著者

能地 清

出版者

土地制度史学会(現 政治経済学・経済史学会)

雑誌

土地制度史学 (ISSN:04933567)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.23, no.4, pp.19-40, 1981

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The purpose of this paper is to elucidate how the Overseas Government Funds was shaped and what function it did in the period from 1896 to 1913. As is well known, the national finance in Japan changed to the imperialistic public finance by the dependence on the foreign capital in this period. At the same time, however, it brought forth the Overseas Government Funds. As far as this point was concerned the former studies have neglected it and as the result, they have naturally neglected the close relation between the foreign public finance and the foreign finance and also the important part of the Overseas Government Funds in the foreign payments. Therefore this paper is to make clear above-mentioned points. The characters and functions thd Overseas Government Funds had were as follows. (1) It had singularly shaped the international payment organization in Japanese capitalism in this period. The latter vertically consisted of 'the Overseas Government Fund Accounts', the Bank of Japan and the Yokohama Specie Bank (foreign exchange bank). (2) 'The Overseas Government Fund Accounts' payed the outside expenditures of government. Next it provided the Yokohama Specie Bank in the period from 1896 to 1903 and the Bank of Japan in the period from 1904 to 1913 with the payments of passive balance. The difference between the two periods was based on 'Foreign Specie System' started in 1904. (3) 'The Overseas Government Fund Accounts' was functionally singular in comparision with those of foreign countries. It resulted from the continually passive balance. (4) The international payment organization in Japan functionally regulated the two adjustmental mechanism of Gold Standard concerning the international disequilibrium and the domestic currency supply. However gold standard in Japan was supported by that. Then the international payment organization was depending on the foreign capital in this period as above. Therefore if it gets into trouble to import the foreign capital for Japan, it should bear not only the crisis of the international payment organization, especially of 'the Overseas Government Fund Accounts', but also that of international payments position. It really came about since the second Morocco incident. The international capital movement was face to face with troubles by the portent of World War. I. In face of difficulty to import the foreign capital, the international payment organization in Japan was being reformed by the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Japan but not. That was caused by the favorable balance of trade followed on the occurrance of World War I.