Shanghai On Fire By Bombardment.

New York Times 100 years ago today, July 30, 1913:
The Native City Burning in Three Places — A Long War Is Expected.
HU-NAN JOINS THE REVOLT
Hostilities on the Borders of Tibet and Mongolia Continue — Wu Ting-fang Blames Both Sides.
    LONDON, Wednesday, July 30.— The Daily Telegraph's' Shanghai correspondent says the native city there is on fire in three places as a result of the terrific cannonading of the arsenal.
    The correspondent reports a most critical situation at Chapei. The police, he says, refused to permit the foreign guards to remain. Late in the afternoon the foreign volunteers, who had returned to Shanghai, marched back to Chapei, and were met by armed native police. Several shots were exchanged between the volunteers and the police, but the foreigners were uninjured, and after disarming a small number of natives the expedition returned to Shanghai.
    The correspondent had an interview with Dr. Wu Ting-fang, ex-Minister at Washington, who thinks President Yuan Shih-kai's uncompromising policy dangerous, but blames both sides for rejecting proposals for a compromise.
    In another interview with the correspondent Dr. Sun Yat-sen declared that he would leave for the South in a few days on business. He was quite unconcerned, according to the correspondent, with the threat of expulsion against him. He said he regarded Wu Ting-fang's peace mission as hopeless.
    "The Southerners, profiting by their earlier mistakes, are repairing defects and getting in large supplies of ammunition," says The Daily Telegraph's Peking correspondent. He adds:
    "A long and wearisome war seems certain. I understand that 100 Japanese officers will join the Canton army, which consists of 40,000 good troops."
    The outstanding feature of the revolt, says The Times's Peking correspondent, is the failure of the Southerners to obtain any success or increase of support calculated to render the movement a serious military danger to the Government.

    SHANGHAI, Wednesday, July 30. (1:30 A. M.)— Northern army reinforcements estimated to number 4,000, with two cruisers, arrived in the Yang-Tse River yesterday and began landing twenty miles below Wu-Sung, apparently with a view to marching to the Arsenal here.
    Practically all the civilians have left Wu-Sung for Shanghai, expecting a bombardment, which up to this time has been inexplicably delayed. Shanghai is thus exposed to an influx of refugees from the south and north.
    Considerable damage has been done to the native city by fires, which were partly due to bursting shells and partly to incendiaries, with a view to looting, which has been extensive. The foreign settlement, however, has been comparatively free from this evil.
    There was no serious fighting yesterday. The rebels abandoned two of their camps, but this is not thought to be a guarantee that they will not resume hostilities.

    SU-CHOW, July 29.— Between 15,000 and 20,000 northern troops arrived here to-day and were dispatched southward, some by rail and some by way of the Grand Canal, for Chin-Kiang, forty-five miles northeast of Nanking.

    PEKING, July 29.— The Province of Hu-Nan seceded from the Peking Government on July 25, according to a Consular report just received here. The strength of the Hu-Nan forces at present on the border of the Province of Hu-Pe is variously reported as from 1,500 to 8,000 men.
    Gen. Li Yuen-heng, Vice President of the republic, who is conducting operations in Central China from Wu-Chang, declared recently that his forces were capable of dealing with the revolt in both Kiang-Si and Hu-Nan, but today's report announces also the defection of a small body of troops on the Han River above Wu-Chang.
    Four of the southern Provinces—Kwei-Chow, Kwang-Si, Yun-Nan, and Che-Kiang — although surrounded by seceders, remain loyal, but Ho-Nan, in the north, is believed to be loyal only because of its geographical position.