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No seamen or officer of the Seamen's Union in Hongkong shall be banished for any charge, which has no proof.
On the 27th January, the following telegraphic reply was sent :-
"For Civil Governor, Canton, Your despatch 26th January. Proposal that Seamen should only be employed through the Union, and agreements should have no effect unless Union has been a witness makes any discussion useless.' "Requirements of the Merchant Shipping Law would in any case make it impossible to accept these conditions to say nothing of international questions arising in cases of foreign owned ships."
FL
Proposal to arbitrate at Canton cannot in any case be considered. ' "The ostensible grounds for strike are solely questions of
wages.
"
Owners are still prepared to refer these to arbitration by Board appointed by my Govern- ment anil suggest that Union should employ delegates to confer with them here to settle preliminaries.
STUBBS.
Between the 4th and the 7th February certain Hongkong Guilds came forward with proposals that they should assist in the negotiations with the seamen in Canton, and their offers were at once accepted.
On the 7th February the following telegraphic correspondence took place:
From HM. Consul-fieneral, C'anion, to Governor,
Hongkong, dated 7th February.
"Urgent. Your telegram 4th February. Leaders of movement through Com- missioner of Foreign Affairs inform me that they are prepared to proceed to Hongkong to confer with owners on condition that offices of Union be opened again, and ou guarantee of freedom from arrest. They state that they are not responsible for intimidation in the Colony, and to appear at a conference as members of an outlawed society would place them in a false position, Please telegraph reply.'
From Governor, Hongkong, to H.M. Consul-General,
Canton, dated 7th February.
Delegates will be given safe conduct, but Union cannot be re-opened. Point in last sentence need not arise if delegates come as representatives of seamen in Canton and not of Union. Intimidation is undoubtedly rife here, and in Canton and Sheklung. Are the Union authorities, in view of their state- ment, prepared to issue public repudiation of intimidation and to make it clear that men who wish to return to work need not fear the consequences?
On the 9th February the shipowners, on the suggestion of the Government, renewed their offer which had been withdrawn on the 18th January; and the Government there- upon
issued the following notice in Chinese, emphasising the point that the offer was uột, fiually binding on either side, but was subject to revision by the arbitrators.
At the suggestion of the Governor, the shipowners are willing to reinstate their forner offer of increased wages to take effect from the day on which the sea- men return to work. This scale of wages is merely a temporary scale pend- ing arbitration and is ou no account to be taken as a basis from which the arbitrators will work. Addition to it or subtraction from it are alike within the sole discretion of the arbitrators. The scale offered is repeated below:-
Chinese River Steamers.
25%
Other Chinese Steamers up to 1000 D.W. Tons, Canton, Hongkong and Macao Steamboat Co.'s Steamers. Other British Companies River Steamers, taking the scale of Canton,
Hongkong and Macao Steamboat Co. us base.
15%
-
25%
-
-
15%
Consting Steamers.
Java Lines. -
Pacific Lines.
European Lines
Australian Lines.
469
12%
71%
7+%
71%
10%
In the meantime the Committee of the Tung Wa Hospital had proposed to the Government that they should use their good offices in bringing about a settlement. Other leading members of the Chinese Community were subsequently associated with them, and on the 8th February the Tung Wa Hospital, as representing the Chinese of the Colony, telegraphed to Canton asking the seamen to send delegates to discuss a settlement with them. The delegates arrived on the 12th February and on the following day at a meeting at the Tung Wa Hospital they declared that they could not carry the matter further until the settlement of the question of the re-opening of the Seamen's Union, which had been closed by the Governinent on the 1st February as being an up- lawful society. The matter was accordingly referred on the 14th February to the Government, who on the 15th February issued a proclamation in Chinese in the follow- ing terms :---
"On instructions from the Government, the Secretary for Chinese Affairs has communicated the following decision to the seamen's representatives :-
I. The Seamen's Union was closed because it exceeded its legitimate bounds and broke the law of Hongkong, not because it asked for an increase of wages.
2. The Governor absolutely requires proof of freedom from unlawfulness before he
can change his present attitude.
3. If it is desired to give proof of freedom from unlawfulness. all seamen and all workmen whom they involved in the strike must return to work and Hongkong resiune its normal condition, before it can be considered that proof of freedom from unlawfulness has been furnished.
4. If all come back to work first on the conditions offered by the shipowners and await the award of the arbitrators, the Governor will cancel the proclama- tion closing the Union."
The delegates returned to Canton on the 15th February, and they came back to Ilongkong on the 17th February with certain suggestions which were considered by the shipowners on the 19th February. The shipowners' decision was conveyed to the deleg- ates on the 20th February by the Secretary for hinese Affairs, and the delegates left for Canton on the 21st February. On the 24th February a letter was handed to the Secretary for Chinese Affairs stating that the seamen were not prepared to accept the proposals made.
On the 22nd February a telegram had been received fron H. M Consul-General at Canton, suggesting that there were good grounds for believing that an all-round increase of some 2% on the owners' original offer would be accepted On the 24th February the Engineers' Society came forward with a similar suggestion and offered to negotiate for a settlement on this basis.
The Government informed the shipowners of these proposals, and suggested that, as it seemed likely that the offer of such an increase would bring the men back inmedi- ately to work and would prevent a general strike, it would be wise to add some 2% to the figures shown in the notice of the 9th February which is quoted above. That notice still stood. It pointed out clearly that the ship-owners' offer covered only the immediate present, and that the scale would be increased or lowered in the sole discretion of the arbitrators. The shipowners added 2% to their previous figures, and on the 24th February this information was telegraphed to Canton and was communicated to the Engineers' Guild. The seamen refused the new terms.
On the 28th February, EL.M. Cousul-General telegraphed that he had information to the effect that, if a meeting between the shipowners and the seamen's delegates could be arranged, there was every prospect of a settlement. On the 1st March a reply was sent
by the Hongkong Government that the shipowners were willing to meet the seamen's delegates. It was added that, in order to avoid further abortive proceedings, the Government considered it to be highly desirable that the delegates should be fully empowered to make a settlement.
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