Singapore, May 9.
Perhaps it will be as well in this letter if T say nothing of war and rumours of war, about murder trials, fof even about ' the possibilities Malayan holiday resorts, and concentrate on trade, for the improvement In trade throughout Malaya dur-Ing this year has been very real. Even though the individual does not notice this Improvement In his own Individual circumstances he must be aware of it for it is manifest on all sides.
Motor car dealers tell me that never have so many new ears been Sold, never have so many new tyres. been put on to vehicles, and certainly. the amount of re-painting that I see in the repair shops near my flat induces me to believe that trade in all lasses of motor cars is very brisk. Its the same when we get to such indications of-a revival of prosperity as the sale of office equipment. Discussing this matter with a local representative of a large trading con-fern I leaned than in the first three months—of this year the turnover had exceeded all hopes, and that the work was so great that the staff could hardly cope with it, Firms which had een content to go on with out-of-date filing systems had installed new systems; new typewriters by the. [dozen had gone into offices; and clu eating machines were in greater demand than ever. This among all Classes of traders—and despite the intense "trade competition that is Known to exist down here.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.