From time to time in the past, especially during these last! 32 months, we have had occasion to deal with the local labour problem in its different aspects. In doing so we have by no means been alone, as witness remarks on the subject made in the report of the Public Works Department which has as intimate a knowledge of Jocal labour conditions as could be' desired. All opinions have tended to the one conclusion; that Shanghai is no longer to be regarded as a home of cheap and plentiful Jabowr, that the casual methods of former days must be ended, and that unless we are to be left in the lurch we must wake up and grasp the problem in its entirety. Of old a good deal of the labour available in Shanghai was done by pro-dial sons, and it may here be mentioned, in passing, that the "fay country" of the parable has always been understood by Chinese of the interior to mean Shanghai. Perhaps: prodigal sons are fewer, but at any rate we may no Jonger rely on them. The situation has now been taken in hand by the British Chamber of Commerce, at whose instance a federation of employers is hoped to be formed. In the current issue of the Journal the scheme is set forth, and on the invitation of the British the other Jocal Chambers have joined to form committee to go into the whole question. The work it will be able to do will be extremely valuable in this non-statistical country. It is hoped to find out where. labour is available, what it is paid, and all the rest, and thus ensure a steady supply for local requirements. The British Chamber of Commerce is to be congratulated upon its initiative in the latter,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.