In the course of an interview with a reprentative of the "North-Chi Daily News," one of Shanghai's leading coal merchants said that the coal industry in China was facing such a crisis as it never before had faced. A committee for the development of mines had been formed by the Minister of Agriculture and Industry to go into the matter and Dr. H, H. Kong, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, was doing best to assist in reviving the industry. \A preparatory. committe had been formed in Shanghai for the organization of a Ca-Operative Coal Mining Company for the whol of China, and at the head of this was Mr. Hsieh Hung-chang, chairman of the Coal Guild of Shanghai The formal inauguration of the latter committee took place on Sunday. The Government. should, all those present felt, assist in every way and the people could give their moral support by buying Chinese coal, slightly dearer though it was than Japanes. Every effort should bbe made by the Chinese coal people and the general public to develop this commodity so that eventually it would become cheaper and would find its way into every home, in preference to foreign coal.
Our informant said that the future}
Prospects of the coal mining industry were encouraging in. spite of the present gloomy situation. Some Chinese "abroad were taking an interest in coal mining and He hoped that more capital would soon be forthcoming from this direction. China had geat resources but they' had to be developed and in_ this respect it was necessary that the Chinese abroad should come M.S, Berwick arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday morning and took her place at the P. & O. Buoy in Wayside, H. M.S. Cumberland left on Thursday morning for Weihaiwei, but for the time being the latter ship's place at the British Senior Naval Buoy, opposite the Bund, will not be taken by the Berwick, which belongs to the same class of new ships as the Cumberland. The Berwick, it will be recalled, acted as transport for the battalion of the Bedfordshire Hertfordshire Regiment which sai?
last Sunday from Weihaiwei for Tangshan, The reason for the Berwick's icing up to the buoy down river believed to be because 'Joly 2, the British Senior Naval Buoys' will undergo their' annual examination by the harbour authorities, and one week will be required' to complete their overhauling.
The two buoys have their chains loosed from their anchors in the Whangpoo mud, and thoroughly examined for weakening parts once a year. Replacements are made, when necessary, by the British naval authorities, the actual work being in the charge of the Harbour Master's office here, this connection it is interesting to note that the buoy which can be seen floating: on the water is only a small portion of the massive weights, which exist beneath the surface to provide an adequate anchorage for men-of-war in the river. The same lay-out under the water is found for all the men-of-war anchorages along. the line, the French, American Japanese, ete, visible from the Bund. picture with the huge ¢aj their command.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.