1951-03-24 — Page 12

12

THE CHINA - MAIL, SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 1951.

THE CHINESE ARE VANISHING FROM LONDON'S CHINATOWN

in a classroom at North Street LOC School, Morion Bing (9) thinks shings over.

For a quarter of an hour one tooman talks, the other fistens. What is oil this enthralling conversation about? Not Mão, not Chlong-but a non-political thriller, the story of the tanker's bottle with stormy seal in the Bay of Biscay,

Mr. Chan finds bamboo

唐人

街

"Pennyfields" —

in Chinese script.

They

shoots are scarce

by EVELYN IRONS

62-YEAR-OLD

Chinese

T discovered no . eri- thusiasts for the present from Chinese government in their midst: they tend to be conservative in their

A Pennyfields, Poplar, has just been

guoled for a year because he was

caught in bed by police as he was about

to smoke his oplum pipe.

tons.

So far are we from the days of Sax office

Rohmer and his dens of oriental vice Chiang.

that even this modest case made news. neither

London's Chinatown was well on its way Mao.

to respectability years ago; but now it

has dwindled almost out of existence.

Thousands of Chinese used to live in the little streets to right and left of the West India Dock Road as it runs down

Lo Millwall. Today there are only 150 of them.

made the

pools a a cert!

ed

#ce

are

In

one

no-

Chinese

was a portrait of But there Was

sign nor talk of

Those American-dress- slant-eyed men you around the district not regular resi- dents, but some of the mer- chant seamen whose ships from the Far East-the Glen Line, the Ben boats and others happen in dock at the time.

see many,

ས་

many

Chef Kong oh Khai fries an onlawy dish of woodles at a restaurant in Pennylalds, He h a Malayan and come to Londas from Singapore 12 years ago.

A Chinese housewife has come from the suburbs to buy vegetabfau from her friend, Mrs. Nop, who speaks the minimum of English and trades by means of node and smiles.

The sailor ashore pays 12s. a day

Chinese ilor unpack their colourful American-styla suits and ties, and bed down at the Chinese Sailors' lodging house in Ponnyfields. Inclusive charge is 126. a day. About 40 of them stay in the house. The rest-usually obnut 200-come ashore in the evenings. At the hostel they play moh-jongg, It's hard to find a gambling joint for a game of fon-ton.

7

Where Limehouse Couteway teemed with the busy life of London's pre. war Chinatown, there are now bare bomb altes and big blacks of council Bots. Then it was called Chinese Causeway, Now the Chinese bore scattered--some for home, some to the coburbs, some to Liverpool. In

the whole of England now there are fewer than 10,000 Chinese, com pared with 90,000 in New York't Chinatown, In 1934 the Chinese in London giène numbered 10,000,

Seamen

BOOKS

A FEW SLABS FOR PRIVATE TAKEO

_by_Georgo_Malcolm Thomson

LONG THE

Gollancz, 12s. 6d. 320 say at the front. Mikl sums up

IMPERIAL The Hamamoto company WAY. By Hanama Tasaki, makes a brief but disagrecable "That general opinion: 15-centimetre gun-t is certainly n hateful bother." After which, THIS novel is written the troops are shipped home to

pages..

T

off

1

the

Japan. pur- work. Alas, It is all too clear from

the pompous specch guilt- 'divisional commander that very

of

the

with dual to pose: (1) its

author's complex; and (2) to enable soon they will be recalled to the Mr Tasaki to buy a pedigree colours. Long, is the Imperial Way! Takeo understandably is boar for his pig farm. I do "peeved."

not know about the guilt- A novel with a moral: Think complex, but Mr Tasaki twice before you put a Japanese ought to get his boar.

into uniform.

*** HANAMA TASARI: born 1013 In Dowall; educated Honolulu; went He has written, in his to Japan and was conscripted inte

own peculiar but effective army.

the of

English BROKEN CANES. By Peter

version language, an account of a soldier's life in the Imperial

Army of Japan, now. funny,

to

Way.

Vansittart. The Bodley Head. 98. 6d. 238 pages.

N

cannot

now horrifying, all the time the other hand, I

help feeling that a week or enlightening. Mr Tasaki is two in the Imperial Japanese the school Japanese and knows what army might do no harm to young

people

leaving he is talking about.

described

Broken Cancs." Nobody has ever been inclined The Wilderness is a progressive take the Japanese army seminary for the children of lightly. Nobody will be any more well-to-do, and usually divorced, likely to do so after reading how parents of advanced opinions. It peasant boys are turned into is run by Mr Coates, known to death-defying warriors by the his pupils as Jimmy. savage discipline and stupefying indoctrination of the Imperial Mr Coates gives a job to Frederle, through whose eyes— astonished first and later sympathetic-we see the school. to be who lived there, and you see I found some of them at

Round the corner in Penny- After a few months of respect "You can teach English," says Street School

fields, Fong Kow's Ish any fully reciting the Five Imperial Mr Coates. Frederic points out not a trace of the old crowd- North

mdy Hungarian. slapped that he is a

says Mr Coates, ed Chinese shops, restau- solemn, sleek-haired young- displayed crabs and red mullet, Doctrines and being

Har that's with various strange, desiccated incessantly by Honourable Senior dear fellow,"

hardly the quiet manners

point." Ingredients of Chinese cooking. Soldiers and Honourable Privates

Nor It is. Frederic's pupils, changes," says 70-year-old rants and rooming-houser sters with

But 32-year-old manager First Class, the Japanese recruil, Mr Poy Fong, who keeps a except an occasional shell of who seldom smiled.

Said Miss Harn, their Chan said at one of the four "a shell of the warm construe- whose word is law, decide in committee that history, 800- little grocer's shop in Penny. ruined walls. The rest is the

are restaurants in the street: "t's tive individual he was born to

taught as one subject. At the ALCUTTA police have dealing with others. They willfields. He ran away to sea emptiness of cleared bomb headmistress: They

as a boy: settled in Britain sites or great blocks of new bright, well-behaved chil- dificult to cat the right ingre-

dren; they mix well with the dients for Chinese, dishes now. some," is a brave and obedient graphy and English shall be Such are Takeo, the first year Wilderness the children write the bring bamboo shoots workers' flats.

As Mr lose everything but their hon- just dealt death

21

A Marwari nay walk into 45 years ago and married a

they soldier, and his young friends of end-of-term reports. are romantically others. Nearly all have a and other things when

his friendly. These

the Hamamoto company, whose Coates says in blow to the world's another Marwari's

way, "Conceive the football ask for a loan of 250,000. The London girl. But, like many named Jamaica, Grenada, real gift for drawing and come from the East."

carcers in the China War we plausible most expensive

follow. They have many sorrows. possibility of any teacher writing her man may not have seen of his Limehouse com- St. Vincent and so on, to painting."" pool stakes of £500 him before, but on the sacred patriots, he has learned

Miki, for example, is caught by an honest report." the Kempel (milltary police) instead of penny points. The Marwari oath "by this hair of little English all that time, recall the glamour

Across at the Three Tuns, while visiting a forbidden estab thirty or so members who, my beard" he will hand over

I was told that there are landlord Walter Mann served shment in the native quarter.

$10 the Headmaster's reports Bre have been illegally betting the money without question, and still finds great dif. West Indies; but ordinary

100-per-cent four Chinese seamen just land- "You are a bother," Today most of London's only three tens of thousands of pounds And he will be absolutely cer- culty in expressing himself Cockneys live in them.

faint of getting it back, from the in anything but Chinese. Chinatown is crammed into Chinese women in China- ed from a tanker. Two drank Kempel. Atter which they knock another matter and fall into the weekly on Bengal football debtor's descendants

little town today. Chinese men, double whiskies in swift succes-Mik! down with a judo trick, usual categories: the wealthy teams would probably still borrower fails.

once in the stomach. There is a ed, the interfering parents who with settling in London, usually sion: the others sipped orange-kick him twice on the jaw and parents who must not be offend-

ade.. be doing so if a number of

or part- bombing, but still strictly, marry English

Two young sailors from Indo- great deal of that kind of thing must, and so forth. In this respect, therefore, the Wilderness lending players had not sud-

in atmosphere Chinese girls.

China sat over their half-pints along the Imperial Way.

is not out of touch with general Insatiable zest for denly developed a mysterious

Oriental

British One of the Chinese women, of beer.

practice. inability to score.

explains gambling

Landlord Mann pointed to despite its four

Mrs Nap, was serving potatoes,

In a school where the pupils Indian gambling laws on racing

lecks to the chair in the saloon where cabbages, tomatoes,

In the intervals of being are so strict, a police officer told

public-houses.

Once there was a Chinese Limehouse housewives at her Edgar Wallace sat on his copy stopped, the young

Japanese read Aldous Huxley and the well-known goalkeeper mo "Betting is allowed only Chinese

in finding visits to the Chinatown school in Fennyfields, where husband's vegetable shop oveti became temporarily

ried, has a baby, it is surprising Dock Road, In of other days. "In all my thirty soldiers amuse themselves at the matron, Sheila, although unmar- alleve expense of the Chinese peangly to find that the young people not paralysed at a crucial moment through the official bookmakers adays.

10 the course.

It is all too evident that London-born children learn- West India

Western dress-purple velvet years here." he

"shiningly washed and shaved," frequent only insist on playing football rival school, but against Keisha houses which are doing motion shot from trickling into we would have racing nobbled,Mr Fong is right. Go down ed the language and cus blouse, red tartan skirt-plump read lots of hooey about China-While their officers,

Limehouse Causeway, known toms of their ancestors. Mrs Hop speaks the minimum town.

Re- His 400," the net through his arms.

"prosperous, booming business actually win the match.

There they listen to the chatter actionary? In extenuation let it beam lost, but the goalkeeper The answer used to be foreign pre-war as Chinese Cause- Now the children go to LCC of English, trades by means of Wallace was good."

football pools-betting on the

of the girls or discuss fine points be said that their opponents are results of British matches--but Way because of the hundreds schools,

À

our,

othe

ŢUIEIR

On

house and

Now barred

if the

why

the whole

of an important game, some.

falling to stop a slow- thing was not strictly controlled

how

drove away in a new car:

even that is now barred, Several

Police made inquiries. Plain British football pools extended clothes men took

jobs as their activities to India before groundsmen, linesmen and the war and resumed soon after- trainers to watch for touts offer wards.

ing bribes.

None

They cabled fix-

appeared, but cer- +++++++*+ Lure lists to their

tain players were

scen

paying tre-

quent visits to

fashionable sports club near the big

Calcutta stadium.

By RUSSELL

SPURR

offices in Bombay, transmitted which them in

to turn regional offices ali

over the country.

B.B.C. listening

night

Blame the bombs Pennyfields, narrow

street gap-toothed

"'It Was the bombs," explained Mr Fong when asked why he had so few

customers now-

of the None of the children

saw was entirely Chinese.

Che SNAPSHOT GUILD

PATTERN PICTURES.

NE of the surest ways of test the patterns and details which ing how good an eye you can add immeasurably to pic-

ONE

There they drank +-+-+||-|-|-~||~ figures soared од have for pictures is to aim your tures of every type or subject.

and chatted with

Saturday

diamond-studded gold-turbined around midnight, when football camera occasionally at the com- businessmen who seemed results came through. But India's monplace—a row of pipes, a stack to take an unusually keen in growing shortage of foreign ex-of building blocks, the very terest in fcolball.

change forced the Government bricks in the street. to prohibi: such luxuries. So

Messenger of the dub wer, the "Two Anna Dip" languished

headquarters. Promissory

matches, composition--both

no

There are, to be sure, hard and fast rules to help you in making platures of this sort other than the fundamental rule the scene from

found to be carrying betting and died, leaving the field free Pictures of this sort, "pattern of studying allps to a small insurance office for the men with the gold tur-pictures," offer a challenge all numerous angles through your In the poorer part of the city, bans.

their to be the pool's

Own. Only by proper camera's viewänder. It's a caso This proved

of arrange of look and see. Rows of pipes, notes and cheques for £60,000 Manipulating the were found in the safe, And they have only succeeded in get- ment and light and shadow such as pictured here, may be such subjects made in uninteresting from one angle, in- pool members, after ting the football pools banned bre some

had never gam- and have brought some first-teresting. All of the camera- teresting from another. Only by awearing they bled in their lives, grudgingly class teams into disrepute. user's skill is needed to pleture viewing them from several post- admitted they had been double-

prosade subjects.

tions can you and the best angle.

several pool members

to

a

crossing their colleagues by "That doesn't bother the Mar- trying to arrange results

warls," say the police. "Noth-

Yet, because they call for such One other hint may help you in sult their bets.

ing can make them give up The proceedings against gambling. They have probably skill, such pictures provide

however: use a small lens aper- and started another hush-hush pool method of training yourself in your efforts in this direction,

already."

composition. Trying them helps players, who were all heavily

to acquaint you with the balance ture when possible, to give depth of highlight and shadow, helps to your pictures. For in a pic- effect would quickly be lost if every pipe were not in reason- ably sharp focus in your print.

