Political terrorism has claimed many victims in recent months but the use of this cowardly weapon on Mr. Tong Shao-yi China's "Elder Statesman," is one of the foulest crimes that ever besmirched the activities of Shanghai's paid assassins and their political employers. An old man of 78, enjoying that calm and repose after a career in his country's service: under Imperial and Republican aegis starting as long ago as 1883, he was attacked in his son-in-law's residence yesterday morning and left dying on the floor after two men, who had been courteously received as callers, struck him with axes and succeeded in escaping. The precise reason for the attack—if there could possibly be any reason for an attack on an inoffensive old man of 78—is not known, but the motive is apparently political, an abhorrent cloak for the recent succession of murders in Shanghai. Mr, Tong was one of the first Chinese students to be sent abroad for education by the Manchu Government and the first important position he held was that of secretary to Yuan Shih-kai, Imperial Resident' in Korea. During a career full of vigor and energy, he was Yuan Shih-kai's delegate in the negotiations with the revolutionary leaders in Shanghai in 1911 and became the first Prime Minister of the Republican Government. During the stormy years of the new Government, and its efforts to create a Parliament between the con-fioting views of the North and the South, Mr. Tong was prominent and later was re-appointed Prime Minister, a post which he did not accept. A member of the Central Supervisory Committee of the Kuomintang, a party he helped to create with the late Dr. Sun Yat-sen, in more recent years he went into retirement, spending his declining years developing his favourite project. the Chungshan model district in Kwangtung province, of which he was magistrate. Whatever his opinions may have been since the Japanese conquest of this part of China and the creation of the Reformed Government at Nanking, he certainly took no active part in the development of these administrative plans. He went so far as to repudiate any Connection with the new regime, although a man of his mature experience and reputation must have attracted the attention of the creators of the new body. The attack on him is an abominable act, and it is hoped that the authorities will relax no efforts until the perpetrators have been arrested, Horses and Tanks Almost coincident with the news that two more remount depots had been closed reducing the number of horses in the British Army to 5,000 were the exercises on Salisbury Plain at the beginning of last month when, for the first time, large numbers of the new, improved tanks engaged in mimic warfare. Strategy was conveniently left to assert itself where possible. The principal object was to produce an action of tanks against tanks and give the commanders an opportunity to test new formations with their mechanical steeds which represent such a great improvement on the Great War model. There were many interesting results, one of ihe most important being based on mobility. Tank action is so fast that every minute counts and the necessity for the rapid transmission of information regarding movements accordingly becomes "more urgent But while Britain's regiments and Yeomanry units. A squadron of the Royal Scots Greys was employed in the 2nd Division field operations and, to quote an observer "the Greys proved that horsed soldiers are far from being museum pieces." He adds: or operating with units of the modern Amy They lack, it is true, the mobility but their movement across These are important considerations and, re-infareed by the culty tanks have in con-coalment when it is necessary to take cover, there is still ing to be said for the horse fact which the Japanese have appreciated in the campaign in China and which has led
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.