6 SEPTEMBER 1924, Page 2

Unfortunate China is once again suffering from catastrophes, both man-made

and natural. Two of the Tuchuns, or Provincial Governors, are preparing to fly at each other's throats, and their conflict is only too likely to involve the two great factions in China., that of General Wu Pei-fu, which now dominates Central China, and that of Marshal Chang Tso-lin, who though defeated in 1922 is rallying in Manchuria. Meanwhile the whole of the great province near the city of Tien-tsin has been flooded, and thousands, if not millions, have been rendered homeless, and will probably die of starvation during the winter. All this, the Times correspondent tells us, might easily have been avoided if proper conservancy works had been undertaken after the last great floods in 1917. Thus matters in China seem to go from bad to worse, and no one can yet see the way out.

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