OFF TO CHINA

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 26 January 1927, Page 5

OFF TO CHINA

MILITARY PREPARATIONS.

DEFENDER OF SHANGHAI DEPARTS FROM LONDON. 3Y CABLE —PRESS ASSOCIATION COPYB.IGHI LONDON. Jan. 25. Major-Oener-aif John i>unoaai, who has been se.ee ted as the Ueleiuter oi Shanghai, has Had, considerable experience in little wars. Viscount bmt, V.O. will be one oi Ins -brigadiers. Second Lbkbtream Guards will be commanded by another V .V. in Cblonel John Vaughan (“l'ally-ho”) Campbell, who led a critical charge in the 1 tat tie of the Somme by means of a hunting Two detachments of the Royal Aii Forc-e from Gosport and Jj urn bo-rough accompany the marines aboard the Mm nesota, embarking at Pontsmouth to morrow. . , With photographs ot cheering troops lengthy cables and details of military an<T naval movements, the newspapers are strangely reminiscent of war-time. It is again emphasised officially that the measures are purely precautionary and the outcome of the Government * resolution to protect the lives and property of the .British people. It' is stated that the conversations continue between Mr O’Malley and Chen at Hankow, but so far without result. The British forces in the Yangtsy.e . region or under orders to proceed to 1 the Fast now number more than 10.000 making the defence force with the naval units 10,000 men. Thirty officers and men of the Loyal Air Force are sailing with the marines in the Minnesota this afternoon. Their six aeroplanes will follow in another vessel. The work of transforming the .steamers Kinfauns Castle and Kildonian Castle into troopships is practically complete. and they are expected to sail this week, also the Peninsular Company’s Assaye, which is a veteran among troopships, having seen service in the Boer and the Great Wars. General Duncan left London at midnight for Liverpool to board a liner for the Bast. He said he expected to arrive at Shanghai two days after the brigade from India, namely, on February 26. It was not anticipated that the Cantonese would be there first. The Daily Telegraph says General Duncan is an ideal leader for citizen troops. His unconvential methods have a minimum of drill, but lay maximum stress upon initiative, which made the Bast Anglican the best trained division in the Territorial Army. General Duncan has also shown tact in getting on with other nations. Viscount Gort also will be a guarantee against a clash which coolness and tact may avert.

DOMINIONS NOT CALLED UPON

WELLINGTON. Jan. 25. The cablegram relating to the suggested offer of troops from the Dominions was submitted to the Acting Prime Minister to-day, when the Hon. \Y. Downie Stewart- stated that he had not heard of the matter. The question had never been discussed by the New Zealand Government-. SYDNEY, Jan. 25. Mr. Ma-rr, acting Minister of Defence, stated that there was no truth in -the rumour that Australia was offering either troops or naval units for service in China.

SEAMEN’S OPPOSITION

MELBOURNE. Jan

Senator Pearce, Vice-President- of the Executive Council, states that no offer of assistance in the event of hostilities in China had been made by the Commonwealth Government. ,

The Victorian branch of the Seamen'sUnion, at a -stopwork meeting, agreed to a resolution that members of the union would decline to man ships carrying soldiers, munitions of war or foodstuffs for troops acting against the Chinese. It was declared -by speakers that another war was threatened over the Chinese position, and that the seamen would take the lead to prevent Australia from participating in it.

WITHDRAWAL DF MISSIONARIES

DUNEDIN, Jan. 25. The Rev. Mr Barton, secretary of the Presbyterian Foreign Missions Committee, stated to-day that missionaries were not being 'expelled- from China. Their withdrawal was part of the general withdrawal of the British nationals. The position was that the Imperial Government desired to have a free hand in the event of being driven to war. The church had direct evidence that the general attitude of the population in the church’s own district was friendly, and the Chinese church authorities desired missionary co-operation. A NTI-FOR ETON AGITA TION. PEKING, Jan. 25. Owing to a reverse to Sun-Chuan-Uang against the Southerners at Chekiang, the British authorities have ordered the British missionaries to evacuate the Ningpoo district. Agitation against the Catholics in Amoy continues. The Chinese exhumed seven bodies of babies owing to alleged mutilation by the Catholics. Anti-British agitation is developing in Amoy and Swatow. All the American missionaries upcountry have temporarily abandoned their quarters and gone to Swatow. BUSINESS AT HANKOW. PEKING, Jan. 25. A wireless message from Hankow states that the hanks opened without incident. FEDERAL LABOUR PARTY’S

