j
}
E
aclosure 9.
2.
225
to force on a general strike, it was proclaimed as an unlaw- ful society but care was taken to make it clear that the grounds for the proclamation were unconnected with the seamen's demands for higher pay. (See Government Gazette of 1st February, 1922, enclosed).
3.
As a matter of fact I do not think that the result can properly be described as a surrender by the owners, It is true that the seamen have obtained consider- able increases of wages but these increases fall very far short of their original demands and it is not clear that the rates now to be paid are by any means excessive. It is impossible to make any very definite statements in such matters but I am inclined to think that the fact is that though the men (with the possible exception of the crews of the river boats) would not have struck for an increase of wages if it had not been for the political pressure brought upon them from Canton, yet that pressure would not have been effectual - or effectual to anything like the same extent if there had not been a considerable amount of discontent on which the agitators could work.
-
The unfortunate aspect of the matter is not that the men have gained a victory or that the employers have sustained a defeat but that concessions which were not granted when the Seamen's Union approached the shipowners have been made as the result of a strike organised by a political party in Canton. The Kwok Man Tong has undoubtedly gained "face" as a result. It has shown that it can paralyze the trade of Hongkong and it must be expected that it will again employ similar tactics whenever it desires to gain some object, which is likely in the future to be of a more directly political nature. It is impossible to regard this position without grave apprehension in view of the character of Sun Yat Sen and the nature of the principles advocated by