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small body of the orthodox is compared with a total estimate of over forty thousand heretics and malcontents who have been expelled, doubt cannot but be felt as to the ruture of the Party, the more so as within the uomintang itself there exist considerable intrigue and wide diversity of view. The general meeting of Kuorintang representatives at hanking has been tentatively fixed for March 1929 and at the moment a dispute is in progress between the Central Executive Committee under "moderate" domination which insists on nomination by itself of at least fifty per cent of the delegates to the Conference and the Nenking Municipal Kuomintang Department which has "extremist" tendencies and would refer to see the delegates appointed by the bodies they claim to represent.

4. If general opinion is to be believed disbandment of troops is still far from being an

accomplished fact. It is well known that Chinese Military Units are seldom un to their nominal strength usually on account of lack of sufficient rifles and other equipment. Thile therefore the number of armed men remains approximately the same the apparent strength of the various armies has been reduced by the concentration and renaming of the different Units. Thus brigades have become regiments and regiments, battalions. The process is not however exactly meaningless and where it has involved the absorption of irregulars into larger Units under one command has meant a considerable gain in discipline.

Some Commanders however have managed

to

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