it was to: be expected enquiries have Wie separa to the matter is neither to admit responsibility for the sinking of official er may have had the best for keeping quiet about his ity of giving no indication "in which the people of the received the news of confirmed, and the stories of the survivors made known to-the Government, announcement was made that Germany was responsible. Public opinion in the United States does not appear to "have flown off the handle." Considerable calm is being maintained, though at least one Democrat Representative expressed the opinion that "we ought to convoy with battleships and let the shooting start—to see who shoots first and who can outshoot the other." That opinion may ultimately be fulfilled, but it would be decidedly out of proportion to plunge the United States into war for the sinking of one vessel. Germany may bring that about by destroying a number of American ships in which event Germany would be the aggressor and the Japanese absolved of their commitment to enter the war if any other nation did against Germany.
At present the Navy /Department appears to be without full information regarding the manner in which the passengers and crew embarked in the ship's life-boats, or whether the Robin Moor was fired on without warning. He is reported as saying that there was as yet no data available as to the extent of visibility at the time the attack was made. If the missing thirty-five persons are not accounted for, some very pertinent questions will have to be asked. Why was a neutral ship not in the combat zones attacked at all? Why seeing that the vessel was sunk a considerable distance from land was she destroyed without the Germans making sure of the safety of the passengers and crews as required by international law? Doubtless when the time comes the Germans will have their story ready. It will probably be just as fantastic as their tales with regard to the sinking of the Athenia, and if it is eventually alleged that the Robin Moor torpedoed herself, there need be no occasion for surprise.
There is one danger which has always to be borne in mind. If Hitler could drag the United States into the war a considerable modification of the aid which that country is rendering the democratic cause might be brought about. That may prove to be one explanation of the sinking of the Robin Moor, though corroboration in-the shape of further Gestruction of American vessels would probably be necessary before Washington decided upon war with Germany. It may confidently expected that President Roosevelt is far too astute to. allow himself to be dragged into playing Hitler's game, and he most certainly will not move until he, is sure that he has the country just as much behind him as it has been with regard to every step he has taken up to the present. The whole affair may be claimed to be merely a mistake on the part of the German submarine commander, bul the German conduct of this war makes it difficult indeed to believe that this is not more than an example of maladroitness H.M.S. Ladybird After a mos: adventurous career in HM. Navy, the Ladybird, 625-ton gunboat, now lies at the bottom of the Mediterranean off Tobruk, Many residents in China will learn of the loss of this gallant little gunboat with special regret, since she was known up and down the Yangtze for years, and often put into Shanghai for overhauls' Before 1937, when Japanese action caused the British population of many river ports to thin out, the Ladybird had been the rallying point of many a small foreign community upriver, The officers and crews which manned her during her sometimes dreary vigils on the river, were welcome wherever they went, Of recent years the Ladybird figured prominently in the news, when she was shelled by Japanese artillery near Wuhu, and damaged, This was an entirely unprovoked attack, and that it did not lead to a major incident was due to the tact of her commander and other officers who were on board. On the outbreak of the war in Europe, the Ladybird was transferred from Shanghai to Hongkong and later to Singapore, from where she sailed to the Mediterranean, During this time, however, her movements were clouded in official secrecy, and the first definite information Shanghai received as to her whereabouts was when the news arrived that she had been engaged in assisting General Wavell's attack on the Italians in Libya. There she was hit by enemy shells and sustained some casualties, Her two six-inch guns had been used to shell Italian positions along the Libyan coast, and owing to her light draft, she _was able to creep close in under the enemy's Buns and inflict a lot of damage, It would appear that she met her end in some similar risky operation, A gallant end, and one which can only arouse admiration abd regret, Threat From Libya Mr, Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister, reminded the: House of Commons that the Generel Staff were more concerned over the Axis threat to Egypt from Libya than they were over the progress of the campaign in Syria. It is possible that the intensification of the raids on Alexandria during the last few days may be an indication of an imminent attack, but on the other hand they may prove no more than that the Germans are taking advantage of the additional air bases their success in Crete has given them. and that they are attempting to harass the British fleet out of the Eastern Mediterranean. The heat at this time of year in the Western Desert would seem to be against any large-scale offensive on Egypt, but this cannot be counted upon as a factor which would influence the Nazi High Command. On the other hand it would seem io be unlikely that the Nazis and the Fascists would embark upon any big attack until they have reduced Tobruk, which remains a British stronghold on their flank. Tobruk, thanks to the Italians who did not do much with it, is very strongly defended, and possesses the best natural harbour in Libya. When the German commander-in-chief. General von Brauchitsch, visited Libya in 1939, he spent most of his time in Tobruk, appreciating its natural advantages as a fortress. It must be a grief to him that it ig still in British hands, with little immediate prospect of the Nazis being able to drive the garrison out.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.