-John van Guilder

fined, showed the pool was a

on football, apart

travesty of those in Britain. The This pools affair has had a to develop a feeling for good ture such as today's, the pattern .: businessmen who joined it were bad effect

Marwarks, the wealthiest trading from the bribery involved composition. group in India.

And, perhaps even more im-

"Crazy" bots

has created riots at some games. During the Calcutta football

season police in amoured cars portant, it trains you to look for go into action with rifles and

MOST Individual stakes ex- tear-gas.

ceeded £2,000 weekly, hazarded by the number of goals a team or player would score. They did not bother about home or away matches, for there are few major tears in Bengel. None followed up form or at tempted permutations. A few "presents cautiously distribut ea got better results,

"The most terrifying exper- | lence in the world is playing before a Calcutta crowd," said one Bengali footballer after a visit to Britoft Some of our crowds look like tigers at feed- ing dime."

Linesman stabbed'

bome

Marwaris will bet on any= ›

matoties picked thing. Two of them witting at AT home with nothing particular to squads of police have to bo do will pus £1,000 on the num- directed by radio to separate ber of lines in a newspaper rival supporters before the column, on the first Better of knives begin to flash. Not so the surname of the first stranger long ago a lineman who caught to enter the room,

a star player handing the ball, was stabbed to death by an clouds Infuriated fat. A bomb was guther, they nosemble in the thrown at the referee Inn courtyards of their houses and friendly" match. Laky 11 wait for the first drops of rain failed to explode. Some refurboá to funnel out of the surround-., are taken home in armoured log dratopipos. Thousands go casa, kaj to whoever guests which pipettes

مال

monsoon

Butakondly, there

of a big "dieen up" of Indian

poola

HAVE YOU EVER DREAMED THAT-

YOU WE'RE

AT A GARDEN PARTY CARRYING

A BASKET OF

FISH AND

CHIPS

THIS

DREAM MEANS:

Presumably during the day a number events haya combined and added up to tower your self-confidence and morale, and you, hava felt foolish in public,

nods and smiles.

Whisky, please

But mind you,

Mr

-(London Express Service)

Pattern plotures such, me this offer excellent training. In the

rutes of composition.

AND THEN THAT

YOU WERE AT THE THEATRE IN YOUR

BED ?.

路

You go to the theatre, and 13 27 you who are on show. po

You are one of those people who feel small dr.

slightest "provocation; you are für *wansiffyw to prople and what they think of you. out, of yourself, became less and: took more interest In other

Centric

an

A

of philosophy or religion. c.g., is very small boys Indeed and that officer bound to commit the tacties of the progressive hara-kiri on an order (not from forces are unconventional. the Emperor that would go A satire which falls half in without saying-but from a

superior)? Later, pleasures take love with its victim.

only

the

***PETER VANSITTART:

a less lofty turn, for very youngest officers do not 1921:

bom

educated Haileybury and

succumb to the debilitating Oxford; now lecturer in history. enchantments of the geishas."

--(London Express Service).

A British Crossword

31.

1 Lash...

ACROSS

4 Shell-hole.

8 Dally.

10 Haggard.. 12 Command.

14.Go

Go before... 17 Fish. 10 Matured. 20 Miliary matt...

22 Among.

23 Gurroundings,

27 Smart.

29 Card game.

10 Unmarried.

12

28

31 One who goes unked. 82 Gather.

1 Flower.

z Weight,

3 Waterfowl.

5 Anger.

German.

Puzzle

DOWN

7 Deserted (slang).. D Reparation. 11 Aver

19 Fanale Inheritor

15 Space

16 Embrace.

16 Spare,

20 Chinese boot.

21 Defeated.

24. Fastening.

25 Fire burning on hearth. 20. Inexperienced, egu 28 Equips,

LATUESDAY'S CROSSWORD Asresti 8 Laoisted, 8. Roum

9 Armated, 11 Pinafore, 18 Iris, 16 Reversed, 18 Endorted, 19 Blab, 31 Aracnals, 25 Coronels, 20: Down, 27 Suspends, Downe T Crop Lawn, 4 Sago, d'Late, d.Tutor, 7 Dules 8 aire, 10 Icked, 12 Inert, 14 Idol, 16 Baare 17 Dopes, 10 Bucks, 20 Arras, 711 L'ante, 23 stud, 2 Apg 4 Shak