Last year, Japan went through more labour' disputes than at any previous time in her history, a: cording to statistics appearing in yesterday's official gazette. The umber of disputes last year total-Jed. 876, involving 77,444 workers, diminution in the number of applica ants, a circumstance which is accounted for by the fact thi graduates from such business schools can get employment comparatively easily on graduation.
Government and the Privy Council Another rift has occurred between the Government and the Privy Council, neither of which has much love for the other. The new Tokyo, Apr. 26. [re ind voices calling which lead travel lers to their death, but saw no lake.
On the occasion of the reump-The road tion of work by the municipal the highway for the ilk caravans! tramway employees, the strike leaders yesterday issued a state-'The Chinese, however, knew the ment declaring that the workers place, and in their maps of 400 A.D, showed a ko there. When a Rus-were surrendering because they ian visited the district in 1876 he considered it undesirable te pro-saw the water elsewhere, and came convenience Gf the}to the conclusion that the Chinese had erred. Later, a German who expected, that further] visited the district ¢aid the Chinese fortune to make the epochal dis: covery of an ancient town. whic had been buried 1,650 years before, discovering bamboo and paper Chie nese writings of that time, The site was on the silk road. The cit had been on the bend of the old lake, fand the manuscripts mentioned the lake! This was considered groat that the water had moved, but Dr. Hedin predicted it would retwen JThis was an increase over the previous year of 179 disputes and 81,392 workers.
Most of the disputes were caused cly antiouncements of wage reductions, or by.changes in administrative policies considered detrimental to the welfare of the workers, and only 91 or 15 per cent. of the total,' were. prompted by demands for better wages. The statistics also reveal that, in most eases, the workers lost. Of the 576 disputes in, 1929, only 176 ended in complete victories for the workers, 211 were won by the corporations, "and the rest were settled by com: promises. One of the significant facts in the strikes Jast year was the length of the disputes, the official gazette attributing this to the development of solidarity amongst Ibour unions and gils. The highest percentage of disputes ceeurred "in factories that had ssaffered heavily in the business depression. Machine and tool manufacturing firms led the list with 141 disputes; the chemical industry was second with 100 cases; dyeing and weaving third with 87: and transportation utilities fourth with 53 cases, May-Day Celebri Under the regis of the proletarian political parties in Japan, monster, divergence of views has developed on the question of filling two vacancies on the Privy Council. The Government has put forward two candidates, but these are regarded by the Council as persona von grata. The Government is very anxious to have the vacancies filled by its own men before the extraordinary session of the Diet is convoked, one reason for this being its apprehension over the prospects of the discussion in the. Privy Council of the new Sino-Japanese tariff agreement; while the hostile attitude adopted by some of the Privy Councillors towards the disarmament agreement reached in London ther consideration, [which is weighing with the Government in ite desire to have persons favourably disposed towards the present Cabinet appointed.
A section of opinion in Government circles urges that the Government should force the hands of the Privy Council and appoint its own nominees, but the Premier is said to be chary of offending the susceptibilities of the Council and desires to compose the differences by' some less forcible procedure. Political citoles in Japan are keenly terested in the trend the dispute between the Cabinet and the counc! is taking and is watching the may be forthcoming after the return of the employees to work—Rengo.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.