With the new Treaty Japanese finance becomes of import- aice
to Great Britain, which in many quite imaginable :ontingencies may have to subsidise her ally. We welcome, ;herefore, an account of the position of the Japanese Treasurs,publistted by Mr. J. Morris in the Morning Post of Thursday, which is at least intelligible and definite. Accord- ing to this, the revenue of the island-State is now 227,000,000 —the yen being taken as a florin—and the expenditure slightly less. The Debt is £52,000,000, at an average of 4 per cent. ; the Army-610,000 men—costs £4,000,000 a year; and the Navy rather more than 22,000,000. The reserve held by Government amounts to 223,000,000 sterling, which is retained in cash and good bonds as a security against Japanese banknotes of equal amount. These facts are decidedly favourable, particularly as the Empire now contains forty-three millions of industrious people ; but on the other band taxation cannot be largely increased, as the islands are a little over-populated, and average incomes are therefore low, and there is a want of capital to develop manufactures and mining enterprises freely. This capital the Japanese apparently expect from America and England, but to get it they must show larger returns than China,. Capital has no friendships except in France.
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