MANCHURIAN DISPUTE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 242, 13 October 1931, Page 7

MANCHURIAN DISPUTE

CHINESE SOLDIERS’ ACT PART OF LINE BLOWN UP Information about the trouble between Japan and China in connection with Manchuria has been supplied by the Foreign Office at Tokio to the Japanese Consul-General in Sydney, Mr. K. Inouye, who in turn has forwarded copies of the cablegrams to Air. A. B. Robertson,, Consul for Japan at Auckland. Referring to the origin of the dispute a cablegram, dated September 23, stated: At 10.30 p.m. on September 18 Chinese soldiers under the command of officers and numbering from 300 to 400 who belonged to the Pei-ta-ying barracks in a northern suburb of Mukden blew up a portion of the main lino of tho South Manchuria Railway and proceeded southward in the direction of Mukden. Japanese soldiers on patrol of ths railway, hurrying to the spot, exchanged firing with the Chinese soldiers, resi’ ting in a between the Chinese sc’diers from, the barracks mentioned and one company of Japanese so.d ers belonging to the Hu-Shih-Tai guard headquarters, the second station neith of Mukden. Whole Day of Fighting. In view of the large number of Chinese soldiers stationed along the South Manchuria Railway, and the consequent danger of a universal attack upon tho Japanese railway and the lives and property of the Japanese residents, the Japanese troops lost no time in forestalling any such action on the part of the Chinese, and on Sep*, tember 19 and September 20 succeeded in disarming the Chinese soldiers in Mukden, Changchun, Antung, Feng-huang-chong, Penhsihu, Changtu and Yingkao, all those places being situated on tho South Manchuria Railway. In Changchun, tho Japanese soldiers met with very strong resistance from tho Chinese soldiers and the fighting lasted a whole day, from the morning of September 19 until late at night, and 150 were killed or injured among the Japanese soldiers. Outside of the railway zone the Japanese Consular officers are requesting the Chinese authorities to protect the Japanese residents, but information is to hand that in Kirin the situation is very threatening. Blame Attributed to Chinese. Tho Japanese army is endeavouring to maintain order in the places mentioned, and up to September 22 there were no signs of any disturbances there. Tho customs offices in the seaports such as Anhung and Yingkao are not under the control of the Japanese army, but are being left under Chinese management as beforo. All tho leading newspapers in Japan are unanimous in blaming tho Chinese soldiers who broke the Japanese railway line and in recognising the action taken by the Japanese army as a necessary measure of self-protection. They narrate recent instances in which China has been injuring Japan’s prestige and interfering with her privileges, and warn tho Chinese Government and people to change their aggressive attitude for the sake of the peace of the Far East. Reply to the League of Nations. On September 28 the Japanese Foreign Office reported the receipt oi a Note from the Council of the League of Nations urging the disputants to abstain from any acts which might aggravate the situation or prejudice a peaceful solution. In reply tho Japanese Government stated:— Tho Japanese army has, from the very outset of tho present state of affairs in Manchuria, limited its action strictly to measures deemed necessary for the protection of the Japanese residents, tho defence of the Japanese railway and also the safety of the army itsalf. At the same time the Japanese

Government has always had in view preventing the unfortunate situation from becoming widespread and assuming a more serious aspect and earnestly hopes, by negotiations with China, to precipitate a peaceful solution of this affair and it has no intention of altering its attitude in the future. The Japanese forces in Manchuria have at the present moment mostly returned to the railway zone, leaving a certain number of soldiers in Kirin, Mukden, and a few other places. There exists no military occupation of these places, and the forces have been withdrawn to the maximum extent possible in the circumstances, leaving only as many as arc considered necessary for the safety of the Japanese residents an<, for the protection of the Japanese railway, and even these soldiers will retur to the railway zone in accordance with the relaxation of the situation in the future. It is hoped, therefore, that the Council will rest assured rs to the sincere attitude of the Japanese Government.