Malta, Feb. 10.
The gunboats Aphis and Ladybird, escorted by the destroyers Wanderer Snd Wolverine, lott here to-day for Cost of Conveying Troops to China London, Fah. 10, At question-time in the House of Commons to-day Mr. Baldwin "in the public interest" declined to give Aotalled information regarding the extent of the defence force for China, Sir' Laming Worthington-Evans foreshadowed early submission _of a supplementary estimate to provide for the cost of the Shanghai Defence Force. He added that the cost of conveying troops forming part of the defence force from the United Kingdom and Malta was £645,000, Canton's Flouting of Washington Feb. 1, Sir Austen Chamberlain's letter to the League of Nations, in which he explained the China' situation and declared that British policy was fully in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the Covenant, reviewed the principles as regards China which were adopted at the Washington Conference and upon which British policy had been based since 1922. Its complete success, however, he said, depended upon the ce-operation of a single central Gov ernment of China. 'The Canton Government, which in' 1922 was" confined to Canton, now claimed recognition as the only Government in China, This fact modified the hypothesis on which the Washing. ton policy was based.
The letter emphasized that the British had been singled out for "an {implacable campaign of calumny and boycott." It reviewed the incidents mob violence at Hankow and and laid stress on the forbearance of the Marines.
Sir Austen explained that Britain ready to negotiate for treaty revision, and, therefore, British policy was a' development of and for a departure from the Washington Conference policy.
An annex tabulated the proposals which were communicated to China on January 27.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.