That there is something in the question of a Siamese-Japanese alliance seems to be thought by a Penang paper which devotes a leader to the Subject entitled ""Kra_Suppositions." After showing that Japan and Siam have much in common the paper continues:
"What, then, more natural than that certain sections of thought shotMia fire with the idea. of an alliance with Japan. The island empire could offer tam the virtual certainty of security—many Siamese are inclined 10 think. "Slam, in turn. could provide Sapan with "an. Invaluable base for Operations if ever the unhoped. for Outbreak between Japan and Great Britain occurs.
The paper admits that all the recent rumours have received their Quletus from oficial sources but it ays: "But all this disdainful superior tty does not do way with the fact that those rumours were put into circulation. Whoever put them into cir culation had little respect for the intelligence of the Siamese reader, but from the circumstances that a question on the matter was asked in the Siamese Assembly it may be gathered that our northern neighbours, or certain of them, are pretty gullible at the moment." The paper concludes:
The question that remains to be answered is: "For what purpose were the rumours invented?" The only an= swer to that is that some persons had 8 desire to create nervousness amore mese. people: a nervousness prehension "of Great Britian's Intentions. The same. ner~ vousness would create a desire for Security, and doubtless at the precise moment when that desire was revealed as protect a From all of which it may be seen that we live in stirring times down here, almost equalling what you of Shanghai are used to every day of the year. But we do not worry much Catherine the Great" has just arrived and the packed houses show that we fare going to take our pleasures while we may.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.