During the past week Shanghai must have been one of "the most rumour-ridden cities in the world. To enumerate only a few of the reports which have been in circulation is enough to give an idea of the posi-ion. "First, there was a large Japanese naval concentration at the Saddle Islinds, There may have been a few 13 additional cruisers outside the mouth of the Yangtze, in view of the tense situation, but so far as can be ascer~ tained, there has been no naval concentration worthy of the name. Secondly, Chinese have been shipping aliver wholesale out of the country to Prevent its seizure by the Japanese, or alternatively, they have been engaging storage space in forcignowned vaults. Like the other 13) rumours, this has a certain founda tion. There have been shipments of the white metal {¥om Shanghai against certain exchange contracts, A large amount of bullion has been sent to the South-west to assist in straighten. ing out the involved financial situa ion there. Silver has been transferred from official vaults to the vaults of banks with whom the Government has had contracts and from where it will be eventually exported for the fulfilment of those contracts. But here, again, it is only the tension prevailing that has caused transactions Which would otherwise have passed with little comment to assume significant proportions. Thirdly, it was yesterday reported. in Japanese circles, that the Chinese had violated the agreement to observe a demilitarized zone round Shanghai, The report in itself seems improbable, since the Chinese have nothing 19 gain by such a step, and have almost everything to lose, No verification of the movement could be obtained from oMfeial sources yesterday, and if it had occurred, it was believed to have been due to the ignorance of some minor military commander of the conditions prevailing in the area, Fourthly, there was. a report of a large concentration of troops in, the neighbourhood of S8SeRsseuee Be eeeBRRRMEES gees Chapoo. Chapoo, as anyone who has been following the correspondence between the Automobile Club of! China and other unfortunates who have rented Jand in that area, and the Chinese authorities, knows, has for some time been an official military zone. That there should be troops in 'a military zone is not startling, and that they should be anxious to preserve the secrecy of their movements, even though by doing so they cause 8 certain amount of inconvenience 10 Users of the roads, can be understood. The reports of increases in the num bers of Chinese troops in the Soochow-Hangchow-Nanking neighbourhood are partially true, from all accounts, but they are not sufficient to end support to the belief that the Chinese Intend to take an altitude of active resistance at this juncture. Everything considered, both Chinese end Japanese have everything to gain from preserving the peace, rumours of impending hostility to be without any solid basis.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.