Jan, 17.
The Czecho-Slovakian ate, Braga rly the Hedwicb Fischer) sailed this afternoon for: Newchwang with 90,000 rifles and one armoured ear for Generalissimo of a large shipment of arms having been imported from Germany aboard the Norwegian steamer Skule by 3 number of German firms, and sold to Chang Tso-lin and Sun Chuanfang at the beginning of the month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a memorandum submitted to the Government Council, recommends that insiruetions be' issued to the Military Council, the Nationali Navy Headquarters and the Minis-ey 0€ Foreign Affairs for investly tion and verification of the reports. The Ministry further recommends that ie the reports are found true, the Naval and Customs authori should be instructed to detain the ship, while all branch offices of the offending German firms now existing in the territory under Nationalist control shall be sealed, or otherwise properly dealt with; that those foreigners and Chitiese who are found to have implicated themselves in. this ilfeit_arms traffic be arrested and handed to the proper authorities for punishment according to the Iaws of treason and rebellion; and finally that both the' German and Norwegian Consular authorities be requested to warn their nationals against any suck further violations of law that the friendly "relations between China and their respective governments be preserved, The reports ax received by the Ministry are substantially as follows. 'The Peking Government har lately commissioned a number of German firms in Tientsin, Tsivan, and Tsingtao to purchase arms anc ammunition from Germany to the amount of more than $5,000,000 to be distributed to its' different armies. In necordance with the contract, the shipment of arms from Germany arrived at Tsingtao on January 1 on board of the Norwegian ste. Skule. The ship entered the. port at 8 a.m, when the cargo of arms was unloaded by the agents and been waiting at Tsingtao for the consignment:—Kuo Min, Six members of the crew deserted, but were arrested and shipped out on the Praga—Reuter
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.