SHRAPNEL BURSTS ON BRITONS

Southland Times, Issue 23345, 1 November 1937, Page 7

SHRAPNEL BURSTS ON BRITONS

Three Soldiers Killed Outright JAPANESE DECLINE TO ACCEPT BLAME (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright) (Received October 31, 6.30 p.m.) SHANGHAI, October 30. An eye-witness, describing the deaths of Riflemen Howard, Mallon and O’Toole and the wounding of Riflemen Delaney, Maguire and Downey, says that a shell burst over a post close to Soochow creek, where Mallon and Howard stood. Shrapnel struck Mallon in the back, killing him instantly; Howard, struck in the chest, died soon afterwards. Maguire may lose a leg; Delaney was badly wounded in the thigh; and Rifleman Tomlinson was taken to hospital suffering from shell shock. O’Toole, who was off duty, was killed inside a cafe. A misdirected shell blew in the shop front, and killed two Chinese on the pavement. _ O’Toole’s face was so disfigured that it was not known for some time who he was. A barmaid, wounded in the face, fled screaming from the cafe. The casualties were a result of a Japanese battery three-quarters of a mile distant opening fire with the idea of shelling the Shanghai-Hangchow railway. Fifty shells fell wide, many 500 yards within the British area; one fell directly on a British post, reducing it to a shambles. The .Japanese ceased shelling when apprised of the casualties. A later message says that Riflemen Delaney and Maguire died of their injuries. , , . The British troops were placed in a dangerous position by the transfer of the fighting to the new zone and the Ulster Rifles were often under fire during a terrific artillery duel, when their dug-outs were raked by shrapnel and shaken by explosions from the Chinese mines.

JAPANESE HELD RESPONSIBLE British military officials investigated the tragedy and found that the shell had been fired by the Japanese, upon which they advised the Japanese that they would be held responsible. ■ Japanese officers called on the Com-mander-in-Chief of the China Station (Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Little) and the British Consul-General, and expressed regret at the casualties among British soldiers; but they did not admit responsibility. A spokesman of the Japanese foreign Office expressed the fear that despite every precaution there would be “unexpected and regrettable incidents in Shanghai.” There might be further accidental machine-gunning of foreigners when Japanese airmen were trying to dislodge the Chinese. The Japanese spokesman said that if China made direct proposals for peace the Japanese Government would not hesitate to enter into negotiations. ■' The Japanese naval authorities have protested that British troops are forcibly boarding Japanese launches in Soochow Creek. Eye witnesses assert that the British did not board the launches but stood aboard a hulk alongside in order to protect the Japanese from possible molestation. It is confirmed that the Japanese naval commander (Vice-Admiral Hasegawa) sent a letter to Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Little about the incidents, complaining that a British soldier touched a Japanese machine-gun, thus “insulting the Imperial Japanese Navy.” Sir Charles replied courteously but firmly, emphasizing that the Japanese had no right to proceed up the ’creek through the British defence sector. INNER MONGOLIA NOW AN “AUTONOMOUS” STATE PEIPING, October 29. Kwe-hua, the former capital of Suiyuan province now the capital of the new autonomous State of Inner Mongolia, embodying Chahar and Suiyuan and created under Japanese auspices, will be rechristened Hohogoto. The

chief executive will be Prince Yeh, who is 72 years old. . Japanese marines are driving the Chinese out of Guemoy Island. RUSSIA TO ATTEND CONFERENCE GERMANY GIVES REASONS FOR DECLINING (Received October 31, 6.30 p.m.) LONDON, October 30. Russia will attend the nine-Power conference, but Germany has issued a statement in which it is stated that she has declined the invitation, declaring that she does not feel able to attend, as she is not a partner to the Nine-Power Treaty. The New Zealand High Commissioner in London (Mr W. J. Jordan) leaves for Brussels on Monday to attend the nine-Power conference. The Foreign Secretary (Mr R. A. Eden), at the head of the British delegation, arrives on Tuesday. This will enable him to get into contact with other delegations before the conference opens on Wednesday.

NEW ZEALAND SCRAP IRON MR SAVAGE EXPLAINS BAN ON EXPORT (United Press Association) WELLINGTON, October 31. The cable message from Tokyo reporting some details of an interview with the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) with a Japanese journalist was brought under the Prime Minister’s notice, and what occurred at the interview was explained by Mr Savage, who said he told a Japanese journalist that he looked forward to the time when New Zealand Ministers would meet a representative of the Japanese to find out what they could take from New Zealand and what the Dominion could take from Japan, for it was better to do things in that way than to set up customs barriers between countries. “As for the steel industry,” added Mr Savage, “I explained to the Japanese interviewer that already a company had made overtures for its development in the Dominion, that we had tremendous quantities of iron ore and that we had already been advised by our experts that if New Zealand intended to create a steel industry its export of scrap iron had been overdone. It vas for that reason that the Government came to the decision to stop the export of scrap iron to any country.”

Mr Bunshirow Suzuki, a prominent Japanese journalist who is visiting New Zealand, sent by cable to Tokyo an interview with Mr Savage, in which the Prime Minister said the embargo on the export of scrap iron was not intended as an anti-Japanese discrimination but to protect New Zealand’s own steel industry. Mr Savage added that he desired to foster Japanese trade, but British must come first. Mr Suzuki commented that as New Zealand was without a steel industry to protect it seemed that Mr Savage placed the embargo to placate Labour members' and forestall worse action by them.

JAPANESE GOODS TO BE BOYCOTTED DECISION BY AUSTRALIAN TRADES UNIONS MELBOURNE, October 31. Yielding to representations made by the various trades and labour councils, the interstate executive of the Australasian Council of Trades Unions has decided to institute a boycott against the purchase of Japanese goods because of the attack by Japan on China. It is probable that the boycott will have a far-reaching effect among Australian unions, as members of the Waterside Workers’ Federation in various ports might now refuse to handle Japanese goods. However, the Council of Trades Unions hastens to declare that direct action by Labour bodies against Japanese ships is not contemplated. Trades unionists’ families will be asked to refrain from purchasing Japanese goods. OVER 20 OPEN TOWNS BOMBED GENEVA, October 29. A Chinese Note to the League of Nations recounts further bombings of over 20 defenceless towns, the machinegunning of civilians, the sinking of 200 fishing junks and the loss of 5000 civilian lives.