To the Baitor of the "Nonra-Cnrva Day News."
Sin,—As a shareholder of Kaipings who has lately visited the Tongshan Mines, I fod it my duty to enlighten the present shareholders in Shanghai through the medium of your columns. 1 am in no way exaggerating when I say that the camp is" split up into two factions, namely, the British and Americans tunately for the former, the Belgians at combined and the Belgians. Unfor-
present are the strongest, so strong in fact that the British and Americans have to a man sent home to the English Directors of the London Board a round robin," protesting against the injustice done by the Engineer-in-Chief, a Belgian (who does his utmost to make the English resign, and failing that places Belgians over their heads), and asking for equal treatment as the Belgians, providing their work is satisfactory. The most glaring piece of injustice of all has been perpetrated on the former Manager of Linsi Colliery. This gentleman took over charge of the colliery immediately after the Boxer outbreak, and has always carried out his work most satisfactorily, besides having eleven years mining experience! His place has now
who was engaged as a surveyor, and who knows no English. This man has been put in by the Engineer-in-Chief. The latter is very well pleased with his underling, the daily output of coal having risen from 700 tous to 1,200 tons; he, however, forgets to mention the fact that all the "pillars" are being robbed of their coal and that in another year the shaft will be ruined on this account; and further, the increase of output has seriously prevented much development work. At Tongshan no development work of avy note is taking Pisce, and the ventilation of the, mine is erning worse and worse. There are always tio or three fires alight underground on account of bad ventilation these fires, of course, are causing great damage to the Company's property, s0 much coal being lost. It is very palpable that the Engineer-in-Chief is trying to get a big extraction at any cost, from the mere fact that no development work (a most important item in order to prolong the life of a mine) is taking place. Evidently he dors not think himself a fixture and is making hay whilst the sun shines. I would like to ask a question, What is the China Board of Directors doing? I believe, according to the transfer, the Board has the general management of the Company's affairs in China; if so, why then do they not step in and try and stop this discord (reference at home means a delay of neatly three months, and in that time any amount of irreparable damage can be done to the mine) instead of allowing the Engineer-in-Chief to have his own way in everything The outlook from an investor's point of view is not promising, and the sooner things become settled the better for everybody interested in the mines.
Tam, ete., -Fam Pray. Tientsin, 16th June.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.