Panama Maru,' 6,000 tons, built for the Tacoma service of the Osaka Shosen Kaisha, was launched in January, 1910, and is at present having her engines fitted in. She is to be ready for sea by April 10. All turbines mentioned are Parson's turbines, for which the company holds the patent rights. Destroyer No. 207 is being built elsewhere, and only the engines will be supplied here. The number and tonnage of vessels docked or taken on the slip in 1909 Nagahama Dockyard.-Another graving dock situated in Nagasaki Harbour has been opened for some years past and has met with considerable success. This is the Nagahama dock owned by the Matsuo Iron Works and Dockyard. Its dimensions are:-Length 320 feet; width, at top 48 feet, at bottom 40 feet; draught 17 feet. It can accommodate vessels of up to 2,600 tons burden. Railways. In November, 1909, the through railway line from Moji to Kagoshima was completed, and Kagoshima, the most southerly city of Japan, can now be reached from Tokio in about 46 hours. The portion of the line which has just been opened is from Hitoyoshi to Yoshimatsu, a distance of 20 miles, and is part of the Higo-Satsuma section extending from Yatsushiro to Kagoshima (94 miles). This section has presented great engineering difficulties. The greatest gradient on the line, between Yatsushiro and Yoshimatsu, is 35, and for the first time in the history of Japanese railway engineering, the loop system has been adopted. The main difficulty was the construction of the Yatake tunnel, 6,877 feet long, which occupied over three years. The Higo-Satsuma section has 60 tunnels (with a total length of 55,493 feet), 89 bridges (7,460 feet) and 199 culverts. The total cost was about 1,600,000l., or about 17,000l. per mile. The total length of the lines of railway in Kiushiu open to traffic is 497 miles, all State owned. The construction of two new railway lines in Kiushiu has been approved by the Imperial Diet, viz. : One between Miyazaki and Yoshimatsu, connecting the southeastern coast with the main line of the Imperial railways; the cost is estimated at 7,623,577 yen, the length is 48.80 miles, and it is to be completed within five years; the other will connect Kagoshima and Sendai, a distance of 32.25 miles, running along the south-western coast of Kiushiu. It is to be completed within five years and is estimated to cost 6,647,285 yen. The population of Nagasaki.-According to official returns the native population of Nagasaki City on December 31, 1909, was 176,970, of whom 95,787 were males and 81,183 females. The number or householders was 22,671. The following table shows the foreign population of Nagasaki on the same date:~ The foreign population at the end of 1908-not including 843 Chinese was 419, including 103 Britishers, 88 Americans, 68 Russians, 55 Frenchmen, and 28 Germans. Rate of exchange.-The yen has been taken as equal to 2s. 04d. in converting into sterling, and throughout the report tons are avoirdupois of 2,240 lbs. Articles. 1907. 1908. 1909. 1907. 1908. 1909. Remarks. Annex 1.--IMPORTS into the Port of Nagasaki during the Years 1907–09. Articles. IMPORTS into the Port of Nagasaki during the Years 1908-09-continued. 380 842 208 7,958 14,275 5,274 5,317 63,240 55,806 30,606 Bridge building materials Bolts and nuts Nails ... Pigs, ingots and slabs Pipes and tubes ... Tons ... ... ... 47,429 10,859 1,498 1,255 ... ... 24,020 8,413 7,172 34,783 37,751 24,710 35,003 24,096 21,178 174,928 45,188 ... 39 873 15,340 ... 4,008 7,209 1,551 Brass Bar and rod 30,876 Almost entirely iron and mild steel plates for shipbuilding imported from United Kingdom 53,074 9,575 Pipes and tubes Copper pipes and tubes Other metal manufactures ... 118 ... ... 12,851 24,096 4,879 ... 25,173 Oil, kerosene Provisions 39,628 75,512 23,970 ... Gallons 7,605,939 8,448,443 4,932,901 151,671 183,530 101,528 American gallons |