1938-12-28 — Page 11

THE CHINA MAIL, DECEMBER 28, 1938

ITALIAN THREAT TO DJIBOUTI

Leading French Newspapers Sound An Alarm

MOVEMENTS OF TROOPS

Paris, To-day.

A report that the Italian authorities in Abyssinia are threatening to march on Djibouti, the port in French Somaliland, is published by "Per- tinax," the well-informed French publicist, in the newspaper “Ordre.”

"Pertinax" says the Italian authorities are pro-

CHINESE- ARMED CLASH ADVANCE

ON YOCHOW

Chungking, To-day. Chinese despatches state that the vanguards of the Chinese forces pushing northward towards, Yochow, have reached Nantsu- kiang within two miles of Yo- chow. Reuter.

claiming that it is only a question of time be- BRITISH SHIP

fore they march there and the French are "thrown into the sea."

Italian troop movements are reported. For exam-

BOMBED

ple, native Askari troops are being sent to W AND SUNK

Abyssinia, relieving contingents of Gallas, who are being sent to the east.

London, To-day.

The British steamer "Stancroft,"| Roads seemingly intended for southern part of Libya, and that 1,400-ton vessel belonging to a military transport have been built in view of the impending diplo- London shipping company, was hit from Assab towards the French matic talks the Egyptian Govern- frontier.

ment looks upon this action as an by a bomb and sunk during the The French have only numerical-] "ominous sign."-Trans-Ocean. ly weak detachments at Djibouti, whereas the Italians have 90,000 soldiers and 180,000 white and 150,- 000 native labourers,

}

Rome, To-day.

Competent Italian

large-scale bombardment of Barce-

ON HUNGARIAN- SLOVAK BORDER

Budapest, To-day.

One was killed and many wound- ed in a clash yesterday between Slovak peasants armed with knives and sticks and Hungarian gen- darmes, it is officially announced.

The clash occurred in the com- munes of Nagysurany and Zog, near the Czech-Hungarian fron- tier.

The encounter followed a demon- stration. In which the Slovaks de- manded return to Czecho-Slovakia of the two communes which were allocated to Hungary by recent Italo-German arbitration. Reuter.

SOLDIERS BITTEN BY A MONKEY

Privates quarters lona carried out by Nationalist air- deem it quite unnecessary to craft yesterday, according to re-

issue an official denial of the ru- MARITIME POWER mours circulated by the Paris ports reaching here.

All members of the crew are Though 185 miles of desert se- "Soir" and London "Daily Tele- parate them from the French co- graph" about the concentration said to have escaped unhurt.

North troops in lony, with hostile populations of Italian around, "Pertinax" says it is by Africa. maritime power that the Italians in Abyssinia must be kept in check.

The Babel-Mandeb Straits can be defended as a result of Anglo-

French co-operation at Djibouti

and Aden.

"Pertinax" adds that measures for such co-operation were taken in December, 1985.

MADAME TABOUIS Madame Tabouis, another noted French writer, writing in "l'Oeu- vre," says the idea seems to be to take French Somaliland in the rear, while Djibouti is attacked from the air.

1

Italian newspapers reproduce the London and Paris reports with ironic commentaries.

Thus "Giornale d'Italia" says that "Pertinax" on the hunt for alarming news, has squirted his poison in the hope of being able to convince British public opinion of the necessity of Anglo-French col- laboration in the Red Sea.-Trans- Ocean.

Paris, To-day,

French official quarters let it be plainly understood last evening that they have little credence to the reports appearing in French and English newspapers about the concentration of Italian troops in North Africa.

She mentions the reported sug- gestion that France should submit to the World Court at The Hague

No word to that effect, it was the question of 700 Italian troops stated, had been received at the six months ago occupying posts in French Colonial Ministry, while what is claimed as French terri- the French Foreign Office describ- tory 50 miles from Djibouti.

ed the news as a pure invention.-

Meanwhile, the escort vessel Trans-Ocean.

"D'Iberville," which is attached to

a

the French naval forces in the Le- vant, and is due to carry out cruise in the Red Sea, left Beirut for Djibouti yesterday-Reuter. Paris, To-day.

Great prominence, is given in the "Paris Soir” to a message re- ceived from its special correspon-

HONG KONG JUNK MACHINE-GUNNED

Cheng

dent in Cairo, in which it is al- A 36-year-old seaman, leged that Italy is concentrating|Shiu; has reported to the police a large number of troops along that at about 3 p.m. on December the border of Abyssinia and 24, when in a junk about two miles French Somaliland.

The Governor of Somaliland has, it is asserted, asked his Govern- ment to take immediate measures for reinforcing the military and naval outposts.

west of Tai Shan Customs Station, with a cargo of timber, a Japanese trawler opened up machine-gun fire on the junk. He and the master, Chan Fuk; and other members of the crew jumped overboard. The The same message also says that Japanese set fire on the junk, the Egyptian Government has re- He was picked up by a passing ceived information about the des-junk, but Chan Fuk, and a foki, patch of Italian troops to the Chan Kau, were not seen again.

and

Bishop, Martin Toms, of the Middlesex Regiment, were all bitten by a monkey owned by Pte. Best, some time yesterday. They were treated by a military officer, and the monkey, together with three others, was sent to Mau- taukok for observation.

The same steamer figured largely in the news in July last, when her skipper appeared be- fore the tribunal on a charge of having violated the provisions quitted of the charge on that oc- of the non-intervention agree-casion the question as to whether ment by attempting to carry he had war material on board was never cleared up.-Trans- arms to Barcelona.

Although the skipper was ac-'Ocean.

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