It. seems that we were premature on March 10 in assuming that the threat of war between Nanking and Shansi had woHifted: another illustration of the rashness of being sure of anything In China, We never believed, of course, in General Yen's going abroad. No one did, we suppose, in spite of the moving report of his farewell visit to an aged father. But it really seemed as if General Yen's coalition had come pieces and that his only chance was to get back behind the mountains into Shansi and' stay there, The first sign of uneasimess came on the 12th with the news that General Shih Vu-san, of Pukow mutiny fame, was Jeading his troops into Chihli. Two days earlier he had declared his allegiance to Nanking, and, if rumour be correct, had received a large sum from that quarter. It is conjectured that General Yen's retreat and Shih's declaration of loyalty was all part of a ruse. Shih was more or less surrounded by Government forces in Honan and could rot get out to join the North. Now he not only got money to pay his troops but a free passage to take charge of the ets Yen was supposed to be evacuate ing. This is conjecture and the meanness of the device needs no emphasizing. Unfortunately, its duplicity is no guarantee that it was not employed.
Things now moved quickly. On the ith the old Kuangsi leader Lu Chung-lin, now commanding a portion of the Kuominchun, telegraphed to General Yen upbraiding -him for his supposed intention to go abroad and bidding him rise and take the lead against General "Chiang Kai-shek. And next day a formidable posse of Shansi, Kuomin chun and Kuangsi generals issued the usual manifesto denouncing the "crimes" of the, "tyrant" of Nanking. By all accounts both from the capital' and from Peking, war is inevit-' able. A picturesque touch is given to the quarrel, showing! how far Western influences have! penetrated into China, when they colour the invective even of northern warlords. "L'état eat _moi is Chiang's attitude," the generals ery, adding, "There is a Pope of Rome, but we have a Pope over our own Party." It remains to be seen how far the new style of oratory will stir the country, which has had a surfeit of war manifestoes. But the coalition looks formidable. The generals, we are told, are determined that there shall be no repetition of the looseness which enabled Nanking to get the best of former combinations against it, We hear of a double advance Southwards by the two trunk railways, Marshal Feng Vu-hsiang is said to be bringing down his troops from the northwest; and the Kudminchun are reported to be advancing upon Chengchow, the Junction of the Lung-Hai "and Kin-Han railways, and towards Fancheng in northern Hupeh, a view to moving down the Han sriver to Hankow. There are strong rumours that the latter city would make no difficulty about changing over to the North, Some people may think that! the veal complaint against General Chiang Kai-shek is that he has been, not too much an autocrat, but too little The strength of Party government is that it can, or should, continuity. it inevitably means d and obstruction. In theory, the importance of having one organization which stands definitely for a certain system and scheme of political ideals is evident. In practice, and particularly the stage through which China is moving, this system cannot work effectively unless its chairman is resolute.and able to do something more than merely exercise a casting vote. It is the considered opinion of the best observers that Nanking, with all its faults, contains the elements of the best government that China has seen for many years. Its greatest fault is that the men in it who have to ex. excise ministerial duties hav not the proper ministerial power. If this defect were put right, or even without it, we do not see that a junta of Northern generals has anything to offer the country superior to what Nanking should be able to show. On the other hand, we venture to think that Northern rule may be best for northern people. China is so big, and the customs and instincts of its different parts are so firmly set, that Kuomintang doctrine cannot be used as a bed of Procrustes into which all alike shall be forced. That is where Nanking's mistake has lain and the salvation of China_would seem to be found in a far more liberal interpretation of local autonomy than yet admitted.
In this conviction, one is the more impressed by General Chiang Kai-shek's—announcement_at the Government offices on Monday, that the national forces will remain strictly on the defensive. Well equipped as they are, and especially strong in aeroplanes, it should be easy enough for them to hold certain tions on the two trunk rail-and the Han river against all attacks. Across the open country it would be difficult, if not impossible, for northern forees t> advance with any hope of dealing an effective blow. 'Thus a barrier against the North could be established, behind which the work. of restoring order and prosperity in the' Yangtze Valley could go on unchecked. The results. would more than compensate for the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.