BRITISH INQUIRY AT AMOY

Southland Times, Issue 23819, 17 May 1939, Page 5

BRITISH INQUIRY AT AMOY

JAPANESE INVASION OF SETTLEMENT CIVILIAN DEATH-ROLL AT CHUNGKING (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright) (Received May 16, 8.10 p.m.) LONDON, May 15. Vice-Admiral Sir Percy Noble, Com-mander-in-Chief of the China Station, is proceeding to Amoy in H.M.S. Birmingham to investigate the occupation by the Japanese of the international settlement there last Friday. The Japanese are endeavouring to secrue control of the settlement, which is at Kalungsu and the Japanese Consul there has requested the chairman of the municipality to increase Japanese representation, to extend Japanese voting rights, to appoint a Japanese chief of police and chief secretary and to impose more strict control of anti-Japanese activity. The British Ambassador to Tokyo (Sir Robert Craigie) has protested to Japan against interference with . the administration of the international settlement at Kalungsu. A British Official Wireless message says that the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs (Mr R. A. Butler) was asked in the House of Commons to make a statement on the invasion and occupation by the Japanese of the international concession at Kulangsu. Mr Butler said that after the fatal shooting of the chairman of Amoy Chamber of Commerce on Thursday morning a Japanese naval party between 100 and 200 men landed the same evening and started to patrol the settlement, searching private houses and making many arrests. Mr Butler added that Sir Robert Craigie had been instructed to protest against this forcible interference with the municipal . administration at Kulangsu, which was established by agreement between China and the foreign treaty Powers, including Britain and Japan. “Japan can Be under no misapprehension about the unfortunate results on Anglo-Japanese relations which would be produced were similar action to he taken by the Japanese in the settlement at Shanghai,” said Mr Butler. Several questions were asked in the House of Commons today about the bombing of towns in China. Mr Butler said Sir Robert Craigie had made strong representations to Japan urging that from a humanitarian point of view as well as in Japan’s best interests stringent instructions should be sent to restrict attacks to recognized military objectives. Sir Robert had observed that in the case of Chungking the casualties, it appeared, had been suffered almost exclusively by the civilian element of the population.

Mr Butler said the Foreign Secretary (Viscount Halifax) understood that representations on very similar lines had been made to Japan by other countries. The casualties among noncombatants resulting from the raids of May 3 and 4 on Chungking were estimated at 1600 killed and approximately the same number wounded, and it was feared that the full casualty list would be even higher when the excavations were completed.

BOMBING OF BRITISH AREA JAPANESE VERSION OF CHUNGKING RAID (United Press Association) WELLINGTON, May 16. The Consul-General for Japan in Wellington (Mr K. Gunji) has received cabled advice from Tokyo to the effect that a Japanese aeroplane squadron bombed Chungking on May 3 and 4 and wrought great damage to Chinese military establishments. On May 4 the Chinese army stationed 50 anti-aircraft guns between 200 and 300 metres from the British, German, French and American consulates, and on opening fire were bombed by the Japanese aeroplanes. _ According to various sources of information one of the Japanese bombs dropped on the compound of the British Consulate and it is said that one of the secretaries of the consulate was wounded. The Japanese authorities are now investigating the affair. The Japanese naval information bureau in said that even if the report that a Japanese bomb fell in the British Consulate compound were found to be true the happening was quite unavoidable, as the Japanese aeroplanes were being fired upon and had acted purely in self-defente.