What Sir L, Worthington-Evans Had in Mind in His Speech at the Meeting of the China Association in London to-day should have no ons as to how it is regarded by the British War Office, for there is getting behind the intent in the mind of the Secretary of State for War, Sir Laming Worthington-Evans, when he spoke as follows (as quoted in a telegram on November 24) at the dinner of the China Association in London:
While the Shanghai Defence Force was being decreased the local forces would have to be increased and made sufficiently strong to be able to do a great deal more in their own defence in A mount of emergency. The Government, he emphasized, was not complaining at present, but felt that what could be done ocally should be done, and it was up to those, with great inter ests in China, to do what they could.
Volunteers the Cynosure The War Office, we have every reason to believe, has for more than year past been seriously concerned with the matter of what Shanghai thas been doing in the way of looking after itself, and is becoming more and more dissatisfied with the efforts being put forward. The authorities at Home, it is generally understood, were reluctant in the first place to send the Shanghai Defence Force out, but once it was in position they expected that the Volunteers, in normal times constituting the defence of the Settlement, would be improved in strength fand efficiency. We know perfectly well that that has not been done, and while there may not have been fan actual falling off in numbers since carly in 1927, a lack of enthusiasm ha undoubtedly. shown itself. Perfectly naturally the authorities at Home regard this as poor repayment for the trouble and expense to which they have been a but In sending troops to Shanzhal.
When the present trooping season comes to an end, it looks very much fay if the British forces here will be reduced to two battalions, This is a very small number to guard the place against the danger of a communist outbreak such as, in the past, has been within the possibilities here and is quite likely to be in future. It i possible that, there may be three battalions, but it is not an encouraging fact for us that one of the reliefs on their way out here has been stopped for duty at Malta, and, even ff unintentional, it aeryes to Iny stress on the point made by the War Offic, And to com down to bedrock. it may at once be stated that from what can be learned, the War Office position in this—that the more we do for ourselves the more it is likely to do. for us, but if we take up an attitude that in future we shall rely on foreign troops for our protection, we ave very likely to he left in the lurch. altogether. ing_and Numbers: Insufficient There is no difficalty in under-this attitude, The amount ug that the average member of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps has to do is small, and, the opinion ems to Ko held at Home that it {s insufficient. Tu the second place the falling off in attendance parades has given the impression of 2 falling off in numbers. Thirdly, counting reserves and everybody else, the total strength at present might amount to 2,000, and those at Home consider that that is, poor showing for a population of The size of Shanghat, in its peculiar position of danger, especially as it known that in all probability this could not only be doubled, but that a very different standard of training could be attained. The question has been asked why la it that it be not so, and apparently there has been no satisfactory answer.
From inquiries we have made, the Home authorities can apparent-Ty quote a good instance it is understood that in a large number of cases, young men going out to India for the first time—especially those who will be rationed at a distance from the ger centres of foreign popula. tion—sign an agreement in their contract to serve in the volunteers for five years, So far nothing of the sort has been attempted here, and naturally the question is asked why not?
The Responsible Body This particular point, curiously enough, leads to the question ay to who should be considered. responsible for the defence of Shanghai, and it brings forth the startling answer which has been made in one quarter—the General Chamber of Commerce. One must not forget that the internal politics of Shanghai are nowadays just as intimately known to those responsible at Home as they are to any of us. The reasoning which would compel the body mentioned to shoulder this.
ity is not far to seek, and in following it we must take 9 parallel case in Great Britain during the war which led to the introduction of the Derby Scheme. The position before that scheme {into operation was that while had been a ready response to the colours, numbers had not joined the ranks for the reason that they: considered it unfair that, when they did, their neighbours, who did not enlist, should benefit in business by their absence. In default of conscription, the Derby Scheme set out to overcome such difficulties, and what would be needed Shanghai ly an authoritative international body which could bring sufficient pressure to bear upon all its members to make the necessary business sacrifices entailed in a very large percentage of their: employees devoting part of their time to volunteering—the whole it, probably, in time of trouble. Tt would be unfair to expect a proportion of firms to accept suc sacrifices while others did not, ani the Home authorities look to the institutions which Shanghai has to display sufficient statesmanship. to bring all firms into agreement on this point. The General Chamber of Commerce is, therefore, considered as the most likely body to. take the necessary steps Training in Office Hours Tu turn this leads to a further point in regard to training. Tt will not be considered sufficient for the average volunteer to devote say an hour of his own time once a week to learning his duties. Rather the impression one gets is that over a period of, say, five years, there would be' three hours a week of hard work, and to enable this to be done satisfactorily it would to a very large extent have to be in business hours. To ensure really effective training for all, and not alone for the enthusiasts, attendance on parade would have to be a part of the routine of employment so that discipline would be effective, and herein we seg in a clearer light the sacrifices called upon from firms. This would only be possible where general agreement to do 20 had been made.
'The question will naturally be asked, why, considering—how efficiently the Volunteer Corps has handled its duties in' the past, this additional training—many times more than anything formerly—should be considered necessary. The answer to this is that any danger which may threaten Shanghai internally in the future is considered likely to be much more serious than in the past. Whereas when districts had to be controlled formerly it could be done by pickets and patrols of the size of a corporal's guard, in future the likelihood ig that were <bmmunists to -attempt anything, the volunteers would have to act in units of not less than 60 men, and the handling of such bodies and effective work on their part can
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.