12 FEBRUARY 1927, Page 2

By offering to delay the passage of the troops for

Shanghai, if that should be possible, Mr. Baldwin has gone to the limit of conciliation in his attempts to appease Mr. Chen. Mr. Chen can no longer pretend that Great Britain is an aggressive Power which has no backing from other countries. It is known now that the United States has " earmarked " 33 ships and 2,500 marines as available for service in China. The exact disposition of these ships is not known, but it may be presumed that they are either at the Philippines or on their way there. From that position they could reach Shanghai as easily as the British from Hong Kong. Italy has also promised help. Thus it has become clear since we wrote last week that the treatment of the Shanghai problem will be international. * * *