Boarded in Hongkong by Japanese Watchmen Once again the s. Asia Is in the Umelight. An unexpected deveiopment in connecion with the salvaged vessel is reported from Hongkong. On the morning of January 1%, six Japanese went aboard the vessel, which Is lying at a buoy off Stzneculters in Hongkong, saying that trey had been -sent by the Japanese Consul to act as watchmen. They remained on the steamer for neerly eight hours, when they were ordered off by Mr. R. Wherry, officer eppointed by the Wo Fat Shing Ca, in charge of the ship. to obstruct the registration of pullers! which up to that time had been progressing smoothly.
Sharp Falling Of 'At the end of the year It had been anticipated that approximately 10,000 pullers would have been registered, In actual fact, only about 6,000 were and after' the beginning of this year the numbers fell off remarkably. Registration otices capable of handing 900 registrations daily were called upon to handle hardly any at all.
Since the Rickshaw Board's permission to the owners to use 350 new rickshaws of the old design to replace condemned vehicles had been contingent upon the owners' support Jot the registration of coolies, the Board then withdrew it on the ground that the owners had not fulfilled their art of the bargain. This brought about what amounted to a deadlock.
'The pretext for the owners' lack of action was the part objected to in the lectures. On the face of it this looked harmless enough, merely informing the pullers that they were free to work for any owner once they had registered. It appeared however, that the owners had regarded their nom!- ration of a puller for registration in much the same light as some form indentured labour. They imagined, from all accounts, that the pullers would be bound to work only for them—a position which the Board could not countenance, since It was as bad, if not worse, that the position that had existed before the establishment of the Bosrd. In no way could the Board consent to any measure which would give the owners a whip hand over the pullers.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.