Fleeing into Shanghai During the past few days the Press Gang has been busy collecting coolie labour in Shanghai, and on Thursday their efforts caused something consternation in the Chapel district. On Wednesday. afternoon, the Harbin Road district combed out, and hundreds of coolies thronged into the Settlement to escape capture, remaining inside the borer until nightfall and then returning to their homes in Chapet, About 4 o'clock in the afternoon a rong of coolie refugees assembled North Thibet Koad near Kaifeng 1d, to escape the unwelcome attention of soldiers gathering foreed labour. Three parties work: ed round the district in motor-car>, promising the coolies $24 a month sraqes and leaving no choice to aay unfortunate individual they. happened to lay hands on. The raid caused. great excitement and hundreds Serambled inside the Settlement for! Lroteetion, The presence of a few: Municipal police at the point mentioned sufficed to keep order, and the crowd dispersed after the old ors had gone and the "all clear" was passed round.
The process of, literally, "roping.
coolies was continued yesterday: with great thoroughness. Parties of soldiers, some carrying coils of rope, and one or two display persuasive pairs of handeufls, wen about the Chapei ing them up hatches. As fast as a dozen or had been hauled in they were sent of to the SRI. R. godown at the west end of the station and ther Ker under guard until arr points on the line were fof the coolies nut the others aat about in disease stoups awaiting the orders of heir new masters, Throughout ihe afternoon crowds of working people crossed the border into the and Boundary Road was refugees ins coming in from Wooxung also brought loads of people, mast oF them with ull their lo bundle, and every-signs that the Settlement is indeed going to be: a very crowded place during the next few days.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.