It is calculated that about 5/10 of the total quantity of this crude petroleum was used for lighting purposes. It would seem, then, that Echigo supplied 3/10 of the total amount of oil used for lighting in Japan during the seven years, and that the remaining 7/10 came from abroad. Taking the year 1901, the value of the crude petroleum being 2,345,916 _yen_, it is estimated that when refined this amount of petroleum would fetch not less than 4 million _yen_. But the fact remains that the proportion of oil imported is still very large, so that there is room for a further great development of the business. In 1908 Japan’s output of petroleum was 1,872,592 U. S. barrels. Echigo is by no means worked out: new fields are constantly being discovered in that province. Then petroleum has been found in Hokkaidō and in the Yamagata and Shizuoka prefectures. So that among Japan’s modern industries her oil trade may be pronounced to be full of promise. How the quality of the Japanese oil compares with the American and Russian brands, we are not told by the _Jiji_, but from other sources we gather that when properly refined Japanese petroleum is equal to the best American and Russian oils. NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. The following table shows the national development in population, finance, trade, railway, vessels, telegraphs, savings, and currency, during the 30 years from 1872 to 1902. ========+===============+==============+=============+========== | | STATE | | RAILWAY. YEAR. | POPULATION. | EXPENDITURE. | TRADE. | MILES. | (IN THOUSAND) | _Yen._ | _Yen._ | --------+---------------+--------------+-------------+---------- 1872 | 33,210 | 57,730,025 | 43,204,462 | 18 1873 | 33,300 | 62,678,601 | 49,742,830 | 18 1874 | 33,625 | 82,269,528 | 42,779,120 | 38 1875 | 33,997 | 69,203,242 | 48,586,738 | 38 1876 | 34,338 | 59,308,956 | 51,676,296 | 65 1877 | (unknown) | 48,428,324 | 50,769,424 | 66 1878 | „ | 60,911,336 | 58,862,974 | 68 1879 | 35,768 | 60,317,578 | 61,128,772 | 73 1880 | 35,929 | 63,140,896 | 65,021,987 | 98 1881 | 36,358 | 71,460,321 | 62,250,133 | 122 1882 | 36,700 | 73,480,667 | 67,168,344 | 170 1883 | 37,017 | 83,106,859 | 64,712,861 | 244 1884 | 37,451 | 76,663,108 | 63,544,112 | 262 1885 | 37,868 | 61,115,313 | 66,503,659 | 353 1886 | 38,507 | 83,223,960 | 84,044,745 | 430 1887 | 39,069 | 79,453,036 | 96,711,932 | 593 1888 | 39,607 | 81,504,024 | 131,160,744 | 912 1889 | 40,072 | 79,713,671 | 136,164,472 | 1,136 1890 | 40,453 | 82,125,403 | 138,332,086 | 1,339