Newspapers are now very small and contain practically, nothing except advertisements, war news, divorces, an odd murder or two and something about sports. What a life! We expect to resume our racing next week for the sake of the bookmakers who. it is sad to say, have been reduce? to smoking one cigar at a time and having six meals a day. I think 7 mentioned that next year's Derby may be run in the Tower Moat at the same time as the Grand National to save oats?
When we go out we are expected to take a gas mask, trench coat, decontamination outfit, identity certificate, a bottle of brandy and some smelling salts (in case of sickness) I got up the High Road the other day with all this lot, but on counting the items found I'd left my vaccination and strawberry marks at home anc this is a very serious offence against the law now, as Lord Haw Haw will tell you. It you lose those you lose your licence or lose your lunch, I forget which (see foreign press).
If you read or hear that we spen? all our time in the sewers, don't believe it. The enclosed cutting from the "Daily Mail" will tell you that we occasionally creep out and go up the river, wearing gas masks of course By the time you get this the "invasion" idea will be a bit of a joke but we had to be prepared for any old thing although I could not see how Hitler could dream of doing it Ours must be the most cosmopolitan army of recent times and one of the largest packed into such a smal! space. Apart from the British troops we have the cream of the Polish army, Dutch, Norwegian, French and two or three others. The whole lot must be now about five million, if we include the "Home Guard," and this is a real army, not a rabble Did I tell you of the Canadian I met? I asked what part of Canada he came from and he said "'Frisco." So do a lot more, I expect.
The number of refugee camps in the International Settlement remained at 11, although the number of refugees housed decreased from 16264 to 15,67. Medical treatment in hospitals was given to 455 refugees in three emergency hospitals. Censorship of newspapers printed in the Chinese language was enforced from August 6, police visiting newspaper offices night and day. Two foreign and seven Chinese publications were registered ing the month. numbering 326 were issued or renewed, bringing the total number with half year licences to 8,362.
There was considerable activity by police search parties in the month, over a million persons being examined at various places. Of these persons searched, 110 were arrested, four carrying arms.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.