SYDNEY, Jan. 25. Mr Charlton, Leader of the Federal Labour Party, said that the Labour Party strongly opposed any intervention in connection with China’s internal affairs, and will strenuously oppose any action taken to commit Australia to a foreign war. , A proposal to send a delegation to Canton to confer on the possibility of

averting war in the Pacific is Labour’s latest move against interference in China, according to a Trades Labour Council circular. This is to be one of the foremost matters f<yr discussion at a special conference to be held next month. WOMEN PREPARE TO DEPART. SHANGHAI, Jan. 25. Though the Cantonese do not yet seriously threaten Shanghai, the women are preparing to leave and valuables are being stored, preparatory to their shipment homeward., in the vaults of the principal banks, which are full. The authorities are taking precautions against possible riots following the strikes. SITUATION AT SHANGHAI. ENTRY" OF CANTONESE. WILL NOT BE RESISTED.

PRECAUTIONS AGAINST MOB DISORDERS, Received 10 a.in. to-day. LONDON, Jan. 25. . Information received in British official circles indicates that the reported defeat of Sun Ghuan Fang was only an unimportant skirmish. Serious fighting is not expected to take place until the Cantonese reach Chuckow. There is no likelihood of their reaching Shanghai for some weeks. In the meantime, it is pointed out that the negotiations lat Hankow and Peking are proceeding “amicably” -and may result at least in a modus vivdendi. It is again emphasised that Britain has not any intention of intervening in the civil war in China, and. only if British lives are endiagered - will the British troops take action. The Cantonese entry into Shanghai will not he -resisted, but, at the same time, the Government is faced with the possibility of serious mob disorders, if, and when the Cantonese approach the foreign settlement. This is why adequate precautions are being taken.

DESPATCH OF AN ARMY THF, REASON WHY. SOVIET RUSSIAN INFLUENCE. CHINESE A PAWN IN THE GAME. Received .11.5 a.m. to-day. SHANGHAI, Jan. 25. “The concentration of such large British naval and military forces in China is not the outcome of recent events a’t Hankow, or the possibility, of a repetition of the same at Shanghai," a responsible authority declared. “The troops Britain is sending to the Far East are considerably more than Britain, or any other Power, requires to suppress anti-foreign agitation, even if that nation is unsupported by others. One must, therefore, look elsewhere for the reason for sending an army to China, sufficient to wipe out -the Cantonese Nationalist army in a fortnight. The reason is Russia. British officials are silent on the matter of policy, but the Soviet troop movements in Eastern Siberia and on the Manchurian frontier and Britain’s despatch of several infantry brigades, tank corps and war office administrative staff, is not merely coincidental. The Chinese Nationalist movement is merely Russian eyewash, and the iirst step towards world revolution. Chiang Kishek, the Cantonese military commander, in his Hankow speech, recently hinted at the Soviet plans, saying that revolutionary movements were afoot in other parts of the world, undreamed of by Britain. Britain does not wish to interrupt Chinese legitimate nationalist movement now under way, if it is confined to China’s boundaries, but China is a pawn in the hands of Russia and an ideal revolutionary weapon. The Pacific’s peace is threatened. Korea, Japan, the Philippines and India would immediately follow in the footsteps of China in the event of the latter succeeding in overthrowing Western influence. There have been ominous rumblings in the Indian community at Hankow and Shanghai since the "Hankow events. Indians at Hankow attended the anti-British meetings and delivered anti-British speeches and promised to agitate for a sympathetic movement in India. At Shanghai, Indians form a considerable portion of the municipal police. An antiBritish Indian society here is striving to cause a strike."

White Russians are flocking to the recruiting office for civilian volunteerseager for the opportunity to strike a blow at the Reds.

At Hankow the foreign banks have opened business to test the Cantonese authorities. The situation is quiet.