Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 5.djvu/39

 yen against 48,250,000 in 1890-1891, the increase being nearly sixty per cent.

Such figures cannot be said to indicate any excessive addition to the burden of taxation, even if the arithmetic alone be considered. It is necessary to look beyond the arithmetic, however, and to observe that there has been a large development of national wealth and a large appreciation of the prices of commodities during the past ten years. In 1891 the yen was worth three shillings three pence, whereas it is now worth only two shillings. Thus, reduced to sterling, the taxes ten years ago were 7,900,000 pounds, whereas now they are 7,830,000. Of course it may be said that Japan has nothing to do with sterling values, the yen being simply a yen to her people, and not so many shillings and pence. But the price of Japanese labour and the prices of the commodities it produces have appreciated even more sharply than gold has appreciated during the past ten years. The labour that earned only twenty-four sen in 1891 can easily earn more than thirty-nine sen to-day, and of course it is proportionately easier for the producing classes to pay their taxes at present. In fact, the tax-payer is much more favourably circumstanced now than he was ten years ago. People receiving fixed salaries, as administrative and judicial officials, persons engaged in education, etc., have had no increase of income to compensate them for increased taxation or for the sharp appreciation of prices. But such persons form a small