With Marshal Petain's request for information as to the terms upon which peace can be arranged between France and the Axis Powers the fact has to be faced that Germany together with the belated assistance of Italy has secured a stupendous victory. It is reported that France will insist upon peace with honour, while German reports state that only an unconditional surrender will be accepted. Consequently it remains to be seen during the next day or so exactly what the dictators will demand from France. Let there be no criticism of the French in making the decision they did. The new Cabinet, composed largely of military and naval experts, viewed the situation in the light of reality, and while their decision is to be regretted the fact remains that the French have fought against overwhelming odds with the courage and endurance which is traditionally theirs. In the eyes of her Ally, if indeed the Axis Powers offered terms which France could accept, and did so, the honour of France would stand undiminished. Her sons have covered themselves with immortal glory, making sacrifices on the battlefield in order to inflict grievous harm upon the enemy. Her daughters have been equally courageous in the performance of the various duties which the conduct of the war has forced upon them, and there can be nothing but the profoundest admiration for a nation which has acquitted itself so well in such tragic circumstances. From the British Empire, from every friendly neutral in the world, there wil) be nothing but sympathy with France in this her darkest hour. There will be no reproach, and most certainly none from those who have fought beside her. Rather will there be a greater determination that France shall yet enjoy the victory of the common cause, that Great Britain will continue her efforts until success is assured, and France again enabled to stand erect in freedom the great, and gallant nation she has ever been. These are no idle words; they come from a realization of the great part France has played in the world and will continue to play, from the knowledge that all that is good in the French civilization will continue despite this present grave misfortune.
Britons in this time of trial would do well to face the fact coolly and calmly. Mr. Winston Churchill has already announced the determination of the British Empire to fight on. It will do so as the last bulwark of democracy in Europe. There undoubtedly lies ahead of the Empire months, indeed years, of arduous struggle, when every endeavour of the Empire as a whole, and of its individual components will be bent toward bringing about the defeat of enemies who if they were to succeed would make life not worth living. Britons will never submit to the conditions which would reduce them to mere helots. Rather will they fight to the death. It is part of their traditional history, and never do they fight better than when facing fearful odds. It should be remember-past proclaims our future; Shake-E s voice and Nelson's hand, Milton's faith and Wordsworth's trust in this our chosen and chainless Jand, Bear us witness: come the world against her England yet shall stand.
That is the spirit in which the future must be faced. The times ahead will make demands upon Britons all over the world such as they have never met before. Man, woman and even child must combine in a fixity of purpose that this dread menace which throws its gloomy shadow over so much of Europe shall be destroyed for all time, that the of freedom may again shine in all lands, that men shall be allowed to live their lives in peace and security. There is thus delegated to the British Empire the gravest responsibility it has ever had to accept, a holy war in defence of all those ideals for which the British have fought during long century ies. No one for a moment will believe that ihe path which has to be trodden will not be a long and painful one. Destiny demands that it shall be followed and every loyal son of Britain will do so. There can no longer be thought of self but a common unity of purpose to ensure that these evil things which now threaten the world shall be dispersed in complete and utter defeat Since the above was written unconfirmed reports have been received from two sources stating that France will continue to fight alongside Great Britain, so that what has been written above may now have to be read in the light of that modification of the situation.
An eloquent letter in today's correspondence columns indicates a splendid spirit which should be emulated. Undoubtedly there is a readiness amongst the British community to do much more than it is at present directly they get a lead. The impression is formed that if the leaders of the community would give the necessary initial impulse along some of the lines which have already been indicated, whether it be funds for aeroplanes, or voluntary taxation, war savings and the like they would receive a most gratifying response. It is certainly a possibility which should be thoroughly explored. In times such as these mere patriotism is not enough, though it can best be demonstrated, situated as the British community out here is, by greater and wider support for every form of war activity, when ther it be only war charity, or whether it be for the purchase of war material in every possible form. Already in Hongkong there has been a most gratifying response to an appeal for funds with which to purchase aeroplanes. It is believed a similar movement here would be equally successful for there is something inspiring in the thought that the money given is for the express purpose of directly striking back at the enemy For the rest it is necessary that the British community in China should await the future with a calm confidence. Of a truth this is not a case in which God marches with the big battalions, but of a temporary setback due to the superior organization of the forces of evil. It is with the faith that Divine Providence will ensure the ultimate victory of the forces for good that whatever is to come must be awaited. The situation even now is not hopeless. By grimly fixed determination to hesitate at no sacrifice in the cause of ultimate victory for the Allies, by a willingness to struggle against whatever the odds may be this holy war under the shadow of the Cross shall yet be won. The British Empire is not defeated; it will never be so long as it believes in the sacredness of its cause and is willing to endure all the hardships which a continuation of this struggle will inevitably entail, When News "Breaks"
