The strike in Hongkong about which telegrams have been received here during the past two or three days, appears to have originated with the employees in the engincering trades. Directed by the Chinese Engineers' Guild, the men are reported to have demanded an increase of at least 40 per cent. in their wages. This was met by concessions on the part of the Taikoo and Hongkong and—. Whampoa Dockyards of increases amounting to about 15 per cent., and an allowance for rice while it remained at its present high figure. This the men refused to accept, and of about 6,000 who went on strike the greater part left the Colony. Since then the strike has spread outside the dockyards into other trades. The strike fund of about $33,000, which the Guild was reputed to possess, was by no means sufficient to finance a Jong strike and the extension of the movement may be looked upon as an attempt to win by general dislocation of the business of the Col-any, that which would not be secured with the funds at their disposal,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.