JAPAN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 2061, 12 September 1868, Page 3

JAPAN.

The following letter from Mf -Hoyt, late of JDuhedin, and.nowvof ;thei steam^ ship Albion, will;1 be read ':. with" interest:— ; ,:> ,:.l o-, ■■■■ ■;■• i;;;-' :/- '/.y.' : v..:':. :: •■ Yokohama','sg/AJblipn, ■•■■'--•■- . - 26th June, 1868. ~ On leaving Dunediri," I promised to write to several of my friends my ideas of tMs counjtry,- and more particularly'lo say if there v?&s iany : chancei o£ ibettering^theirfortiines by coming -here. It* wopld be exceedingly gratifyic'g to assure : who are discontented there^ that here their labor and hopes, won]d. be, amply ; compensated arid ■realised. Believing the opposite to be the case, and wishing" to prevent anysiich serious misfortune to them as; disappointment , when?: too: late to mend, I,and; knowing,; .too^ your -vvilJingness to publish any information for the benefit of your : readers,;.;l : ',venture to ad- , dress this communication-to you. With yoiir permission, I will first give a short ■account of' our voyage and call at the iJFiji Islands^. - •■• v Leaving Sydney on : the ]2th May, we I reached the islands in ten days, and an- [. chored^offJLevuka, in a safe, harbor formed lya coral reef that encircles the island of pvalau. : -Among our passengers for these islands were two gentlemen, Messrs Evans ' arid Br.e-wer, as; delegates of, a Bailing Oompany formed in Melbourne for thepurpose of paying off a large claim which' the American Government has on these islands ; and to receive. in compensation largeitracts of land "from King -Thakombau. The rumor was that this Oompany, if successful, was to have a quantity of

