Hankow, June 19.
Sust_when, after almost six months of comparative peace, Rishon 'Raltwey were boting the wholesale' commandeering railway stock for troop movements the South has inflicted " blow on rade. from. which it will, take Sionths to recover, It ig still possible to get cargo Jaown'the line, by paying for the hire of a railway car from. the who is holding it for the! moment." Bot the uncertainty as. thow long the cargo will take on its Journey" to. Hankow, and also whether or not the truck will be Stopped en route and taken over by Jsnother general not in the original Targnin isconrages many. ventures OF this description. may be said, is at al stand! much of the trade done along this line is in material which is perishable or deteriorates Jone, along this Hine Is rapidly, and it is not worth the trader's while to take the chance of oesing part or all of his' ship-
From the point of view of Honan, where a vigorous provincial govern: ment appears to have set about the task of restoring order, this condition is particularly disappointing, For many years the -province ha: been so ravaged by bandits and deserted troops that trade to any extent at all has only been carried on impress the bandit pest would have enthusiastic support of merchant classes. For long now these classes have carried on business against obstacles which in any country other than China would have been regarded as insuperable. "Only the native trader's extraordinary powers of recovery from pillage and looting have made any sort of business at all possible. And it ig thus doubly hard on him that, at a time when he may be able to get a little of his own back, trouble should have broken out in Canton and that troops should have been withdrawn from his protection to meet the Communist menace.
There is no doubt but that the Government's success in the last inst Marshal Feng Ya-hsiang ud General Yen Hsi-shan restored the people's waning confidence. Up to that victory the province had largely been in the "grey" gone, Part of it still is in the "grey" zone, but the greater area' has been under the more ordered rule of generals appointed by Nan-These generals have in the proved their capabilities by definitely curbing the bandits, extending voad-building, and keeping their soldiers under control. population has been given a breath-Ing space of which it has taken advantage. Confidence in a regime which has brought about this very Welcome condition fras rapidly grown. And while it would be idle to pretend that there are no abuses examples of il rule, there is nevertheless a general feeling of optimism, a belief that the dawn of better days has come.
Due credit must be given to the government for this state of affairs. The large part played by the mer chant himself must not, however, be overlooked. Taught by years of bitter experience, towns in the prov vince have learnt to organize thei own defences. Each large centre has its own merchant volunteer: corps and its own council of defence, The cities are still walled. with mighty ramparts, dreds of years ago. The defences fare adequate against bandits unsupplied with artillery. The cities are impregnable to everything but treachery, and the inhabitants have taken steps to see that treachery tions go bankrupt, but there will be rubber, and any sacrifice sale will ultimately mean more cheap rubber on the market when enterprise finds it suf ficiently profitably to clear the areas for_the resumption of tapping. Enough has been said to indicate that the doctrine of the survival of the fittest is an extremely dangerous one where rubber is concerned. It is not sound, and chauid be discarded. feannot nullify their other precau- [i tions, Many towns have during the last the few years been sacked by bandits through the gates being seized and opened cly colleagues of the bandits inside the walls, The merchant volunteers manning the walls have often been caught in the Tear and Dbutehered, Hence the strictest precautions have been taken to prevent strangers from staying in their midst, In some cities it is only possible for a strange Chinese to remain inside the walls for a night getting five shop guarantees: that is to say, by being sponsored five merchants whose good rame fs well known in the di If he unable to get these guarantees for, in some cases, to prove his bona fides in another fashion tis factory' to the city defence council, the Chin-politely escorted to the city at sundown and told that he material must find his night's lodging elsewhere, In no circumstances is he allowed to remain.
The merchant volunteers themselves are in most parts a worthy body of men. They have replaced the cut-throat hirelings of a few years igo, who often found it more to their advantage to side with the bandits than do their duty in defending the town against their attacks. They well equipped with rifles. and ammunition: often better equi ped than the bandits. And they have also the assistance of a rabble of the poorer inhabitants who can come to their aid in moments of stress armed with spears and seythes—a formidable band of pikeman when they are defending their homes and womenfolk. In the circumstances, then, the towns often prefer be left to their own devices by the wry. Government garrisons are not discouraged, but in a city well organized within itself, they are not asked for.
is different, however, with the country districts, where farms are scattered and walled villages are few. have These no defences: against the bandits save a well-developed intelligence service. Upon news that bandits ate approaching, all who can do so flock into the nearest walled city, with families, seattle and implements.
There they shelter until the band have moved on, taking a share in the defence of the city if need be.
When the district is safe again, they retarn to their homes, aften'to find them burnt and looted—the few things they have been unable to take away either stolen or wantonly destroyed. The only salvation for this class is [the military, and until an ordered campaign has cleaned up the robbers there seems little chance of their benefitting from the improved situation.
The merchants also suffer from the roving bands through the dis~ location of means of communication between cities, when bands are about. Thus they have welcomed the garrisoning of cities at intervals along roads likely to be raided by the bandits." The presence of these troops, who are of a better and more disciplined class than those of ithe days of the "grey" generals, is often enough to frighten the bandits Join the main highways.
From conversations with several foreigners who have been living in the interior of the province and are now on their way to various holiday resorts for the hot weather, it has [been gathered that there is still'a' feeling that war is not far off. There is an impression that, though Vu-san may be loyal to Nan-1g for the moment, his support ig conditional, It is freely reported that he has already received a very large sum of money from the goveroment, and this may be enctgh to keep him quiet while Gereral Chiang Kai-shek is busy with the Communists in Kiangsi.
There is talk, however, of a secret conference held at Kianchow in south-western Shansi which was attended by most of the generals who one served with Marchal Feng and General Yen Hsi-shan. This is also different conference from that held between the ex-Kuominchun commanders and the delegates from Marshal Chang Hsueh-liang in the [same province, at which the problem of money was the main subject of discussion. It is even reported that Marshal Feng himself
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.