succeed in preventing, the outbreak of the strike, and I subse quently heard on good authority than Sun Fo, at least, had exerted his influence as he had promised.
5. The trouble commenced in the various Government 'and grant-aided schools in the Colony. The industrial strike began with the abandonment in Macao of the s.s. "Sui Tai
Sui Tai" by her Chinese crew on the 19th June, and on the same day the crews of the "Kinshan
Kinshan" and "Fatshan" came out in Hongkong. The men on other British-owned boats followed in quick succes- sion. The crews of Chinese-owned steamers were, however, not called out until they had brought most of the strikers and their families from Hongkong to Canton. This done, they too went on strike.
Spread of the Strike.
6. On the 20th June the boys at the Peak Hotel and the Peak Club walked out, and on the next day the employees of the Lower Tramways ceased work. House-boys on the Peak began to steal away, and the Chinese staffs of the Repulse Bay Hotel, Hongkong Hotel, and Café Wisemen also disappeared. Steve- dores and cargo-coolies refused to work ships; the telegraph- messengers also struck. A day later the strike spread to the holders of vegetable and fish stalls in the markets; and the public began to be very seriously inconvenienced. The movement gathered momentum every day, the employees of business houses and private citizens, and even of the Government, desert- ing their posts in quickening succession, until a sudden check came early in July. This was administered by the Chairman of the Chinese Engineers' Guild, Mr. Hon Man-wai, who is the chief mechanic at the Hongkong University. He issued a bold manifesto advising his own men to stick to their work; and he and his Guild firmly resisted all pressure brought to bear on them to reverse the decision they had made by ballot.
Reasons for the Spread--(a) Intimidation and Lying Rumours.
7. Why did intelligent and ordinarily reasonable men, including Government employees in the Post Office, Harbour Department and Sanitary Department, leave their work so readily and suddenly, even sacrificing outstanding wages and, in some cases, prospects of a pension? Was it a spontaneous outbreak of patriotic indignation at the unfortunate shooting incident in Shanghai? Or was it a secession brought about by unbearable living conditions? It was neither, but an exhibition of pure terror, of panic fear, in all but a very few cases. One would imagine that only desperate danger could induce such extreme fright, but in point of fact, the very slightest causes-an unsigned scrawl on a slip of paper, a mere warning word or look, or a telephone message from an unknown person-were sufficient to send them hurrying and scurrying out of their jobs! But panic is usually out of all proportion to its proximate cause. The real cause is to be found in a state of mind induced by a series of preceding events.
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