BACK FROM WAR ZONE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22859, 14 October 1937, Page 17

BACK FROM WAR ZONE

TWENTY-EIG HT CHINESE ARRIVAL AT AUCKLAND JAPANESE BOMB CANTON Passenger vessels arriving at Auckland are bringing back to New Zealand more and more persons who have decided to leave the war zones of China for the security of other countries. On hoard the Wanganella when it arrived at Auckland from Sydney yesterday were 2S Chinese returning to New Zealand after holidays in China. All the adults have been resident in Now Zealand for varying periods and most of them had been to Canton and its surrounding areas. A taste of the war was given to some of them, they said, when tbfy were in Canton immediately before leaving for Hongkong. Two flights, of Japanese bombing aeroplanes flew over the city from the east and dropped some bombs, although without doing much damage. The countryside, however, was aflare with the confusion of war and, although in some of the more westerly districts the effects of the hostilities had not then been fully appreciated, there was plenty of evidence that the war was more and more acting as a nationalistic influence, driving together sections of the population who, while divided in interests and sympathies before, were now realising that only in unity could there bo the best hope of security. Some of the Chinese on the Wanganella said that definite information about the fate of members of the New Zealand Chinese community who were in China when hostilities started was exceedinglv difficult to obtain. It ■was possible that some had become casualties of the war, although as far as was known all were safe up to about a month ago. In those districts, however, where the fighting was at its height many of the .normal civilian lines of communication were in a state of chaos and little definite news could be obtained.