'The total strength of the Japan-exe "military and, semi-military: forces has been considerably reduced and now numbers about 700, s0 that the "immediate military' threat against any possible resistance at ithe conference table has been rear This military force is hybrid and consists of Jaganese infantry, Stationed at the Japanese Camp, company of the Kuantung Army, 8 Getachment of Manchoukto gendar-merle or Frontier Police, Japanese ynilitary gendarmerie and the Japan. exe Military Police. Then there the Chinese civilian unarmed police force of the Public Safety Bureatt 'And last is the somewhat shadowy Sillitary Commission, which appears be & body. of. military commis stoners, appointed to, keep in, close contact with all developments, political and military. This. connmission {s under' the control of the Ku tung Army General Staff.
Visits paid to, Chinese merch: ants and minor officials were not very) productive, most of them showing the greatest reluctance to discuss the situation in any way. In general, however, the merchant classes were Ieud in their praise of, the ing "honest administration" of the city, but refused to commit themselves when asked whether the officials had been hand-picked by the Manchoukuo authorities.
The general impression obtained was that the Chinese were fairly satisfied with the present system, But would be a great deal more satisfied if they could be effectively Tete alone by Japanese and Chinese. There ix certainly no open local movement in favour of retrocession, and it is just possible that a fairly conducted plebiscite would result in 'a vote favouring the continuance of the present system of "self government",
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.