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77
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of the 7th July, end of paragraph one) the full amount of his tender, leaving him to bear the loss of traffic, at the same time impressing it upon him that solidarity in retaliation is the only hope for all the Hong Kong river lines, of one of which he is owner. They will also give
-
notice to their Chinese crews all Seamen's Union
men that, as the Union interferes with the Com- pany, the Company will not continue to employ Union men. These men are all on 24-hour terms; but a little longer notice will probably be given,
in order to let the idea soak into the minds of
those affected. On the dismissal of the Union crews, fresh non-union crews will be put on board the river-steamers, which will be kept running, as it is only while the steamer service is main- tained that the claim against the contractor can stand. If this fails to stop the picketing, the managers propose to ask all the owners of vessels on this run to cooperate with them in a complete
This step stoppage of communication with Canton. is apparently not quite so forlorn a hope as it would seem and, if it is achieved, it is probable that I shall be asked to cooperate by stopping also the through train-service as indicated in paragraph three of my preceding despatch. You will observe that these proposals come entirely from the manage- ment of the main Company The China Navigation Company (Messrs. Butterfield and Swire), which owns one steamer, the s.s. "Fatshan", running in con-
junction with those of the main company stands
aloof