1937-11-16 — Page 3

Do

"I

YOU

get

Indigestion

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pain."

has been free from

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. jan.

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HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER · 16,

TEMPORARY BASES

Japanese Seizure Of The Pratas Reef

(BY SIR HERBERT RUSSELL)

in the United Services Review**

The statement that the Jap- anese have seized the Pratas Reef and intend to establish a senplane base there will awaken Interest

in all who know, the Eastern Scas and in a great many who do not. This interest in the main will have no concern with any question of "war value." We must assume that the Japanese have a very good knowledge of that wild, ro- exactly mantic spot and know what they are about." Yet for rea- sons upon which I shall presently touch the idea of establishing a

here seems seaplane station

ex- tremely uptimistic. Possibly it is only intended as a temporary base during their operations against China and that it is thought worth While to chance the risks which make any notion of a permanent establishment sa unattractive.

REEF WITH AN EVIL'

REPUTATION

to

The Pratas Reef belongs China. It lies right athwart the route between Manila and Hong Kong." and in the old tea-clipper days had a very evil reputation, although these famous ships had no monopoly of its perils. Like the Goodwin Sands, it is "right in the way, otherwise it is no more dangerous than any other obstruction to navigation. The shoal was Drst surveyed on behalf of the "Admiralty by the Dove' In 1858, and her accountant officer,

William Blakeney who took part in the hydrographic work, gives a wonderful description of the spot. in his fascinating book "On the Coasts of Cathay and Chipango," published in 1902.

The reef itself is a great horse- shoe of coral, with a very small a mile in broken island about length and half a mile ácross, lying the

on

extreme western fringe. The horseshoe forms sort of breakwater within which

a

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in certain winds, but age

the soundings are very.."patchy” and. unless in very quiet weather when It is possible to see fathoms deep through the clear, blue water, 19 most hazardous to enter. Upon this patch of water, the seaplanes will alight and take of---weather permitting?

I say "weather permitting" be- cause the Pratas Reef seems to be averitable magnet to typhoons. They always-seem-to-manage to take it in their path, and what would happen to any aerodrome, living accommodation, and aircraft on a totally-exposed islet swept by such an outfly may be pretty well imagined:

Dove While the lay anchored in the lagoon she rode very heavily for four days on end, a flerce north-cast gale "hur- ling the surf high over the coral barrier." The breaking of the south-west monsoon is generally accompanied by an angry kick-up. Altogether. apparently. just about as favourable a spot for an oceanic seaplane base as the North Pole

A VARIETY REVUE

produced by

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Under the auspices of

HONG KONG Y'S MEN'S CLUB

in aid of

NORTH CHINA WAR RELIEF FUND

THEATRE

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Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 9.30 p.m.

Tickets: $4, 83, 82 and $1

Obtainable from Members of the Y's Men Club or at Queen's Theatre.

Reservations may now be made at the Theatre.

Yet the is for a summer resort. Japanese must know all this quite well.

י

|

PROSTITUTION

IN MALAYA

New And Old Types

As the law stands, brothels ar illegal but prostitution Is no offence, "says the annual report of the Straits Settlements Police De

The Police have partment. throughout the year suppressed This country has had,, and still vigorously any appearance of the old type of brothel a keeper and has, a.very direct interest in the Pratas Reof owing to the danger several women-and have pre- it constitutes to shipping. It was vented as far as it has been pos- sible the establishment of the new very difficult to get the Chinese Government to do anything, but type-two or more women living at last. they did set up an obser- on one premises for the purpose vation station to give- warning of prostitution, it is stated. of the approach of typhoons and to make meteorological notes. German advisers got in ahead of our own people and when British representatives from Hong Kong were permitted to visit and inspect this station they found the whole of the equipment was German. No doubt it was very good.

FISHERMEN WHO WERE WRECKERS

14

Blakeney describes the island upon which the Japanese propose po establish their seaplane base as "a mass of finely-powdered coral sand, thickly set with

coarse

shrubs, flourishing well considering there was not a sign of mould Myriads of gannets were in posses- slon, seeming inclined to dispute our right to land; in this, perhaps, they had been successful before, to judge by the bones of ship- wrecked men which lay bleaching upon the sands. The only pro- minent object on the island was a ramshackle wooden Joss-house, a shrine for Chinese junkmen, a fleet of their junks being then at anchor some ten miles distant Inside the north-east point of the lagoon."

2

He makes it clear that these "fishermeh" were really wreckers and pirates and that, although the

agreed Chinese authorities that

be lighthouse should erected. forty years after the Bri- tish recommendation, this st!11 remained in abeyance," probably from the knowledge that the Junkmen would see to it that the How light should never shine... often they had to rebuild their "ramshackle Joss-house" Blakeney had no opportunity, of learning.

No doubt the Pratas Reef is an excellent strategical. position for a seaplane base; but what a tar- get for a naval bombardment! The Chinese, of course, have no sea

¦

It is not altogether easy to bring home guilt to landlords or lease- holders where such gullt exists, for between the landlords and the prostitute is often

a tenant who sub-lets the room, the report says. There have been a variety of between such tenants ranging persons who make a business of living on the proceeds and Inno- cent, bona fide sub-lessors. Suc- cessful prosecution is extremely difficult as it is only necessary for the landlord to be absent at the time of the raid or to have sub- let the premises. Facilities for assignations were made easy by certain hotels and certain types of boarding houses,

F

TRAFFICKING IN GIRLS Prostitutes are no longer to be found soliciting in numbers ar street parades; they find it more to Bo to amusement profitable parks cafes, dancing places and. generally speaking, no exception can be taken to their behaviour.

