The past week has seen more activity in China than for quite a while past, and it would nów really seem that the long-awaited Japanese advance on Hankow has at last commenced. So far there have been four important movements in connection with it. The first led to the capture of Juichang, westwards of Kiukiang on the south bank of the Yangtze. The second was in the neighbourhood of the north bank in the Wusueh area, which commencing the week before last seemed to have become static during the past seven days with the Chinese claiming minor successes as the result of counter attacks against positions already taken by the Japanese. Further north Japanese forces moving westward from Huan reached Yehkiatsi near the Anhwei-Honan border, apparently with the design of cutting the Peiping-Hankow Railway, while forces in Shansi, at the extrerhe southwest corner, were endeavouring to cross the Yellow River at Tungkwan, where the Chinese dominated the crossing, later moving eastward to Pinglu, where it s expected that a passage will be effected, to enable the. Japanese to advance into Shensi. Chinese claims to have secured an important success at Tatsienshan are pro-ably, to some extent true, but there has been "apparent a tendency to magnify the success. In any event the Japanese advánces south of the Yangtze to which activity swung in the last days of the week tend to offset whatever success the Chinese attained in that area. The general scheme of the Japanese command as demonstrated during the past fortnight seems to consist of striking at various places along the Chinest—line in an alternation of movements, though should the Chinese first line of defence have crumpled as the Japanese claim, there is a possibility that instead of rapidly diversified, isolated movements, the whole may shortly be changed into one mass advance on the Wuhan cities. There is some evidence that the Japanese are paying heavily in casualties for the ground they are gaining, owing to the nature of the terrain.
In Europe the past has been a most anxious week, and, while it closed with a general feeling that the situation had improved somewhat, it is not easy to ascertain from the telegraphic despatches precisely why that should be so. There is now no room for doubt that the stand taken by the British Government, as reiterated by Si John Simon in his speech at Larnark last Saturday week, had a profound effect upon the situation. It aroused some resentment in Germany, patticularly in the German press, but after a few days it appears to have been generally recognized in that country that the pronouncement made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer was nothing but to be expected when the trend of British policy in Europe during the past few months was taken into full consideration. During the week, Dr. Benes put forward, on behalf of the Czechoslovakian government a new set of counter-proposals to the original demands upon which the Sudeten Germans still stand. They were dubbed inacceptable by the Sudeten leaders, though it appears that the Czechoslovakian Government under the advice of Lord Rur-. elman has made very substantial concessions in an endeavour to arrive at an amicable settlement. Up to the present the Sudeten Germans have announced no modification of the demands contained in Herr Henlein's original Carlsbad declarations, and it remains to be seen, whether, in view of the length to which Dr. Benes has gone, they in their turn will be prepared to. make some sort of contribution to the settlemesé' which is so anxiously sought. Should they remain adamant the chances of Europe escaping a general war will be no greater than they have apparently been during the past three weeks.
Much will depend upon the result of the conference between Herr Hitler and Herr Hen-loin at Berchtesgaden during the later end of last week, the particulars of which have not yet been made public. Nevertheless dipplomatic circles in London are so optimistic over the situation that some authorities are quoted as saying that it is only a question of time before the situation will finally solve itself. There is, however, very little in the reports to hand during the past week to show [why this optimism should be felt, and the events of this coming week will be awaited still with some anxiety.
Much depends upon hat happens at Nuremburg^ Der Fuehrer has still the last say, and it is quite clear that if he throws his influence in favour of persuading the Sudeten Germans to make some concessions, which will relieve the Czechoslovakian Government of the abject surrender originally demanded, the prospects of an amicable settlement will be rosy. But there is still the danger that such a settlement would have about it no degree of permanence, and the real point at the moment, is whether Herr Hitler will defer for the moment his anschluss movement, or whether he considers the time ripe for the further advance towards the achievement of the wider policy designed to embody all Germans within the Reich.
That is the crux of the whole matter, and if Der Fuehrer is not irrevocably committed to the immediate carrying out of his policy, then there is more than a small chance that peace, at any rate for the time being, will be secured. Nuremburg alone will show how far Herr Hitler is committed, and the opinion is felt in some quarters that he has already gone so far that he cannot recede without some loss of prestige in the eyes of his followers. It may be, however, that a via media has been discovered in the course of all the anxious conversations which took place last in which event one or other of his speeches to be made this week may serve to allay prevailing disquietude. That at least must be the hope of those who fully realize the seriousness of the situation, though even then, the continued maintenance under arms of such German forces as have already been mobilized will tend to continue tension, though, perhaps in a modified form. If, however, the real reason for the mobiliza-lion was the training of those classes which were not conscripted between the end of the war and 1934, by reason of the provisions of the Peace Treaty, then it is unlikely that Herr Hitler will make any change in this respect. The general result of these considerations is that the situation is much better today than it was a week ago, and there are for a greater improvement, but much still remains to be done, before Europe is entirely relieved of this present threat of war.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.