The labourers reported the matter to the Labour Union and thre members of thes Executive Committee called upon Mr. Ma with the mand that the following conditions should be carried out before a settlement could be reached:—The captain of the -guard should be dismissed, because the soldier's action in' threatening fore must be considered as a delinquency on the part of his superior officer: soldiers on patrol duty during the day should not carry arms; and a guarantee must be given that recurrence of such action will take place in future.
Mr. Ma promised to fulfil all requirements of the labourers with the exception of the first, but this was considered unsatisfactory and meeting of labourers was called to consider the question. Pending. a satisfactory settlement, a general strike was declared. In'the meantime, negotiations between representatives of the Union and the works sre being carried on.
In the course of an_ interview: with a representative of the "North: China Daily News," Mr. Ma said that the trouble up to 4.30 p.m. jon Monday had not ben settled. He feared that there were undesirables who were attempting to create trouble among the workers and he had taken the matter up. If he found that outsiders were trying to cause unrest, he would take every step to punish them.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.