THE WAE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXV, Issue 95, 21 April 1904, Page 5

THE WAE.

THE PETBOPA¥LOVSK DISASTER

GRAND DUKE'S THRILLING STORY.

—— ! JAPANESE BUILDING SUBMARINES. I MANDJURS CAPTAIN DROWNED. I- •>» [N.Z. Press Association.—Copybight.]' ;

In to-day's cables the Grand Duke j Cyril describes with considerable realism iis experiences in escaping from the doomed battleship. The vessel is understood to have floated for 100 seconds jftar the explosion. An intensely in- j fact mentioned in another dcs- ■■ ' ngtch is that four submarines are now ' rader construction in Japanese yards. Another death is reported as a result of ; tke Petropavlovsk disaster —that of the ; captain of the Russian gun-boat Mandjur ! (the vessel ■which so long remained La shelter at shanghai). It is stated that : the Chinese troops are anxious to take j j up arms against Russia. ILOSS OF THE PETROPAVLOVSK j fIBAND DUKE INTERVIEWED, i Thrilling Account of Escape. (Received 3.20 ajn.) LONDON, April 20. Ihe "Daily Mail" states that the Grand Duke Cyril was interviewed at Harbin, a station on the llanehur.an nulwav. In reply to a question he said that while on the bridge of the Petropavlovsk with Admiral Makaroff a deafening explosion occurred, and the vessel began tfanost at once to settle down by her tead. Though scorched, blinded, choked and rearly stunned by the explosion, he contrived to get towards the stern of the ghip and to dive through a port-hole. When the Grand Duke came to the sur- ■ ace the vessel had disappeared. He heard that only 100 seconds elapsed between the explosion and the disappear- ! inse of the vessel. RUSSIAN VIEWS OF DISASTER. TOO MANY DSTAIIS PUBLISHED. I A Land War, and Russia Will Wixu (.Biseeived 9.2 ajn.) LONDON. April 20. Ihe newspapers "Graschdanin" and "Xbroe Frssya" have uttered a protest ! ' against the pieeemeai communication of , ' information with regard to the Petro- . ■ pavlovsk disaster It is feared, say these ' papers, that much still remains untold. I ' Nevertheless the newspapers emphasize j l their view that this is really a. land war, j 5 and declare that their eventual success i≤ ' certain. ADMIRAL ALEXIEFF. ] REPORTED ASSIGNATION. Powers Merely Citil. j i ' i 2eeeived C.ll ajn.) - ; I LONDON. April 20. i _A Hesters Agency despatch states Sst Admiral Alexia:! i≤ being ignored ; tEsgi iii the matter of civil adminis- i \ teK&n. He was cot ccnsultel when ! ] Scydloff waa appointed to succeed Maka- ( ■ He La 3 asked permission to resign the i Fa-royalty. " "I MOTHER CAPTAIN DROWNED. j Eec-eived 9.2 a.m.) ' LONDON, April 20. h is ikw certain that the captain of '• fee i£a2idjt[r, the gunboat which tock ' k£se at Shanghai on the outbreak oi : eesilities. and i-ai subsequently diswas anon£ those drowned in « Pecn3paylov=ji catastrophe. JAPANESE SUBMARINES. Tver Under Consrmctioii. deceived 9.11 a.m.) LONDON". April 20. I . " H xaicierstood. on what appears to ! Fgooa authority, that the Japanese are : Wscructins submarine vessels for ■ ** agaost'the Russians. I j^ 0 tar as is known these will be the -St submarine vessels in the Japanese I feS: Russians ; lt wili remem " recently began the construction of 1 ~ Sfifamarines of a Russian pattern, I -R-as believed to excel the French. I jjf to tlle lact tliat tbe ajiese I I ' s 7erv directly modelled on the ! I it is" not impossible that the four '' I Wt ss6 * 16 - wiU follow the English type, I Zγ 1 P rov ed ao successful at the mantha t is to say, if the method of ; can be ascertained.] 1 Russian mines destroyed. | (Received 9.11 aon.) LONDON, April 20. JF* Japanese destroyed three contact were adrift forty miles off ji Promontory (on which is -"»ami»h treaty port of Wei-hai-wei). j