The telephones in newspaper offices in Shanghai, especially the "North-China Daily News," were sadly overworked all Monday, follow' the first reports that the French army had capiculated. Until late in the evening, there was no confirmation of the capitulation; there was only a denial issued from Bordeaux that any such thing was contemplated. As a result many readers of this journal who phoned up for the latest news were unintentionally misled. A definite French denial was taken here as a good enough indication that the rumours which had beset the city since carly in the afternoon were false. Unfortunately the denial proved to be unofficial. The confirmation of the capitulation come through in time for the local broadcasting stations to put the news on the air, and as a result the hard-worked telephone staff of this journal were given a rest. Readers of the paper who complained that they had been kept waiting for several minutes before they could get an answer to their calls can be told that the delay was due entirely to the extraordinary load upon the lines. When big news "breaks," it is customary for newspaper offices to be kept busy answering inquiries from anxious subscribers. When King George V died, the lines were kept so busy in this office that the switch-board operator fainted. When King Edward VIII abdicated, when war on Germany was declared, and when the evacuation of the Allied armies from Flanders was successfully carried out, there were so many calls for information that special men had to be assigned to the job of doing nothing else but answer them. But on none of those occasions did the volume of inquiries equal those received on Monday. Interesting, also, was the variety of languages in which the inquiries were made. In some cases emotion overpowered those who asked for information and they could only ask in their native tongues. taxing the linguistic capacities of this office beyond its resources. It is probable that nowhere in the world could a better cross-section of general opinion be presented than in Shanghai, And here, horror and sorrow over the tragedy of France was almost universal Fate of French Navy Until the dictators declare their peace terms it will remain a matter of speculation as to what would happen to the French navy. Its disposition may have a very profound effect upon the further conduct of the war by Great Britain, for should France surrender her fleet to the enemy a formidable aggregation of tonnage would have to be met by Great Britain. That would probably have the effect of weakening the blockade, though it would not be fatally weakened. Should, on the other hand, the French navy continue the struggle by the side of the British a very different state of affairs would exist, The Allied navies would still be overwhelming-enor to the German and Italian fleets. and it would be possible to continue the blockade along lines similar to those which have been followed up to the present. The unconditional surrender which it is reported will alone satisfy Herr Hitler undoubtedly involves the handing over of the French Navy together with all French aeroplanes, and war material which to a very great extent will assist in repairing the inroads which the German onslaught has made into enemy reserves. But Marshal Petain has declared that he will not agree to unconditional surrender, in which event while fighting would still stop in France, the French would in all probability unite their Navy and air force with those of Great Britain. Whatever happens it will not affect the decision of the British to continue fighting. Their sea power has not been seriously impaired, and in any of the events which have been indicated would still be able to maintain the blockade, especially with the moral and material assistance which is still to be expected from the United States. Thus the war will revert to the manner in which it opened. with Britain relying upon the slow process el the blockade eventually to exhaust the Powers. The task has been considerably magnified by the disaster which has befallen France. but there is every reason to believe that sea power will in the long run gain the day. That is quite obviously what Mr. Churchill had in his mind when he declared that Great Britain would fight on. and nothing has as yet occurred to suggest that his judgment in these matters cannot be' relied upon Gallant Young Men The further list of immediate awards for gallantry in the field which has been issued by the War Office indicated the quickness of the Commander-in-chief to recognize meritorio conduct. Fifteen Military Crosses and eighteen Military Medals were granted to men who had gained them by displays of intrepidity, the tales of which cannot but stir the hearts of Britons, A second lieutenant, though severely covered a withdrawal from the nyi inoiher completed the destruction of a ge in full view of the enemy, vet another held his post until all his men were killed. refused a call to surrender, shot the enemy leader.
rsed the remainder with a hand grenade.
assisted in organizing a counter-attad up by bringing in a wounded man under heavy fire. The terseness in which the reasons for the awards are stated has the effect of arousing the imagination to a realization of the great gallantry which British soldiers are showing in the heat of battle. Countless men however, for one reason or another do not ays obtain the recognition they deserve, but there is running through the grim tapestry of history which is now being woven that golden thread of men's bravery and self-sacrifice. As was shown in the last War the Victoria Cross has become increasingly difficult to secure, and up to the present Only one appears to have been given posthumously to a naval captain who fought with such gallantry in a Norwegian fiord. Those who gain the various medals for bravery might in former years have secured the greatest honour for bravery that it is within the power of His Majesty to grant, and those men who have been decorated since the commencement of the war have met the highest requirencerts which the fighting has made upon them. There are doubtless many others who, though they have not come upon the list of immediate awards made by the commander-in-chief, will in due course receive similar honours. All of them will have shown to the world that the young British soldier of today is every bit as gocd as his predecessor in the last war.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.