Tokyo, May 9.
The attitude of the Japanese public and press towards the yan incident has been praiseworthy in the extreme, No demand for vengeance has been uttered, al~ though the gravity of what has occurred is not minimized. The papers, generally, do not entertain the least doubt that the Southerners must bear the brunt of the blame for what has happened. At the tims, Premier Tanaka's)
tive" policy in China is also criticized, Since blood has been spilt, however, and the prestige of this country is involved, the action of the Government and of the military chieftains is being unatimoussupported.
The "Osaka Asahi," one of the Biggest dailies in the "Manchester of Japan," declares that the Tsinan incident is the most deplorable of the difficulties that have recently arisen between Japan and China. It calls attention to the fact thi the atrocities on Japanese nationals were committed in the presence "f the armed forees of Japan. If Japanese nationals in the interior eon withdrawn to Txingtao, this paper opines, instead of Jnpanese troops being sent inland to Ts! nan, the incident might not have occurred.
"The Powers have realized," it goes on to say "that armed intimidation will not relieve the perturbed situation in China and that, in the event of any armed demon: stration being unsuccessful, they would be playing into the hands of the Chinese, If our people had deen withdrawn from Tsinan, they might have lost their property, but would have saved their—lives.
Property lost can be recovered by ronarations, but lives lost cannot be recovered.
'A Similiar Opinion The "Osaka Mainichi" ("Osaka Daily News"), the other big paper i@@@pan's commercial metropolis, AND reviewing the preliminaries to the Tsinan outrages, when the Tupanese forces, on Southern promises to maintain law and order, removed all defence works, says:—"We have consistently objected to This paper claims that it has ample proof that the Southerners were provocative and contends that, since the commanding officers. of the Canton troops had pledged the safety of foreigners, the South is sleerly answerable for' what took place.
The "Chugai Shogyo," the only ig commercial daily in Japan and the "counterpart here ofthe "Financial Times" of London, says that "the continued political dis. putes in Japan and the victories the South against the North have made the former so insolent as to hold Japan in scorn, something that we cannot allow to go unchallenged. We have despatched troops and, while we desire that the troops be coalled at the first favourable opportunity, we must remain resolute whatever might befall, until a satisfactory sejslement is reached.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.