Chinese in Shanghai were much disturbed by the news from Canton and were somewhat disposed to regard the action of the Commissioner of Customs as a step to-, wards foreign intervention,—How greatly their interests are bound up with the stand he has taken and in not doing anything to abet the strike pickets is shown elsewhere explaining the issues involved.
Canton, Feb, 23, Forty steamers have been _rendered idle here as a result of the Customs Commissioner enforcing suspension of loading and discharging cargo pending the Canton Government's acceptance of his demands, of which there ig no sign at present.
The Chinese generally appear to be delighted at the check to the activities of the strike pickets end their high-handedness.
Two foreign steamers have been pirated while at anchor in Whampoa Harbour within a few hundred yards of the Whampoa Military Academy, making more than dozen piracies of foreign steamers in the Pearl River during the past few months—Reuter's Pacific Service, Chinese Merchants the Principal Sufferers Hongkong, Feb. 23.
With reference to the closure of the ports of Canton and Whampoa on: February 21, it is necessary to remember that trade between those treaty ports is at present controlled by strike committees and pickets, for the actions of which the de facto Canton Government has denied responsibility during the Hongkong the two ports have become entirely cut off except for an imperfect train service.—Eastern News Agency.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.