Feb.
The events over the week-end jin Shanghai have not been reassuring to those who hoped that fan early solution would be discovered, Developments in the contrary direction may be rapid. tors or Yes The of the at the mo-
should be concentrat-fed on efforts designed to keep runing a machine which has been suddenly checked, To this end the authorities are laban ing incessantly. They are re-Jeciving the wholehearted support ofall, Meanwhile it can be hardly too strongly emphasised that the conditions are distinctly unfavourable ta any show by the Chinese of resistance to Japan-lose force. The statement of lea ing Chinese business men inn of the The facts Bven now a ince would not be able to justify itself by the convietion that it had behind it a ment recognised or iden: the representatives of all concerned met round a table in conference.
The discussions lasted all day. At the time of writ ig no definite decision had been reached, The influx of refugees into the Settlement and the French Concession has naturally created a special problem for the administration, The energies of workers, voluntary and profes sion, are being devoted to that end. On the police and fence forces rests a_ singular heavy burden, fo the manful shouldering of which the community is most grateful. Whether: the major conflict is in-levirable and the regular forces of the Japanese and Chinese will definitely be involved in serious: fighting, the main issue immediately before Shanghai is the Preservation of the security of the Settlement arid the French Concession. Whatever views [SI may be held on the merits of the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.