MAJOR BATTLE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 23 May 1928, Page 5

MAJOR BATTLE.

ALREADY DEVELOPING. BETWEEN CHINESE FORCES. Tress Association-Electric Telegraph-Copyrigh (Received Wednesday, 12.15 p.m.) TUKIO, Tuesday. Negotiations between Chang-tso-lin and the Japanese Legation at Peking for Chang’s orderly withdrawal into Manchuria appear to have broken down, the Foreign Office here stating that Chang’s agent approached the Minister Yoshizawa at Peking on Tuesday night with a proposal that tho Northerners would immediately withdraw into Manchuria provided Japan would stop the Nationalist advance on Peking, and guarantee that the Peking-Ticntsin area would not be allowed to fall under the Nationalist control.

Yoshizawa refused, declaring that such a step would be, a violation of neutrality. Chang’s desire is apparently for a sort of buffer stato for tho PekingTietnsin area which would be between the Nationalist domain and Manchu-

War Office advices substantiate this analysis, declaring that a major battle is already developing between the Southern and Northern forces, with preliminary lighting now under way between the Shansi army, which is part of the Southern attacking force, and Northern troops. The War Office states that about 200,000 Northern forces are opposing 220,000 attacking Southerners along the line from tho Nankow Pass around Peking through Taotingfi and Tangchow, which is about sixty miles southward of Tientsin.—United Service. JAPANESE RETALIATE. * (Received Wednesday, 12.15 p.m.) SHANGHAI, Tuesday. Japanese merchants, having decided upon retaliation for the Chinese boycott yesterday decided to refrain from purchasing Chinese export goods until the boycott was lifted.—Australian and N.Z. Press Assn.