Shanghai Resident Writes Of Experiences in Getting Back to England Much interest attaches itself to this letter of a Shanghai resident, bound for ibis port in the Potsdam. She
and passengers had to find a way to eventually got into a German port the borders. It is dated September 7. The writer continues:—I have had a most exciting experience in trying to get back Xo Shanghai after Home Leave. I sailed in the Potsdam as per schedule on August 23, from Southampton. When we were almost across the Bay of Biscay and nearing Portugal, the captain had orders to turn the ship round and return home as war was imminent! We were about eight days getting back to Bremen. During this time no one except the captain knew where we were going or what time we would arrive. AN we could do was guess our direction from the position of the sun.
I was the only Englishman in the first-class, but there were some Shanghai policemen in the tourist. I felt by no means pleased with the lack of information as to our destination, and the captain refused to drop the British passengers at the nearest neutral port. When we received the news of the imminence of war, the ships crew changed our yellow funnel to the Cunard colours, (black top and red sides) also changed the ship's savings and stabbed y several times when on his daily rounds. victim is in hospital in a serious man people are definitely against the war and fervently hoped that it would be avoided at the eleventh hour.
Troops and men being called up were everywhere Some of the Germans going to their depots for military service were veterans of the last war and some looked to be between 50 and 60.
Well I arri¥ed home just in time before the declaration of war and have had a gas mask served out to me. They look a more useful article than the flannel affairs we had issued during the Shanghai war.
Chinese bankers in Shanghai have started a form of mutual supervision system by which none of them will be allowed to deal in the Hwa Hsing bank notes, as the demand for such notes has been increased, according to Chinese reports.
It is stated that since September 1 when the Customs superintendent in Shanghai, a "Reformed Government" appointee, officially announced that as from that date the Customs duties must be paid on the basis of the Hwa Hsing notes the demand for such notes has been increased. More people than before have approached native banks to purchase them.
The bankers have been notified by their association that they should not deal in these notes. The Ministry of Finance in Chungking has also issued similar orders to local Chinese bankers. As a result bankers have begun mutually checking each other.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.