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Enclosure
REFUSAL TO ACCEFT EMPLOYMENT.
The mistresses of licensed cargo hosts Nos. 945, 645 and 603, appeared on a sum- mone charging them with unlawfully refusing, without sufficient cause, to accept employment whon unemployed, on the 26th inst.
Mr Francis Vincenot stated that yester- day at 9 a.m, he had some cattle to send on board a French man-of-war, from off the Praya opposite his store. He tried to engage the defendants' boats to take the cattle off, but they all refused and left the wharf, saying they were afraid to take com- plainant's cargo.
The first defendant now stated that her boat was too small, the second and third said that they were engaged at the time, but failed to prove this.
A constable was sent to see the first de- fendant's boat, and reported that it was only capable of safely carrying two beasts, Complainant had wanted to ship four; the first defendant was therefore discharged. The other two defendants were fined $ö each.
YESTERDAY, the mistresses of three Chinese cargo boats, registered in the Colony, were brought before Mr Wise at the Police Court, on summonses, charging them with unlaw- fully refusing to accept employment, when they were unemployed. Mr. F. Vincenot wanted to engage the boats to take sonie cattle off to one of the French men-of-war in the harbour, but they all refused the job, stating at the time that they were afraid to do any work for him. Afterwards, two of the women set up the defence, in the Court,. that they were engaged at the time Mr. Vincenot wanted to engage them, but were unable to substantiate their statement, and were find Sỗ each by the magistrate.
This morning eleven more masters and mistresses of cargo boats ap- peared at the Police Court on similar charges, preferred by the Messageries Mari- times Co. The boat people had refused to engage in the discharge of the mail boat Djenah. All of them pleaded prior engagements, and the case against them was remanded by Mr Mackean until Monday, probably to allow them an opportunity of obtaining evidence in support of their live of defence.
There is very little doubt that in this case, as in that of Mr Vincenot, the real reason for the refusal of the boat people to do any work for a French Company is fear that they will be marked or reported as having worked for the enemy, and will, in some way, either personally, or through their friends on the mainland, suffer punish- ment for accepting any employment from the French.
None of those charged have put in a plea of fear of punishment in defence of their conduct, so that it is impossible to say whether that pleading would be cons. sidered by the magistrates to be a good and sufficient reason for refusing the em. ployment offered. This course would doubtless be far too straightforward and truthful to be acceptable to the majority of Chinese.
whether
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Whether there is any actual ground for
the fears entertained by the Chinese in the Colony of suffering in one form or another; for working in any way for French em- ployers is an open question, but it is quite clear that the belief that there is actual danger to them in doing so is now pretty widespread among the working classes in the Colony, and is causing great incon- venience.
Strike of Hongkong Boat People.
Osx of the most serious 'strikes' which have occurred for a long time past amongst the members of particulars guilds or trades, has been made to-day by the cargo boat and sampan poople in the harbour. At noo to-day all the cargo boat owners and em- ployees refused to accept any employment offered them and in most instances went away with their boats shortly after, to Yay. ma-ti or Kowloon, a few of them, however, remaining at their moorings off the Praya West Between 2 and 3 p.m. a demon- stration was made against these boats and
the crowd of passenger boats and sampans which were moored in-shore by a crowd of Chinese who had assembled to the number of nearly a thousand, on the Praya between the Central Market and the Harbour Master's Office, Many of the mob commenced to stone the boats which were within reach and it was found necessary, to maintain order, to send a detachment of police, in charge of a European Sergeant, from the Central Station. On the appearance of the police
a certain amount of order was restored and the pelting of the boats ceased, the crowd gradually dispersing.
All the craft usually found moored close
in to the Praya in the meanwhile cleared out, both cargo boats and sampans, and mov- ed, some of them to Yau-ma-ti and others to the refuge at Causeway Bay. At
p.m, this evening, with the exception of a dozen or so Hakka boats and sampans, engaged by the week or month by steamers and sailing ships, which were anchored off Peddar's wharf, not a native boat was to be seen on this side of the harbour, and it was ' quite impossible to obtain a aampan on hire for passage to any ship in the harbour.
As far as we can understand, the original varse of this general, and most se- rious, if long continued, refusal to work on the part of the boat people appeara to be a strong feeling against the recent fines imposed upon a number of cargo boat principals for refusing to do work when offered them, the work on these occasions being connected with Frouch vessels. What the people on shore had to do with the question it is difficult to say, but the demonstration made by the mob has evi- dently had the effect of frightening a number of the boat people and aided in
making general, what would probably have
otherwise been only a partial strike.
C. O.
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