"KILL ALL ENGLISH.

Waikato Times, Volume 99, Issue 16653, 19 November 1925, Page 5

"KILL ALL ENGLISH .

TURMOIL IN CHINA. ENGLISH COUPLE'S EXPERIENCE, The New Ze.alander who has never ventured beyond the coasts of "Gods Own Country," and whose experience of industrial troubles is confined to ait occasional strike of seamen. Yvatersiders, or even second division men of the railway service, cannot even imagine what industrial trouble in the East means. The mere Information contained In cablegrams from time lo time, thai, there Is a strike amongst , Chinese students In China, and that Europeans in Shanghai and Hongkong yre in constant danger, can convey little of what really is happening, and it is only when Europeans have the good fortune lo shake the dust of the East from their feel and come to New Zealand that we are able to learn just what the true position is. On the Fuller circuit In New Zealand are Mr and Mrs Keats, who in May last were in Shanghai when the Chinese employed at one of the mills went on strike, and the very existence of all Europeans in the settlement was threatened. Mr Keats recently related some of their experiences at Shanghai, Hongkong, and Kowloon. Here is his story—- " You want lo know something about the trouble in China? Well, let me say that the experiences of Mrs I'.'eats and myself will never be forgotten by us. We were showing there when the Chinese employed at one of the milts went out on strike. We did net think at the time what this would develop into, but we had good cause to realise it before many hours had passed. Several of the Chinese were brought before the British Court and detained, which, from what I could gather, is similar to be sentenced to imprisonment, say, in New Zealand. The Chinese considered that the British Court was favouring the Japanese and showing antagonism toward the Chinamen, and three or four days later Mrs K»'ats and I were walking up Nanking Road when we saw anything from 0000 to 7000 Chinese march up the road to the police station. At the time only the police sergeant and a few Sikh police were present, and the rebels began to bombr.rd the station with stones, and cry: 'Kill the English!' This was also inscribed in large letters across banners which the rebels carried. The ciowd reached within lo yards of the station gates, when they halted; and the sergeant of police advised them to go away, but not before he had called up the reserve. The reserve is a volunteer corps numbering about 1500, and they must have assembled quickly, because it was not long before they made their appearance, and a hand-to-hand fight ensued. Armoured cars and machine-guns were brought into use. and bayonet charges in the s!ieel wei'e frequent happenings for the next few days. i

In a Bad Fix. j "Orders were issued lo all Euroj poans not lo leave their residences; and you can take it from me that the I great majority were not inclined to venture, into the streets. Things were ] bad enough then, but worse was lo | fellow, because the whole of the Chinese shops in the settlement suddenly closed their doors, and, as the English and American people in Shanghai relied upon the Chinese shops for food, we were in a pretty fix, I can tell you. We dared not go out looking for food, because anything might happen to us, and we had to be content with some home-made scones and the like. Massacres and shootings were reported frequently, and the Chinese even started fires with the object of burning the settlement out. "There is no question that Bolshevism was at the back of the trouble, and it was well known that Russians were providing money to the Chinese students. Russia wants to get the Englishman and the American out of China, and the 'Reds' arc leaving no stone unturned to bring that about. The police and volunteers made a raid upon the colleges, schools and quarters of the students, and secured a vast amount of Bolshevik literature. It's all propaganda. The general strike amongst the industrial class of the Chinese was declared against all foreigners, but it was really hitting at the British in the settlement. There is the border line around the settlement, and it would be foolish for a European to go over that line, because he would most likely be captured, and one never knows what might happen then. "It might seem strange to you, but the theatre carried on just the same. We lived next door, and each night would almost crawl to the theatre, on the top of which was a machine-gun. It was the Carlton Cabaret we were showing at, and the audience would , i it at tables with their rifles standing alongside. Everybody was in khaki, the doors were locked, and no unnecessary risks were taken. For three weeks Mrs Keats never left the house in the daytime, and we were not feeling too well pleased' with the position." Foreign Warships on the Scene. However, in the early stages of the trouble battleships were sent for, and these came from England, America and Japan. To go into the street was to court disaster, but wc had to get away somehow. Several times we tried to book passages on a steamer for Australia, but all the accommodation was secured by Russians, and I am certain that Bolshevism is at the root of troubles experienced in shipping in Australia to-day. Bolshevism is sweeping across all European countries, and unless the Governments realise the position serious trouble is ahead. Strikes will be common, and the people and country will suffer. "If the Chinese suspected a foreigner was in a car they would not Ihink twice about wrecking it. At night time they would dig trenches in tlie roadway, and it was common for a tramcar to be thrown off the line and many people injured. And don't forget the Russians, with their Bolshevism, are the root of all the trouble. Russians arc coming lo Australia by the boat-load, and what has happened in Shanghai and the places I have mentioned is possible in Austrlaia or New Zealand. The Governments want •to provent Bolshevism getting a footing in these ideal countries, otherwise they will gradually become Russianised, just as Shanghai is to-day."