Fears that a head-on collision would occur between the British and Japanese viewpoints regarding the scope of the projected discussions at this preliminary exchange of views were openly expressed, as indications mounted that the Tokyo Government would make a British "awakening to the existing situation in East Asia" as a prerequisite to the launching of the Tientsin pourparlers, Observers, basing their belief upon official utterances in London, believed that the Japanese contention that the discussions should. be enlarged 0 include. in their scope questions. of British policy vis-a-vis the regime of Gen. Chiang Kai-shek, besides a settlement of the Tientsin dispute, would be rejected by the British Government.
Meantime, with mounting anti-British feeling evident among the Japanese people, these observers believed that the Government would end the conversations in a stalemate rather than risk popular criticism by making any conciliatory move towards the British stand.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.