for motors of various kinds owing to the great increase in the use of motive power in the smaller factories. With the exception of the spinning and weaving industries by far the greater part of the machinery used in the Osaka factories is of Japanese manufacture, the designs having been taken from foreign models, and in this connection the importance of taking out patents in Japan for any new machinery imported into the country cannot be too strongly impressed on foreign manufacturers, as the Japanese are adepts at the art of imitation. The export of European umbrellas shows an increase of 8,9211. over the figures for 1908. More than 87 per cent. of the export is to China; the remainder to Corea. The chief competitors are German umbrellas. The price of goods destined for the China market ranges from 6 yen 90 sen (14s. 1d.) per dozen. The ribs are all made in Tokio, The export of toilet soap shows a slight increase as compared with the years 1907 and 1908. Here again the chief competitors are soaps of German manufacture. The export of artificial manure during the year amounted to 15,462,748 lbs., valued at 7,3951., practically all to Australia. Ports of shipment and discharge.-As was pointed out in the report on the trade of the port for the year 1908, a considerable proportion of the goods exported from and imported into Osaka, which are entered at the customs of that port, are shipped or discharged at Kobe. An examination of the figures for the last eight years, however, shows that there has been a great increase in the proportion of goods shipped or discharged at Osaka, the figures for 1909 being nearly 57 per cent. as compared with 314 per cent. in 1902. This increase is mainly due to the great increase in the proportion of imports discharged at Osaka, the figures having risen from 23 per cent. in 1902 to over 56 per cent. in 1909. The proportion of exports shipped at Osaka in 1909 was about OSAKA. the same as in 1908-just over 57 per cent.-though in 1906 it was as much as 63 per cent. Shipping-Most of the shipping engaged in the foreign trade of the port of Osaka is in the hands of the Osaka Shosen Kwaisha. This company, which was founded in 1884, owns a fleet of 109 vessels with a gross tonnage of 128,328 tons. The company has regular lines to all the chief ports in Corea and North China. The principal foreign lines from Osaka are as follows: Osaka to Chemulpo (twice a week Osaka to Tientsin (four times a month) The number of steamers employed on these five lines is 13. All the steamers call at Kobe and Moji, and those on the first three routes mentioned at various Corean ports. The company has also lines to Formosa, both from Japanese ports and from Hong-Kong, and from the latter port to Shanghai. A new line to America was opened during the course of 1909 with new boats of about 6,000 tons each, three of which are already built and the rest in course of construction. These boats do not call at Osaka. In addition to the above there are numerous lines from Osaka to various ports on the coasts of Japan, the chief being to Moji (every other day) and to Shimonoseki (daily). During the year 1909 the company received the following sums from the Government by way of subsidies : Subsidies for various lines Total £ ... The boats of the Nippon Yusen Kwaisha employed on the North China line also call occasionally at the port. There are, however, no regular lines of foreign steamers, and during the year 1909 the total number of foreign vessels entering at the port was only 20 with a total tonnage of 30,692 tons, of which 8 vessels with a tonnage of 21,737 tons were British. The harbour.-The harbour at Osaka, which was constructed some years ago by the municipality with the idea of attracting foreign trade to the port, suffers greatly from lack of warehouse accommodation and from the fact that the main pier (which has a length of 1,500 feet and is capable of accommodating six vessels at a time), has no railway connection with the city. As a result all cargo except that which is carried in small vessels of shallow draught which can be brought up the river for a distance of about 3 miles to wharves in the city, has to be discharged into lighters for distribution to the numerous warehouses in the city. In this respect, moreover, Osaka has exceptional advantages owing to the network of rivers and canals which intersect the city in all directions and which can be navigated by tugs and lighters of 49 considerable size. The necessity of railway connection between the main harbour and the city, however, is becoming more and more apparent and the relative merits of the northern route of 63 miles from Umeda station on the Tokaido Railway and the southern route of 43 miles from Imamiya station on the Kwansai Railway have formed the subject of much discussion in the local Press during the year. The question is still under consideration by the Government, but until it is decided and the line constructed it is hardly to be expected that foreign shipping will be attracted to the port to any great extent. The great fire of 1909.-A large area of the city was destroyed by a great fire which raged at the end of July. The commencement of the work of rebuilding the devastated area was somewhat impeded by the investigations carried out by the city authorities with a view to the widening of the streets, &c., and also to the issue in August last of new and much more stringent building regulations. The work is now, however, in full swing and generally speaking a much better class of house seems to be taking the place of those which were destroyed. The work of laying out the principal streets has also been commenced, and a broad road, with a width of 72 feet, is to be constructed through the district. This road will have a total length of about 3 miles, and an electric tramway is to be laid down connecting with the municipal lines already constructed. The district was formerly one of the poorest in the city, but by the end of the year great improvements will have been made. City electric railway.