(CHINESE regular troops have been withdrawn out of the immediate neighbourhood: of Shanghai. They have established a line more than one thousand metres beyond the Settlement boundary, and last night were busy erecting additional fortifications.
A tour of the northern defences made by a "North-China Daily News" representative yesterday afternoon, showed that the positions round the North Station were held only by members of the Peace Preservation Corps.
Of regular troops there was no sign.
The North Station area was as' quiet as a grave. There the marks of land mines having been laid in the road opposite Boundary [Road, while the removal of some of the advertising hoardings in that vicinity showed concrete Chinese machiner gun posts, which gave evidence of preparation for major fighting begun long before.
The Loyal regiment yesterday took over the sector along the Settlement boundary, and immediately established friendly relations with the Chinese on the other side, who were ble to approach the Settlement defence lines without any hindrance from the Japanese.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.