It was undoubtedly proper on the part of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce to hear a delegate: of the Rickshaw Owners Association at the former's annual general meet ing which was held on Sunday, for the "whole question Is one which should engage the attention of such authorities os the Chamber. 'The rickshaw owners' delegate, however, was on unsafe. ground when he Sought to establish the contention that business men should enjoy complete freedom in conducting their {ransactions, for it must be apparent to Chinese well as foreigners: that the Nanking Government has: established legislation calculated to bring about that very interference} with business of which the dele complained. Modern tendencies are to ensure that workers shall receive just treatment from their employers, as witness the Factory Tnspection Act, which it is claimed is far ahead fof that of most other countries, though, probably, at the moment incapable of full enforcement owing to existing conditions in China. The decision of the meeting to refer the matter to the executive—committee of the Chamber for consideration is quite fair, and it is ta be hoped that Before the Chamber makes any pronouncement in the matter, it will have made a thorough investigation of the facts and have heard both des to the controversy. In this regard the utterances of Mr. An Futing, at Geneva, which were dealt] with extensively in these columns yesterday morning may become sin-Bularly apropos, though not quite] in the sense" he originally meant them. Chinese capitalists in the! rickshaw business have a splendid: opportunity to show that they a not as black as Mr. An has painted their foreign colleagues. They do not appear prepared to take the steps towards reform. Indeed they fare actively engaged in resisting the reforms the necessity of which has been indicated, and it would be against the shaw coolie's lot, which it ts aim at least of ' the foreign com munity, to bring about.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.