Shipbuilding in Shanghai during the past-three months has been equally as busy as in the previous quarter and the different yards have all been fully occupied with repair work and new construction. Inquiries for new vessels, however, have not been so numerous owing to the high cost of materials fro: n Home and the practical impossibility of obtaining anything like sonable delivery: the low ex change will be helpful.to local builders in competition with Home builders when inquiries mature.
In keeping with the labour troubles in Europe -and America a wave of unrest has been permeate ing throughout labour circles in Shanghai lately, more particularly in the shipbuilding and engineering line. Whether it is due to the successful results of the Hongkong strike some little time ago or due; to higher costs of rice and other food-stuffs, is difficult to say, but all classes are demanding increases and while some are justified, such as the lower paid class of labourers, yet many of the others are quite well paid and it seems to be more a matter of their following example than actual necessity.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.