London, June 13.
An alarming view of the situation in Tientsin was expressed in the imes" this morning.
"The Japanese forces in Tientsin, the paper said, "are bringing Great Britain up against the ugliest situation she has-yet faced through the Sino-Japanese war. Unless a last minute solution is found, the whole British Concession, housing about 3,000 British subjects, 2,000 other foreigners, and 45,000 Chinese will be blockaded by the Japanese. The whole external trade of the Concession will be brought to a standstill. No one will be able to leave except those on an official mission. The Concession will be completely cut off from the port for food supplies."
"Already, most rigorous preparations for a siege have been made," the paper added. "Japanese soldiers, acting under the orders of the Commander-in-Chief in Northern China, have established posts on many points. On, the British side, precautions are also being taken. The cause of the whole affair goes back to the Japanese demand that the British authorities in Tientsin should hand over four Chinese whom the Japanese declare to be members of a patriotic gang and accomplices in recent outrage. At present the four Chinese are being detained by the British authorities. The Government did not wish to order the extradition of the men until at least prima facie evidence of their guilt was forthcoming.
—Havas.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.