The Japanese suspicions regarding ihe Chinese military preparations in the prohibited area were not allayed by the assurances of the Chinese Civil Delegate above referred to as they had reliable information that these preparations, including the construction of torticas (pill boxes) and the armament of the Peace Preservation Corps, which apparently was being augmented by regular army units, were being. steadily carried on. Nevertheless, in furtherance of their desire to avoid a conflict, the Japanese authorities conducted pourparlers direct with the Chinese authorities, with a view to having these illegal menaces to the Settlement removed. However, no success attended these efforts, and at a Consular Body meeting on August 10, the Japanese—Consul-General (concurrently the Japanese Civil Delegate on the Joint Commission) in reviewing his efforts to avoid a clash. pointed out that the Chinese military preparations in the prohibited area, including preparations in close proximity to the Headquarters of the Japanese Naval Landing Party and the regions where Japanese residents lived in great numbers, had become accentuated, with almost nightly manoeuvres of the Peace Preserv: tion Corps, all pointing to an exe pectation on the Chinese side of an impending clash. The Japanese Consul-General stated at that meeting that the Japanese naval authorities were exercising great forbearance in the face of this provocative attitude and the Japanese Naval Landing Party had even refrained irom holding its customary manœuvres in order to avoid any aggravation of the situation. He expressed the opinion that the Mayor was unwilling or unable to stop the Chinese military activities and among other things mentioned that "the Mayor had assured him again and again that he had instructed the Peace Preservation Corps not to fire on any account unless he (the Mayor) himself gave the "order amd yet the day before the unfortunate incident at Hungjao had occurred in which two members of the Landing Party had lost their lives at the hands of the Peace Preservation Corps. He greatly deplored the tense situation and as he had mentioned before he was exhausting all means to reach a settlement by diplomatic negotiations; certainly for the present the Japanese side did not have amy hostile intention:" (extract from minutes of the meeting), At that meeting the Consular Body, with the concurrence of the Japanese Consul-General, decided to make representations to the Mayor asking that Shanghai be excluded from the sphere of hostilities in the unhappy event of a clash.—which representations subsequently were made.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.