JAPANESE BOMBING

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 13 November 1937, Page 13

JAPANESE BOMBING

S NON-COMBATANTS SUFFER ! CUT MORALE NOT CLING CItOKEN CHINESE DETERMINED TO RESIST (By Telegraph-Press Association’ WELLINGTON, Hill November Writing from Hankow on 10th October, Miss A. M. Moncriclf, the representative of the New Zealand Y.W.C.A. in China, explains that she was out of Shanghai when the storm broke and was not able to get back. She had to travel to Hankow under refugee conditions. Hankow was comparatively safe, but she felt she was needed in Shanghai, but the national committee and staff saw the wisdom of keeping some of the national secretaries on the field. Hence her being at Rlankow. Speaking of air raids, Miss Moncriefl mentions that the planes which were over Hankow and Hanyang were over the cities at the most for 15 minutes and in that time injured over 1000 people, all non-combatants. Of these, between 300 and 400 were killed or died of injuries. The objective of the attack was presumably the arsenal at Hanyang, but the most congested area of Hanyang and of the native city of Hankow suffered terribly. She mentioned this, she said, because she had read in the “Central China Post ’ that the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Sydney had cabled the Chamber of Commerce at Wellington that reports of Japanese bombing in China were false propaganda of the Chinese Government. That was not so. The Chinese Government had no need to indulge in any campaign of propaganda. The facts themselves were hideous enough to beggar description. Miss Moncrieff goes on to say that it is hard to believe that the bombing of non-combatants is deliberate, yet all the evidence points that way. The only reason one could see behind such action was the desire to terrorise the Chinese and break their morale. The bombings were having the opposite effect. The more ghastly the outrages the more determined were the Chinese to resist to the limit. GOLD SHIPMENTS TO ENGLAND (United Press /»ssoeialion —Hv Electric Teleirra ph -Copvris )(1 WASHINGTON, 11th November. The Treasury announced (he shipment of 5,000.000 dollars’ worth of gold to England, through the Stabilisation Fund, under the Tripartite Agreement. It is believed other shipments will follow in the next few weeks.