London, Mar. 30.
The Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mr. R. A. Butler questioned to-day in the House of Commons on the results of the British Military Mission to Portugal, said that the mission had only been in Portugal for a little over a month and was not expected to leave before May.
The nearness of the war to Szechuen was first brought home to' the people of the province by the recent Japanese drive for Tungkwan. For centuries the road to Szechuen via Sianfu, the capital of Shensi, which is only ninety miles south-west of Tungkwan, has been recognized as the natural gateway to Szechuen province by which invaders always came.
This was the reason why the recent fighting in the Tungkwan area was followed with such great anxiety, and why appeals were made for the despatch of more Szechuen divisions to Shensi. When the menace was He was not in a position to state the results of the visit, he said, but could say that good progress being made in its discussions with the Portuguese military authorities, Wireless through Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.