The local passenger traffic in South China waters suffered appreciably from the strike and boycott. From January to June, a large number of passengers passed through Hongkong from West River and northern ports, for the Straits, Java and Sumatra, and British liners in the Swatow-Bangkok passenger trade were also doing a fairly good business. The restriction on female passengers to the Straits from Hoihow was repealed by the Hainan authorities and consequently passenger money earnings were made by British liners on the southern run from Hoihow.
Since the various British river steamers stopped running from Hongkong to Canton owing to the boycott, fewer passengers from Canton have made use of the port of. Hongkong for the purpose of going abroad.+ Apart from some twenty Norwegian, French and Danish steamers, which complied with the requirements of the Hong-Kong Government for carrying passengers, steamers engaged in the passenger trade at Canton were generally not properly fitted up for the purpose intended. It is stated that Bangkok Chinese also object to travel in British steamers from Hoihow to Bangkok and vice versa.
Light-draught tween-deckers of about 9,000 tons deadweight with Hongkong Government passenger licenses continued to be the favourite boats for Chinese char-torers, but as only a very limited number of non-British steamers of this type were available on the China Coast, they were speedily absorbed in 12 months' time-charters by Saigon and Bangkok millers. Charter hire for this class of ship in 1925, averaged $10,500 Hongkong currency per month, 'AS a result of the Canton boycott, when only non-British steamers would be employed in the direct shipment trades from Canton, rates for Norwegian and Japanese steamers on time-charter slightly improved. Here, again, charterers could not be made to bind themselves to long-term time-charters.
The unfavourable prospect of the new rice crop in Siam has thrown many steamers out of their time-charta employment.
The Future While it is difficult to forecast the is certain that with the amount of tonnage that will be available, there will be increasingly keen competition for some 1's to come. The real future of China Coast shipping, however, will mainly and basically be decided by' the development of the political and military situation the country; and unless and until situation is cleared up to permit of the country being freed from military domination and to return to unhindered the renewed prosperity of Const shipping will be further ed its development rendered ud sible. The whole future of C
Coast shipping—foreign and Chinese—is actly in the hands of those who are doing their best to bring the country to 8 than exists even
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.