1941-01-28 — Page 16

THE CHINA, MAIL, JANUARY 28, 1941.

TO

ITALY PREPARING

ABANDON ABYSSINIA Shifting All Stocks Of Grain Into Eritrea

GESTAPO ARRESTS IN MILAN AND TURIN

The Italian secret police and the Ges- tapo (the Nazi secret police) arrested be- tween 20 and 30 peo- ple, including Italian officers ond army Fascist officials, at Milan and Turin, ac- cording to the Bel- grade correspondent of the New York "Times" yesterday

Reports state that disorders in Milan and Turin have been seri ous and far-reaching and that other indus- trial cities in Italy were also affected. Reuter.

CIANO ON ACTIVE SERVICE

The Italan Foreign Min ́ster, Count Ciano, has taken command

in

Native Troops THAILAND

Deserting To British

ITALY IS PREPARING TO GIVE UP ABYS- SINIA AS THE PATRIOT REVOLT IS EXPECT- ED TO FLARE UP INTO A GENERAL CON- | FLAGRATION AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE HARVEST AT THE END OF JANUARY.

This is the expectation of a member of the British military mission in Abyssinia, report- ed by the correspondent of the London "Daily Telegraph" yesterday. Steady Advance into

all to

The Italians are shifting grain stocks from Abyssinia Eritrea and there is a great scare- ity of food in the larger Abyssi-

nian towns.

Daily stream of starving re- tugees is pouring into British mis- sions' camps and an increasing number of Italian native troops are deserting to the British,

Last Stand In Eritrea

my low-

It is possible the Italons soon evacuate the frontier lands and retire to the natural

Eritrea

(By Reuter's Special Correspondent)

British forces are steadily ad- vancing into Eritrea and are now approaching the Italian positions at Agordat, an important town on the railway leading to the Red Sea port of Massawa.

The Agordat defences main. I ly consist of barbed wire fences! and machine-gun posts behind stone walls or concealed among boulders dotting the plain round the town. There is no natural protection.

The British threat to Barentu, south of Agordat, is also grow ́nz. ramparts of the escarpments, but Meanwhile motorised units are Italian as an internal revolt may make harrying the tail of the

the column the even the uplands untenable

retreating from Umm-

of a bomber squadron battle area, according to a Rome Italians have made plans for the Haggar which was evacuated ont despatch to the German news almost complete evacuation of Sunday.

Count Ciano Abyssinia and are concentrating

agency yesterday.

is' a lieutenant-colonel

air force.---Reuter.

in

the all troops for a last stand in the

Eritrean hills.-Reuter.

We have a good stock of

Made

Gentlemen's

RAINCOATS

in all sizes.

in England

{ from reliable cloths,

that are rainproof but

not airproof

J

allow-

ing a free passage of

air through the pores

of the fabric.

Many fabrics in Wool

and Cotton Gaber-

dine, also Trench

coats made by Simp-

son's of Piccadilly,

London.

INSPECTION INVITED

Wm. POWELL, Ltd.

10, Ice House Street

1,000 Prisoners

at

This column is est mated three or four battalions and is withdrawing eastwards along the Setit River.

Besides taking over 1,000 prisoners hitherto in their push Into Eritrea the British forces. it is learned, have captured a certain amount of material, in. cluding a fair number of lor. ries and some guns.

On the Kenya front the Italians. who three or four weeks ago were at many points within the Kenya bordér, have now generally been forced back some distance on the other side.

It is stated that to all intents and purposes no Italians in Kenya territory.

remain

South African, East African and West African troops are engaged

this in patrol work in

area.

British Offensives **In Full Blast

British forces are The now nearly 100 miles in- side Eritrea, while in General Wavell's Libya army is rapidly moving up in support of the ad- vance forces.

•

Motorised infantry, reinforced by mechanised units, are now .be- yond Tobruk.

On four fronts the British offensive on the Italian African Empire is continuing in fult blast

A British communique issued in Cairo states that operations are progressing satisfactorily in Italian Libya, Abyssinia and Somaliland, while the British are closing in on new Italian positions in Eritrea, where hundreds of prisoners were taken in the first week of operations. Reuter.

་་-་

PASSING OF MRS. R. M. CARROLLS Known throughout the Colony as "Granny, Carroll," Mrs. Rosy Maria Carroll died peacefully at her residence No. 13, Bowen Road yesterday morning.

