Directory_and_Chronicle_1925 — Page 555

Directories & Chronicles 香港指南 All

HAKODATE

495

The mineral resources of Yezo are large, and may also some day yield a valuable addition to the exports of this port. The output of coal in 1923 was 4,844,505 tons, and of sulphur 17,829 tons. Manganese was produced during the war boom to the extent of about 10,000 tons a year from five mines between Hakodate and Otaru, but only a very small proportion of the workings can be made to pay under normal con- ditions. Copper has not figured in the export returns since 1904, though some is mined in the island. Timber has formed the chief item in the export list during the past few years. Washing for gold dust has been carried on in Kitami, and the belief is entertained that with proper machinery the gold mines of Hokkaido may be worked with fair profit. Silver and magnetic iron are also obtained. The kerosene wealth of this district is said to be considerable, but none of the borings has so far given a high yield. At Nukimi-Mura on Soya Strait-in the extreme north-oil wells were discovered long ago, and have been worked by hand for some years. The oil, in fact, overflows into the sea, and in stormy weather boats take refuge at Nukimi-Mura, as the sea is rendered smooth by the oil. Oil also exists at Nigori-Kawa, near Hakodate; at Kayamagori, near Shiribeshi; at Itaibetsu, on a tributary of the Urin River (output 800 gallons per day); at Kotamimura and Tsukisama Mura (Imperial property), near Sapporo; and near Abashiri, where the wells are considered rich.

Hakodate is connected with the capital by telegraph, and a line of railway (157 miles) connects Hakodate with Otaru. A railway from Otaru to Sapporo, 22 miles long, was opened to public traffic on the 28th November, 1880, and has since been carried on to Poronai, where are some large coal mines, the total length of the line being 56 miles. A branch to ĺkushumbetsu, seven miles, has since been laid, and another line from the coal mines to Muroran, a port on the south-east of the island, a distance of 143 miles, was opened to traffic in July, 1892. At the station of Oiwake, from which point there is a branch line to Yubari (26 miles), the Tanko Tetsudo Kaisha established ovens for the manufacture of coke. There are now over 1,000 miles of railway in the Hokkaido. Through communication from Hakodate in the south to the open port of Nemuro in the north-east was completed in 1921, and another line was carried through to Cape Soya, the northernmost point of the island, in 1922, and a Government Railway ferry service was inaugurated in 1923 between that point and Odomari, the principal port in Karafuto (Jap. Saghalien). The Hakodate Harbour Improve- ment Works were completed in 1900, and a patent slip capable of taking vessels up to 1,500 tons was also finished. There is a dry dock to accommodate ships up to 10,000 tons at ordinary spring tides, and at highest spring tides the dock is capable of receiv- ing the largest battleships in the Japanese Navy. At Otaru a massive breakwater, about 3,500 feet long, has been constructed.

In August, 1907, half the city of Hakodate was destroyed by a fire. The number of houses destroyed in the conflagration was ascertained to be 8,977, rendering about 60,000 persons homeless. All the foreign residents with the exception of the American Consular Agent were burnt out, saving nothing, and the total loss was estimated at not less than 50,000,000 yen. Another severe conflagration occurred in April, 1921, when some 2,000 houses were destroyed. A scheme is now in force by which a municipal subsidy is granted to encourage building with fireproof materials.

Directory_and_Chronicle_1925 — Page 555

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