-Considerable progress has been made during the year with the extension of the municipally owned electric railway. With the main object of carrying out the proposed extensions of the system a loan of over 3,000,000l. was floated by the city authorities on the London market at the end of May, 1909, and upon the successful issue of the negotiations work on the third section (32 miles) of the system was at once commenced. During the year the length of line (double track) opened to traffic was 2.3 miles, and a further 2 miles will be open early in 1910. The work as it proceeds involves the widening of streets and the building of new bridges, and in one part of the city an embankment has been built for a distance of about a mile along one of the principal rivers, the completion of which work has brought about a further great improvement in the aspect of the city. The receipts during the year amounted to 125,2651. and the working expenses to 42,6737. The amount expended on construction work since August, 1908, up to the end of 1909, that is to say on the third section of the line, was 81,146l. This sum includes, of course, the amount paid by way of compensation for, or for the purchase of, land that has been occupied. Communication with neighbouring towns by electric railway-Within three months of the beginning of 1910 two new electric railways are to be opened to traffic. The first of these connects Osaka with Kyoto and has a total length of 29 miles. The other runs from Osaka to Takaradzuka, a summer resort about 16 miles from Osaka. The latter line is subsequently to be extended from Takaradzuka-the present terminusto Arima and also to Nishinomiya, a town of considerable size on the coast half way between Kobe and Osaka. A further extension from (409) D Nishinomiya to Kobe is also contemplated. Both these lines traverse prosperous districts and should be profitable investments, though both will to a certain extent compete with the Government railway lines, the former with the Tokaido line between Osaka and Kyoto and the latter with the southern portion of the Hankaku line from Osaka to the naval port of Maizuru on the north coast of the island. The machinery, &c., for the Kyoto line-with the exception of the bodies of the cars, which were made by the Kawasaki dockyard in Kobe-was all supplied by a British firm. The order for the plant for the Arima line was secured by an American company. It is probable that the two lines above mentioned will shortly be linked up with the City Electric Railway and also with the Hanshin Electric Railway, which has been running for the last five years between Osaka and Kobe. In addition to these lines shortly to be opened there have been since the commencement of the year numerous schemes brought forward for the construction of electric railways to various places in the neighbourhood, including one to Nara-a town of about 45,000 inhabitants 25 miles east of Osaka-another line to Kyoto on the opposite side of the Government railway to the line just completed, a line for an express tram service between Osaka and Kobe, and many others. The only one, however, for which a charter has been obtained is a line to Sakai, a prosperous city 6 miles to the south. This line will run parallel to the Nankai Railway to Wakayama, which has already been electrified at far as Hamadera (4 miles beyond Sakai), and is shortly to be electrified for the whole length of 40 miles. The other tramway schemes, however, are hardly likely to mature at any rate for several years. New undertakings.-A new gas company has been formed for the purpose of supplying gas to the city of Sakai, mentioned above. The capital of the company is 600,000 yen (61,2501.), of which the Osaka Gas Company (65 per cent. of the capital of which is American) is to hold 51 per cent., thus securing a preponderating interest. The gas is to be supplied by means of a main from the Osaka works, and it is hoped to begin operations in the autumn. Sakai is a city with a population of about 60,000, situated 6 miles to the south of Osaka on the edge of the bay. The most characteristic industry of the place is the manufacture of rugs and carpets of excellent quality. These carpets are made in large quantities in the city and there is a considerable export, chiefly to the United Kingdom, the value of the export to that country in 1908 having been 21,9421. out of a total of 34,0701. There are also cotton spinning mills and several large factories in the city, which has developed rapidly of late years. The electric cable factory mentioned in the report for the year 1908 as being in course of erection by Mr. Sumitomo is now turning out considerable quantities of cable, chiefly for Government use. Plant has also been installed at the Sumitomo copper works for the making of brass tubes. The Sakai Celluloid Company organised by the Mitsui Bussan Kwaisha will shortly start operations at their new factory in Sakai. The capital of the company is 2,000,000 yen (204,1667.). Foreign capital invested in industrial concerns. The Osaka Gas Company. This is the only company left in the city in which foreign and Japanese interests are jointly concerned, 65 per cent. of the capital being American. The company continues to be prosperous. The net profit for the second half year of 1909 amounted to over 25,000l. and a dividend of 9 per cent. was declared. The Royal Brush Company.-This company is owned by a French, British and American syndicate. The results for the year 1909 were satisfactory. The Oriental Glass Company.-From the outset this undertaking was not a success, and the company has now been wound up. Population. At the end of 1909 the population of the city of Osaka was 1,214,577. The number of foreign residents, other than Chinese, was as follows: |