The late Mrs, Carroll was 79 years old and had been Colony for over 60 years.

in the

Funeral-arrangements are not

complete.

Printed and Published for the Proprietors, The Newspaper Ente prise Ltd., by GORDON BURNETT, Windsor House,Ak toria, Hong Kong.

CAUE

1

CABINET MEETING

The Thailand (Siam) Government held

on emergency meeting to discuss its attitude towards the truce conditions pro- posed by Indo-China, according to Japanese reports in Tokyo. Reuter.

GERMAN PACIFIC RAIDER SIGHTED WITH PRIZE SHIPS (Continued from Page 1) sank three British vessels in Pacific.

Japanese Bases ?

the

to

The "Narvik,” according survivors of hor victims, oar

NAVAL BILLS RUSHED THROUGH

The Senate yesterday sent to the White House for the Presi- dent's signature a Bill to put 593 more midshipmen into training at the Annapolis Naval Academy.

In the cases of both this Bill and Bill for modernising the fleet the Senate acted so quickly that approval was indicated even be- fore printed coples of the Bills were seen or the reports of the committees examining them. Renter.

ries twelve 4-inch and 8-inch guns, with two torpedo tubes. She also has on board two dive- bombers and three Heinkels and is capable of a speed of 22 knots. The "Narvik" is one of the Ger- man surface raiders in the Paci- fic alleged to have been fitted out in a Japanese port and to be using Japanese islands in the Paci- h39 fic as bases, though there been no official confirmation of this.

Only two other raiders have been described by survivors, both of them armed with heavy cali- bre guns.

STOP PRESS

(SPECIAL TO "CHINA MAIL")

It WAS authoritatively learned in Washington yes- terday that in order to help Britain the United States in effect has temporarily aban- doned Mr. Cordell Hull's most favoured nation trade policy. The policy was quietly when President shelved Roosevelt's executive order granted Canada a "general license" privilege under the export license system.

This gave Canada, and con- sequently the British Empire, the isht

almost to export any product without obtaining a special export license. No other country can do this.

Actualy it represents 3 violation of reciprocal trade 25 with nearly agreements rations providing for no dis- criminatiin tavouring a third party.

include

These agreements that with Russia, which has already made informal re- presentations.

It

represents one of the most drastic steps taken to transfer economic policy to a wartime basis. Henceforth Export licensing becomes a formidable horse trading weapon. with which the United States will engage in that very sort of barter which M. Hull hitherto has condemn as "fundamentally unsound."

International News Service,

Aided by mobile artillery and strafing 'planes British troops are laying heavy siege to Agordat, key city in Ita- lian Eritrea, 1 here over 1,100 Fascists, have already been captured in the British blitz drive,

The British Army of the Nile is tightening the noose of steel around. Derna and is thrusting spearheads to- wards Benghazi. Interna- tional News Service.

n

Ankara radio yesterday that Marshal reported Graziani, commanding Italian troops in Africa, has been dismissed, says International News.

by

Another daring raid armed robbers was carried out at 1 a.m. to-day at Tai- O resulting in one man be- ing killed and three wound- ed, one seriously.

Five armed men swooped down on a junk and towed it out of Tai-O harbour where they began transferring the cargo to their own boat,

A fight occurred between robbers and the junk crew.

The robbers killed one of the crew and wounded three others.

(SPECIAL TO "CHINA MAIL")

President Roosevelt yester- day summoned Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders, Mr. Henry, Morgen-.. thau (Secretary of Treasury) and Mr. Cordell Hall (Secre- tary of State) to an extraor- dinary White House night meeting to discuss proposals to modify the Lease and Lend Bill.

The unexpected call is in- terpreted as a move to reach agreement on revision of the Bill along lines calculated to lessen opposition and hasten enactment.

Administration officials say the President would make some concessions but decline to reveal their nature. One is reported to be a two-year limit on the measure-Inter-

national News Service.

ELECTRIC

Refrigerators

GENERAL

MADE IN USA

NOW ON DUR"EASY" PAYMENT PLAN

Terms to suit everyone. Phone 28091 for a Free,

your Home without Obligation,

Demonstration

ANDERSEN, MEYER & CO.LTD.

SHOWROOM

DAVID HOUSE, 39 DEN

VOLUX RO7.

{