COPY
SWATOW:
ENCLOSURE NO. 2.
+
TRADE NOTES FOR THE WEEK ENDING JANUARY 8TH, 1927.
Compiled from various sources by the Secretary of
The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce.
93
The following note has been received from a correspon- dent in Swatow: "Things are slightly better here inasmuch
as Canton has instructed the Military and Police in Swatow
to suppress the wilder manifestations of labour.
"Chinese trade and industry are groaning under a labour tyranny far worse than anything the foreigner has experienced
during the boycott. No man's shop or business is his own; he cannot even sell and clear out when the pressure gets too much for him. There have been several cases lately of owners wishing to sell out and go South and the Unions have stepped
in, sold everything by auction and confiscated the proceeds. Meanwhile business generally is bad: a poor harvest and
heavy taxation in the Hakka country have reduced the purchas- ing power of the people so greatly that considerable stocks of winter goods will have to be carried through this year. The same applies to the local dealers who have still quite a lot of recent purchases on their hands".
A later report states: "There is no change in the trade, situation. Strong and deep undercurrents of anti-British agitation are going on. The agitators' organization has progressed considerably since October and has become cen-
tralized under a party which inclines to the Left. The Military and Labour elements are rather antagonistic at the present time, consequently attention is diverted for the time being from the 'hated Britisher'. Extortionate wage demands are expected in some quarters after China New Year". With reference to the reimposition of the boycott in Swatow referred to above, the following note has been re-
ceived: