Swatow, Oct, 13.
The tenth of the month is past, and we are still waiting to see whether there is any serious intention on the part of the authorities of bringing the boycott to an end. It is true that the pickets have gone; they had their final parade in the procession on the 10th, rifles and all, and were marched on board. ship and sent off to Canton the: next day and it is certainly pleasure to the eye to see the bund relieved of their objectionable presence; but that in itself does not go very far.
There will probably now be no interference with goods and passengers arriving by non-British steamers from Hongkong or going there. But British firms cannot! begin operations again until they get their employees back, and of! their return there is as' yet no! sign. The strike committee is still in existence and at work, proclaiming loudly that the '"economic boycott" is by no means at an end, Dut on the contrary is in process of being extended all over the count that tHere has only been change of method in the substitution for methods of violence (which tone ig glad to see they' now admit) of other methods by which the slaked indignation of the people will still express itself. And on the '10th the wh port was placarded with bills, "Do not buy British'
do not travel by British rs; do not work in A Plain Statem To the man in the street all this will convey the impression that the methods of violence to which he has become so accustomed during the past year are still—in, reserve; and no doubt the labour unions have all got their cue from the strike committee to put the usual form of gentle pressure on their members to make no move towards resuming work.
What is required is some far more plain and definite statement from the government than anything that has been published here yet; and as a further token of serious. intentions the disbandment of the st committee and its satellite organiza, t Tt may be of course that people here are waiting, as, usual, for a lead from Canton; and if there ix a general resumption of work there, it will not be long in following here. In the meantime we go on waiting, as we have become well accustomed to doing.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.