JAPANESE MURDERED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20989, 28 September 1931, Page 7

JAPANESE MURDERED.

ATTACKS AT KOWLOON.j WHOLE FAMILY SLAIN. BRI'XAL CHINESE MOBS. HIGHLANDERS CALLED OUT. CHARGES WITH BAYONETS. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. (Received September 28, 12.5 a.m.) HONGKONG. Sept. 27. The attacks on Japapese reached a most serious position this evening, which necessitated the calling out of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in the Kowloon district on the mainland, opposite Hongkong. where crowds of thousands of Chinese sought out the Japanese households. One Japanese family, consisting of the parents and three children, was brutally massacred. In other instances Japanese were murdered in the streets and women were stripped of their clothes. The Highlanders were compelled to make bayonet charges. CRUISER DESPATCHED. FEARS FOR SHANGHAI. SOUTHERN CHINESE VIOLENCE. (Received September 27, 5.5 p.m.) TOKIO, Sept. 2i5. In view of the increasing violence against Japanese in Southern China, which has involved the calling out of British troops at Hongkong, the cruiser Tsushima departed this morning to protect the residents of Shanghai. MANCHURIA QUIETER. RELAXATION OF TENSION. QUESTION OF RESPONSIBILITY. SHANGHAI. Sept. 25. The Manchurian crisis appears to have subsided as suddenly at it arose. To-day's

despatches are almost entirely confined to a discussion of the responsibility for the events. The tension is plainly relaxing, and there is an almost complete absence of military news. A message from Tientsin says the Japanese are holding General Tsang Shih-vi, Civil Governor of Feng-tien province. and are demanding his signature to a document admitting his responsibility for the Manchurian events. The general is reported to be hunger-striking. SLIGHT TO THE LEAGUE. JAPAN'S DIRECT ACTION. CHINA REFUSES ASSENT. GENEVA. Sept. -25. There was an unpleasant slight to the prestige of the League of Nations when the Japanese representative, announced that Japan would settle the Manchurian dispute by direct negotiations, to which China refused to assent. The delegate stated that he had been notified from Tokio that the Japanese troops, with the exception of a few guards, had been withdrawn from the occupied area. WHAT JAPAN SEEKS. DESIRE TO CONDUCT TRADE. NOTE TO WASHINGTON. (Received September '27, 5.5 p.m.) WASHINGTON. Sept. 26. Mr. Katsugi Debuchi, the Japanese Ambassador, has presented to the State Department a memorandum which asserts that Japan has no designs upon Manchurian territory. "What we desire," it says, "is that Japanese subjects be enabled to engage safely in peaceful pursuits and be given an opportunity to share in tlio development of Manchuria." The note alleges that Chinese officials and individuals so conducted themselves as to irritate Japanese sentiment and provoke an atmosphere of perturbation and anxiety. The Note added that the Japanese Government was prepared to co-operate with the Chinese Government to prevent a disastrous situation arising between the two countries.