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conditions are easier will only gradually be realised by the
Chinese travelling and business public.
CANTON SILK TRADE :- Stocks are heavy and this has an adverse
effect. The export market is upset by the fact that canton
currency is going up as compared with Hong Kong currency.
COAL :- There is little demand in Canton for coal, and this has
been the case throughout the year. This is partly because operation of towing launches has been largely suspended and silk filatures have not been working. North China coal was
boycotted until December, being regarded in the South as
enemy coal and the coal mines being anathema as an example of "imperialistic exploitation of China".
72
LABOUR IN CANTON :- A Hong Kong firm with an office in Canton was
faced this week with a demand for $2.50, Canton currency, as
a daily wage for coolie labour in Canton, but compromised by paying $2.00.
SWATOW
The Delivery of inward cargo is unimpeded: the difficulty lies in disposing of it after landing into godown.
Emigration is brisk, both to Singapore and Bangkok and British vessels are carrying their full share of the passengers.
It is significant of the utterly artificial character of the boycott that when, in Swatow, the boycott was temporarily lifted some weeks ago, piece goods were taken up with alacrity
by dealers. In at least one case several lakhs worth of piece
goods were cleared by a single firm in the course of a week.
It was required that dealers should register with the boy-
cotters the cargo they cleared. In some cases the dealers
registered, in addition, cargo which they hoped to clear with
a view to disposing of it without hindrance later.
The market absorbed so much during the temporary sus-
pension of the boycott that it is not considered surprising that