ATTITUDE OF CHINESE. GROWING ANXIETY TO FIGHT. LONDON, April 20. General Ma, the well-known Chinese soldier, complains that it ■ is very difficult to restrain, the Chinese troops from attaokbig the i Bnssians to the west of the Uiao Siver, in Southern Manchuria. A CORRECTED IMPRESSION. i Japan as Secure as in Time of Peace. I j (By Telegraph.—Presa Association.) WELLINGTON, Wednesday. Mr. Alvrieh, Consul for Japan in Wel- ! lington. has received the following from I the Sydney Acting Consul-General for j Japan (Mr. Iwasaki) : I have received a cable from Baron I Komura, Japanese Minister for Foreign ! affairs, stating that the Mayors of the j principal cities of Japan—namely, Tokio, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagasaki, Kyeto ; Kobe and Nagoya—desire that the fullest publicity may be given to the following notification in answer to numerous individual inquiries, and with a view to correcting an erroneous impression concerning the effect of the war upon the condition of Japan which appears to exist abroad: '"We, the Mayors of the principal cities of Japan, beg to give our assurance that normal conditions prevail throughout the Empire of Japan, and that the country is as orderly as in time of peace. Business men and travellers : who contemplate journeying to our country will encounter no inconvenience, and be exposed to no danger. The ordinary means of communication by land and sea are not and cannot be interrupted. Japan and its territorial waters are not within the war zone, and the position and strength of our navy ensure Japan from ' the risk of invasion." HTTKGPATKIN. RUSSIAN GENERAL, GETS BIG OVATION. ST. PETERSBURG. March 12. General ILuropatkin, accompanied by his entire staff, left here at 6 o'clock this evening on a. special train for the Far East, where ha will take command of the Manchurian army. The departure of the General was marked by demonstrations of patriotism and personal regard such as seldom have been witnessed in the Russian capital. As Kuropatkin reached the railway station General Eggresstoff, white haired and trembling with emotion, began to speak. Inside and out there was an instant hush. 'I have come to bid you God-speed," said General Eggresstoff. "We all wish you a safe journey, and with God's blessing we shall come here to greet your victorious return. Take this small image of Alexis, your patron saint, and wear it around your Beck, and may the Almighty hold you in Ma keeping." General Kuropatkin knelt reverently and accepted the talisman- His few heartfelt words of thank 3 were uttered in so low a tone that they were hardly j heard ten feet away. Thunderous cheers burst forth ■when the two •warriors clasped each other in a strong embrace. General Kuropatkin then stepped forward. T-Hq strong personality was strikingly illustrated in the way he mored through the room. The Czar's aides de camp, in their handsome uniforms, helped to clear the space in front of the little man, whose grizzled beard and piercing eyes suggested a resemblance to Grant. He was entirely self possessed amid the surrounding excicement, and he walked easily and unaffectedly, greeting all present, embracing and kissing old comrades, and shaking hands -with officers. He did not forget the naval and military attaches, and had a kind word for every member of the group, repre-1 seating almost all the great armies and navies of the ■world. French, German, British, Italian and Austrian attaches were attired in v picturesque variety of uniforms. Lieutenant-Commander Roy Campbell Smith, the naval attache to the American Embassy, wore the simple uniform of the United States. The Corean Minister to Russia, who was present, was just as enthusiastic as any Russian and seemed to regard General Kuropatkin as the saviour of his country. He pushed and struggled hard to set near enough to shake the Generai's hand and wi?h him every success. Several ladifs who were present could not refrain from kissing the hero of the hour, an attention which he gallantly reciprocated. The General's wife, with his sons, will accompany him as far as Moscow. Earlier in the day a deputation of the handicraft guilds presented to General Kuropatkin a gold and diamond-mount-ed sword.