Aug. 4.
Tue letter which we publish to-day on the question of British mills in China by "British" contains so many half-truths and so much statistical uncertainty that it is difficult to know where to begin in dealing with it. To make a start, however, let us take mill hours first. He gives the hours worked in the weaving department of Yangtszepoo as from 4am, until 8.30 p.m. with no stoppages. Inquiry elicits the information that the official working hours are from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m, and here we come to a point which he has not taken into consideration—the habits of Chinese workers. All this weave is paid as piece work, and it is not the case, as it would be at home, that punctually on the stroke of 6 a.m, there would be a general start. On the contrary there are workers who insist
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.