Tracking in girls between Ma-

laya and China is an old and well- organised trade, and will so con- tinue. until the source of the sup- ply in China is closed, or until it becomes a legal offence for a non- Malayan subject to be a prostitute In Malaya, the report continues,

Girls are also brought to Malaya A from the Netherlands' Indies. Javanese who had been at this game for some years in Singapore was caught and sentenced to 33 months' rigorous imprisonment and two of his accomplices were subsequently arrested and convict- ed in Java.

Extortion from prostitutes con- tinued, all the known offenders being males, of whom three were convicted of that offence.

Waitresses are still employed in coffee shops and stalls, but super- pre- vision has been effective in venting any serious trouble.

power worth serious mention, and if the occupation of the reef Is only regarded as a temporary measure the Japanese are notrositive. Without much "dimculty likely to be worried by this con-

one can think of sundry spots on sideration. The temporary war the red map which it would be base-or rendezvous-1s certainly

of great advantage to a foe to not a new idea, but I never heard

prevent us from using even if of anything quite go forlorn in after effecting this end, he were this way as the selection of this

quite unable to use any of them Scientific himself. dreary, exposed spot.

rendered it has development

That the Australian people are practicable to use the most barren and

for out-of-the-way spots

hut "it various naval purposeS, would be merely ludicrous to employ the word "base" in con- nection with these.

marines.

1937.

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FOREIGN PROPERTY IN HUNGJAO

Little Damage Done

Shanghai, Nov. 15. the very apprehensive of what

War and army occupation have Japanese

in might do their only lightly harmed the Hungjao "mandated islands" in the way residential area, it was found by of preparing these for develop- pressmen who went on a tour of district organised by the ment into temporary submarine the bases is a matter of common Japanese. knowledge, and, coupled with the The visitors appreciated the present very intransigent policy decision to clean up the area before of Japan. is doubtless a primary throwing it open for residents influence behind the big defensive when they saw plles of abandoned Budget so recently, presented by ammunition, bodies dead for many the Federal Minister of Defence. days and hastily repaired bridges. whether, in fact, "a temporary base" can really justify even its qualified description at all in a naval sense is open to question.

baze need

not

eign property was damaged, the Surprisingly little valuable for- only exception being one or two houses which had been heavily shelled. No Japanese have occupied residences, which are

"Thus our warships anchor of Great Hamish to replenish with ol-fuel on the passage home from the Far East. This lump of rock, rising out of the Red Sea, serves 19 a meeting-place with an oil tanker which pumps the contents of her hold into the warship's tanks, after which the two go on their respective ways, There was more than suspicion during the

THE WORD "TEMPORARY" Great War that the Germans em- ployed specially-designed sub- Submarines alone can make foreign marines for the conveyance of effective use of a mere rendezvous, Identified as neutral property by supplies to their fighting sub- and then only to a limited extent. flags. The pressmen saw Japanese

A Any sufficiently isolated

necessarily soldiers playing golf in the Hungj30 and sheltered spot would serve possess any Dockyard resources, Golf Club. for the purpose of transferring but it must possess facilities for The Hungjao aerodrome, ofice such supplies, and the only other revitualling and refuelling war- and quarters have collapsed as the thing necessary would be to work ships and afford reasonably secure result of a bombed roof, and the to a pre-arranged timetable.

anchorage in which they can "lick huge hangar has been blown away their wounds" when these are not by a shell. The big stone-built too serious. Such requirements assembly structure remains. Blasts of the Pratas Reet she or any imply some degree of shore ac- have lifted the observation roof other strong sea Power would do commodation and storage, and bodily, which fell intact on the in the event of a big naval war, this rather neutralizes the word ruins of the rest of the bullding- namely, attempt to selze elther "temporary." I suppose we might Bester established or potential bases. fairly regard Mudros as ал Suck' contingency naturally example of a temporary base, call- interests this country more thaned into being by the needs of the any other for the very good rea- | Gallipoll campaign. The still son that she has so much more smaller island of Impros, on which to be seized. Our main overseas the Commander-in-Chief of the naval bases are well defended and Army and his staf lived, was would be pretty dificult nuts to another temporary base, crack.

It is reasonable to assume that what Japan is doing in the case

Japanese Submarines Off

Kiangsu

Tungnal, Kiangau, Nov. 15: Two Japanese submarines have been sighted off Lienyunkang Harbour

to s according

report received here;

But what was possible 22 years In order to estimate the strate- ago might prove quite otherwise gical value to any enemy of any today in the same situation. particular spot we must visualize Apart from the activities of a few first who that enemy is likely to German submarines operating in It is now disclosed that during be. Bot in both hemispheres the Eastern Mediterranean, our the Japanese air raid over Antung- there are plenty of British-owned Navy was dominant in the gean, wel on November 13, three bombs islanda that would be of definite That condition established, there were dropped outside of the East value to any conceivable opponent was very little for these tem- Gate, killing one small girl.

2150 who could be included within the porary island bases to fear. To-

Japanese warplanes are comparatively limited category of day they would be faced with active along the northern Shan-. major naval warfare, Strategical. the positive certainty or frequent tung coast. value may be negative as well as attacks from the air.

"Teutral News

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