land at its disposal; and the kno^n fertility of soil, and warm climate, adapting it to the growth of cotton, coffee, 'and sugar cane, as well as many kinds of grain, to saynothing of the luxuriant growth5 of "most tropical fruits and vegetables, had induced many to try their fortunes in fresh fields and pastures new. The delegates were fortunate enough to meet the old King at Levuka; and, as he is advised in a great measure by the. missionaries, they were invited on board the Albion, where the conferences were held. The arrangements were completed, and before we left, such success was met with, that all that remained to be done was for the delegates to select the • land,! have it surveyed, and return to Melbourne to pay off the claim. We had the King and his attendant chiefs to dine on board, on two occasions. Such grand, stalwart, dusky felloes are seldom met -with. They are very dignified^and polite. One could riot but compare their saloon meal, with the luxuries spread before, them,;, to some of their former feasts, for they are cannibals with a vengeance. We saw Mr Kinross, formerly of Otago, who appears to be in a"fair way to do well. The only plan seems to be to wait, endure, and work, for there is undoubtedly a good time coming for those who secure and cultivate Kood.tracts of country ; and the natives do not seem averse to white people coming among themi Our-stay here occupied three days, and during that time we had opportunities of picking up considerable information respecting the islands. , |We leftLevuka 25th'May, The voyage to; Yokohama occupying 22 days, with nothing .to break the monotony of the passage except a stay of two hours at Pleasant Island, Odeg. 20min; south of the Equator, where ,we got some pigs, fowls; &c, from the natives, , and two white men (sailors), who had been there eighteen and twenty-one years respectively. A splendid run the Albion has made, delighting all of ps. The trip has been like a yachting. excursion, nothing to mar our. pleasure. The passengers all agreeable ; every .confidence felt in our officers ; the noble ship, as if proud of her new fit-out-—for she was put in splendid trim at Sydney—behaved in such a manner as to more than eclipse her former reputation/ 'Bfost of the passage;was done with only-one boiler-; the consumption" of coal was' small considering the distance, and we arrived herewith 270 tons of coal on hoard:- On the. afternoon of the 16th instant we sighted the main island, of Japan. That great land mark to mariners on the coast, Mount Fusi Yama, >.50.miles; inland—rising 12450 feet; high ; its cloud-capped summit and snow lined sides, lying in broad belts far down, gleamed in the sun like bands of silver, while from the mouth of the crater—for it is a volcano^-issued wreaths of smoke. It presented as grand a sight as could be witnessed. We;picked up'a pilot at the entrance of the gulf of Yeddo, and at 10 p.m. .dropped anchor opposite Yokohama. At early morn we wereout: to get our first glimpse of..,the city and. country;; It'was a beautiful sight: the rich i green of the shrubbery and cultivated hills rising at the back of thevtown was pleasing to our ocean-tired eyes. The Europeans, numbering about $00, occupy ihe part, of the town fronting the harbor ; the Japanese, to the number of several thousands, occupy the town" .to the rear ; and along the -north side" bf't&e harbor are; to be seen several villages.. ; Yeddo, at; the head of the bay, , containing, as near as can" be ascertained, over two millions of people", is abo at 20 niiles'by sea, arid 18 by land,.yforeigners are restricted,^as- yet, .from: settling there. I have met several" people who have been there, andtwo.orthree of us are going there this week.- It is outside the limit, and the different "Consuls here have issued proclamations that; they will not seek redress for any.irijury done to their subjects,\if that-limit-ii--passed" The harbour ; is dotted %ith men-o£; war arid'merchant ships, as you will, see by the newspapers accompanying this." There are several steamers here either for sale or employment. •' THerel^'eems to be but little demand for either.. As regards business, , there is little to be dose; There j are immensely wealthy firms hercj- branches of -business ihouses in China, |_ long; established, who do. all that' is- to be done: "The currency for all commercial transactions is the Mexican dollar. With, the, natives you hav ; e to use their own coinage. English sovereigns are at a frightful-discount,' four dollars arid tfiirtyrfive cents being their current price, and not-easy to exchange at that. Living at a : good hotel costs 100 dollars per month—rather expensiveJ House rent is also bighjracom- 1 fortableitenement ierits at from 50 to 100 dollars a month.; The servants:,are all Japanese and Chinamen. The ; living is much mi the style followedin India: .The servantsiare riumeroiis enough, if! tiat is ail. If you go fora ride or drive,; there) is always an attendant following you, called a "Beto." Their power pf endurance is wonderful. That this country is wealthy, \ there cannot; be the-slightest doubt. There is, however, i but little room for foreigners ; -and it : will - t^ke, many years yet to penetrate the interior^ : To combat the manners, > ways, and; prejudices of upwards of forty millions of people is*no small task ; and Europeans must be content for a long time yet with I the privileges given, 'witha bad grace,-pf allowing ;them-to trade"in .%|ew.of th^ seaport : towns.- They perhaps; are right in their exclusiveness. Having .every-" thing they wish in their own country, they are not favorable to our encroachments, y. That there will eyeritually spring up a large coasting trade there is not the slightest doubt;; -but' how Hong" thfey will play the baffling game,, deferring «arid breaking treaties, remains |o be seen? •: : .'; The news went to the world "at large that such; and such ports were to: 'be! opened on: January Ist. Then itwas.de-. ferred to jApril Ist, but they are not opened yet; and now there is no*time set at all.' Our passengers here were of :the better; class, and represented many different kinds of employment/; if6t one of .them. yet, that I knew of, has been for-, tunate enough to get a situatiorij and a stranger inr a strange land with a, low exchequer,is ;not in a pleasant position. The climate here, is, iwe -are told,genial; but May and June aretherainy months, and even Dunedin. /wo\ild' lose the palm for moisture, at this time of the I year. The Albion's cargo comprised goods; of nearly every description,' .and some stock.' ' No sale has been effected yet. I apologise for the length, of my letter, and wish the news could have, been more cheering ; but if it prevent any of your readers from coming here, where they must meet but disap£X)intment, I am. amply repaid for my trouble. On the same subject runs the following extract from a private letter, with, which we have been favored. We may here state that the passengers by the Albion to Japan have/~we believe without exception, gone in her from Yokohama to Shanghai, and that there is some probability of'the steamer's return to Dunedin : *" I had not bean on shore massy hours

before I waa convinced that Yokohama to one travelling for pleasure and novelties is a most interesting place, but for any* thing else, unless a man is a capitalist it is the worsfc:i We arrived5 in*- the very middle of the wet season. Out of twentylive days, twenty have been rainy ones, with an occasional gale. Next, we mayexpect boiling-hot weather and earthquakes. lam doing my best to get something to do, but the scope is far too limited. The foreign population ia biife small; most of the gentlemen are bachelors? the married people who have families send their children home for education, there beicg no opportunity here. The twot pianos and harmonium I brought witk me, hke myßeif, have come to a bad market. . .... As it ia, I stand agood chance of losing all The whole country is engaged in civil war ; several fights have taken place within a short distance of Yokohama. The latest was at Yeddo, which no foreigner can visit without the risk of being chopped to pieces.. The various foreign powers only answer for, the safety of their several subjects, withint - about five miles from Yokohama. -:-