CO129-498-5 Canton boycott- report on visit to Canton of representatives of the Hong Kong Chinese merchants... 6-1-1926 - 6-1-1926 — Page 29

6.

in the absonco of any authomtic document conferring on us the nocossary powers, the Union would not be ablo

to discuss the matter with us. I stated that as our whol

object was an early settlement I hoped that no formality would stand in the way of our mooting the Strikers'

Union because if any such settlemont could be

ony formal confirmation of our authority would be

readily forthcoming.

rozchod,

After ascertaining from us what we proposed to do by way of settling the mattor (i.. by rising a fund to the best of our ability by way of payment to the

strikers in licu of reinstatement ctc) Mr. Ju said ho

know that the strikers were most insistent upon the

terms of reinstatement and strike pay and we spent a long time in discussing those questions. Mr. Mu said

that those two demands had come to be more or lessS

sucrotypo in all strikos; that he fully understood our

difficulties which he had always appreciated; at the

sum time the strikers struck work, not for economic...

roasons, out moroly from patriotic motivos, the Canton

Government could not possibly force thom to return to

work. As regards reinstatement, hc instanced the case of

Shame on, which wo distinguished on the ground that the

strike there had lasted only short time. Hr. Wu thought

the matter was not impossiblo, os.ocially as the chiof European employers wore big companies. Ho grood that the Hongkong Government could not pass logislation but

could easily influence such big Europorn employers.

Mr. Ju informed us that the strikers considered that

To woro sent by the Hongkong Government to shield the Europorns (as if two artios woro having pistols drum t on another, and a third party rushed in between/ and that wo had boon given a fool's orrand.

botwoon:

C