Nationalists Responsible for Outrages

Manawatu Times, Volume LII, Issue 3575, 5 April 1927, Page 7

Nationalists Responsible for Outrages

TRUTH WOW BEYOND QUESTION. [British Official Wireless,] RUGBY, April 3. Further investigations of last week’s happenings at Nanking have established the fact beyond question that the killing of fbrclgners and the complete looting of practically all foreign houses, including three Consulates, was work of the Hunanese Nationalist soldiers. At least eight foreign houses were burnt'down. Looting continued several days after the outrages of March 24, 1 when seven foreigners were killed and a number wounded. Warship Shells Kill Three Chinese. Fantastic stories, circulated from certain Chinese and, other sources, allege that the shells fired from British and American vessels on that date caused the death of thousands of Chinese and damaged half the city. Actually, the casualties to Chinese ciivlians are reliably reported to have numbered only three. Fire from the warships was opened just in time to prevent the wholesale massacre of foreigners, and was directed on unoccupied ground near Socony Hill for the protection of a party of foreigners who were themselves escaping under fire \ from phi(nose soldiery. lOin. Gun Mounted hy Cantonese. The Chinese have now mounted a lOin. gun on Lion Hill, Nanking, commanding the river. » The remaining foreigners from Changsha haev reached Hankow. At Wuhu. the Spanish Bishop and 21 priests are now aboard the British cruiser Caradoc, to which the foreign community was withdrawn during the demonstrations yesterday. At Kiukiang, which Americans and Japanese communities are about; to evacuate, the serious warning given jointly to the local authorities by the British, American, and Japanese Naval Commanders and Consuls has had a salutary effect in casing the situation.