FINANCIAL PANIC.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 131, 26 February 1908, Page 7

FINANCIAL PANIC.

JAPANESE FAILURES.

• ; RUNS ON TOKIO BANKS. By Telechaph—rm:ss association—copi'mgiit. .-. Toltio, FobruSiry 24.'; ■" A serious financial panic prevails in Japan. Twenty-two Japanese firms,' chiefly" dealing in metals at' Osaka, Kyoto, ' and 1 Kobe, have failed. Tho liabilities total £600,000.Three small Tokio banks- have suspended payment, and runs arc proceeding on others.-

• . j .OVER-CAPITALISED. ■ ARMAMENTS v. ECONOMY. In . recent, economic reports from Japan, the dominant note has been the success of Japanoso . .snipping, especially :in tho' Indian , trade: , though there are not wanting critics who at- . tributo this -to the State subventions, a heavy tax- : upon -the - nation. Somo" time 'ago.' the Manchester : Guardian" sounded a-; noto of vrarning as to certain Japanese companiesineluding ,nnnirig;c6iicerns. The company pro- , moter, said- the "Guardian," had-been hard at, experience' was proving that a considerable number of' thoso new. companies ; —-had been very much over-capitalised.: "In many] .-. cases the shares aro standing at a heavy discount,,- often, in fact, at . rubbish pricesj'and £ n ® ,P' tho leading Tokio commercial papers . has'-expressed- the ( opinion- that the present ...year -WiU .see; a .'largo' proportion of- the - new ventures, m.liquidation. .i.Fortunatelv the p\»b.lie/arc .now-.;pretty : well' .alive to. the actual . state; of aiiaus, and . owing' to the'' difficultv experienced, in obtaining the'necessary capital- ; . .Bot, a :few. ambitious. schemes have had to be vln-geyeral: otber cases in tho /: mining_ -.nut- manufacturing industries similar .. . enterprises appealing .for public support havo v tounu it prudent to amalgahiato before commencing; oprt&tions,. which s have then' been on, ? pwcn-Tttore modest scale Mhan was originally intended. . . . , \ 1 As. far as the cotton-spinning. industry .is concerned,' the remarkable: prosperity still continues, and in.'most cases increased dividends ;arebeihg.paid. this year. ; .« Thus, a Tokio cor't£ S i°s: el rt' °i ''S 8 - ; Zeitung' reports ■- , .'."p Osaka Company is paying 50 per cent, (against 10 per ceiit.); the Aniagasaki'Spinning company,' -which paid '50 per cent.'-for the previous; half year, proposes paying a further 80 per cent.': the Setsu Company is paying 70 ; per cent. '■ (against '50 '.per, cent.); the Kahejjafutschi -Company '30- .per - cent. ■ .(against, 20 percent.)! the . Godo -Company 40 per.' cent. , (against ,30 .pei' cent.); : the. Osaka SpinningCompany 30 per .'.'cent.*-; and "the KicliuwadS 1 • Company!)', l -per cent., and -in all cases - veryamounts; have been .placed to the .; reserveKfunds,.;;Th'e -.publication of-these re- • suits, is. naturally - rendering the . workpeople very -restless; and they are ."becoming increas- ■. ingly- persistent: in their demands, for higher -• wages.v Strikes are .becoming common, and it .13 ! pretty oyident : that ..the,- present 'ridiculously. Jow->'' r a,tes.; : '.. o f' .pay ..cannot, continue - much • -longer, -ir-? i < .• ■ 1 .The Tokm .correspondent of-the "Standard'' f. aa . >; alsowritten j—The increased cost of - living consequent.-.upon the' low' wages, , com-' - bmed with excessive: taxation, is . causing a steady/growth of.social and industrial-unrest throughout Japan,', frequehtly -resulting {in • nolent'expiessions of- protest" especially among -labouring 'classes, .who.feel,the stress'most.' >ahe, Japanese National-Debt at the .end of Marohv 1007;, was. 2218 million yen (i227;000,000) • 'v was.^vani, increase of - 3iG .million'. yen . for the .year, and was. almost four . times as largo -as, in March, 1901, before Ifrie ■ «ar broke. :out." :The debt was ' thus brought to -15 yen (<£i 12s. Gel.), per head of.the population, as coin pared with only 11.24-yen : (jil" 35.) --at the-en'd of. the : fijiah'cial : year, 19034; . ... > Tho Japanese.foreign' trade underwent a remarkablo .change iii 190 G. .'COmparcdvwith- the . previous ytir, the Imports declined by 70 mil-lion-yen, and the exports-increased by 102 million yep.: Thus anvexcess of imports of mer- ■ chandise.y.iWhich .-,in -1905 ./amounted to .107 , million:yon' (i617<100,000) has been-changed into .' an excess,of.-, exports, of nearly .- 5 million-yen -. 'W500,000),, probably, the, first t-riui oxcess of "v exports in the, history ;of Japanese ti-ade. -Allowing for bullion and specie,''.'there' is:still an .- excess of imports '-. of 1 nearly 10 million' yeii :;■ (.£1,000,000)./" :' V ■:' >- , -;The ; 'ast Japanese' Budget showed tho px- ■ ponditure. to vbe: .aiid thof.regular income': showing;' apparently, a .deficit -of - >£20,000,000. '.But''- M.. iWakatsuki; ; , ImperiaU'Japonese Special: Finance. Commissioner u London, claims that, tho two items "do not '.rrespond. ,-He', says' The ordinary revphue, ueh, to be mOre exact; is'.about .£43,000,000,' more 'than- enough to cover flic' l ordinary mdituro, totals' about £12,000,000. ,i extraoidinary irevenue is only a -triflo less in suffices to " meet .the 1 ' extraordinary ex..nditure. .' 'In November last "The Times's".Tokio-corrc- - spondent--;telegraphed '.that:/as., regards tho Budget for next year, .the 'naval.,military: authorities had agreed to 'an extension oi, tho, :' rtime. for. carrying out tho,; extraordinary: experiditiiro. programme, -but there was a -slight , increase in the'indirect'taxes—namely," alcohol, : tobacco, sugar, and: kerosene. "This uent,"-' adih 'the,'correspondent, "gives much; '. satisfaction to the nation; as dispelling the 'fear.that:' might bo sacrificed on the altar .of armaments , and expan- . sion." - -'V /' .'