RUSSIANS IN EASTERN COREA.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXV, Issue 135, 7 June 1904, Page 5

RUSSIANS IN EASTERN COREA.

Repeated Skirmishes. (Received 8.46 ajn.) J LONDON, Jane G. Two thousand Japanese troops are now at Gensan, on the East Coast of Corea. Repeated skirmishes have taken place in the viciiiity. The 'Coreans are co-oper-ating in repulsing the Cossacks. WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. AT PORT ARTHUR, French Use Ethergrams Across the GuU. (Received 8.20 a.m.) LONDON, June 6. The officers of a Japanese cruiser reports that they saw four masts, one beartug wireless telegraphic instruments, and a sentry box on the top, at Laotishan, at the south-wtestern extremity of the Port Arthur Peninsula. The French at Ch_lg-wan-tao, in China, have erected on the opposite side of the Gulf of Pechili, a pole to establish wireless conn nunications with Port Arthur. JAPAN AND PHILIPPINES. An Extraordinary Suggestion. (Received 9.5 ajn.) LONDON, June 6. The St. Petersburg organ, the "Novre Vremya," applauds the suggestion that the United States may possibly cede the Philippines to Japan, since such a move would divert Japan's attention from Asia. NEW COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. Russian Uneasiness. LONDON, June 6. The appointment of General Yamagata as Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese armies has increased the uneasiness in Russia. It is interpreted as meaning simultaneous attacks on Port Arthur, Liao-yang and Mukden. THE CRUISER BOGOTYR. How She Was Lost. LONDON, June 6. ' The St. Petersburg correspondent of |' Le Matin" reports with respect to the j loss of the cruiser Bogotyr in the channel j at Vladivostok that Rear-Admiral Jessen | ordered the Bogotyr to make a sortie during a fog. Her eommandei ' Stehrmann), i being unwilling to risk the vessel in such I circumstances, resigned. Admiral Jessen thereupon assumed command of the vessel, and she ran on the rocks. The rearadmiral is to be tried by courtmartial for losing the cruiser. BATTLE OF KINCHAU. Strength of Japanese Artillery. LONDON, June 6. According to General Stoessel, who commanded the Russians at the battle of Kinchau, the Japanese massed 120 field guns on the Russian main position, and thu&concenjlrated an irresistible fire upon the defensive lines. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS. Russian reports state that Chinese brigands In the Niu-chwang district have secured 1000 Mannlicher rifles. The "Times" states that Count Lamsdorff's assailant was not the Dolgourki who married an Englishwoman, but another of the same name. THE DEFENCE OF PORT ARTHUR. GENERAL STOESSEL'S PROC_A_CATION. A LETTER FROM THE TOWN. (From Our War Correspondent.) TOKIO, April 9. Six miles above Port Arthur a trench 16ft wide and 10ft deep is being dug, and the excavated earth is being thrown up on the southern side to serve as embankments for sheltering, the troops Further north from this trench is another one seven miles long, 28ft deep and 17ft wide; It has been covered over with light brushwood and earth, and has been devised as a trap for the advancing Japanese. The entrances to the town ! have been mined with dynamite, and i miles of barbed wire barriers have been | erected to assist iv preventing a suej cessfui assault from the land side. Port Arthur is to be held until the very last. At least, that is if General -Stoessel, the commander of the garrison, has any say. He has issued a proclamation appearing to all to die fighting in pre ferenee to surrendering. "Our troops know." ho declares, "and inhabitants are herewith informed I mc, that we will not yield. We must fight to the finish, as I, the commandant, will never give an order to surrender. I call on all to become convinced of the necessity of fighting to the death. Those who leave without fighting will not save themselves. There is no way out. On three sides there is the sea, and on the fourth will be the enemy. There is no means of escape except by fighting/ And General Stoessel is backing up his proclamation with every preparation for a lengthened siege, that being shown by the feverish effort put forth to barricade the town and repair the injured ships of the fleet. THE CONDITION OF PORT ARTHUR. The condition' of affairs in Port Arthur has been well depleted by a resident who has managed to get a letter through to some friends. "Frantic been made," he says, "to repairthe Retvisan, Pallada, and Tsarviteh, and the forlorn hope has been conducted under the supervision of an Englishman, who receives $300 per day for his services. All three vessels have been patched up so as to be moved about under their own steam, but it is-very doubtful if they will be fit for active service again until they' have been docked and thoroughly overhauled. At present the calculation is| to plug them up sufficiently so as to be able to use them for harbour defence. They are all badly crippled, and literally shot to pieces. The soldiers and sailors are working like Trojans, for they realise that it is a question of life and death io them, and no efforts are being spared to repel a land attack which it is confidently expected will be made in the near future. Many of the big guns from the ships have been landed and placed in the forts, the shore

i batteries having so far failed lamentabh to come up to expectations. Every mai , available, is working night and day out I side the city, helpiDg to throw up earth- | works und to p_.ee guns brought from '"the ships into position thereabouts. There is plenty of food, but it is carefully husbanded for a long siege is anticipated, and already prices are high enough to cause great suffering among the poor peasantry. A cargo of cattle was successfully landed a few days ago, and three more cattle ships are expected during the next week. "The weather is bitterly cold, and the population as a whole is completely demoralised. The reverses sustained have driven more than one well-known man out of his mind, and several suicides among military and naval officers have been reported. Attempted desertions have bee*, frequent, and already 40 soldiers have been shot for this reason. I should say that there are 10,000 Russian soldiers in the place to-day." "What is thought to nave been the Japanese fleet has been sighted twice during the past two days, and another bombardment is fearfully awaited. So far the forts have not sustained material damage, but a large number of business houses have been razed to the ground, and there have been several outbreaks of fire caused by the shells, which, proved troublesome to extinguish. There is enough ammunition here to last a year, even if there was a bombardment every day. "The feeling against the Japanese is frantically intense, and it would have been well for them could they have all got away before hostilities commencedThey are all considered as spies, and are maltreated on the slightest pretext. As an illustration of this, I will mention that companies of soldiers have been told off and instructed to seize every Chinese they could! Hay their hands on, and twist his queue to find out if it were real, or if its owner were a Japanese spy in disguise. A dozen of the latter have been discovered, and shot on the spot, their bodies being left to rot where they fell." Such is life in Port Arthur at the present moment, and the main hope of its amelioration is the arrival of Kuropatkin*s forces and the Baltic fleet, which is said to be preparing to sail in June. Swiftn. -s of action is what is wanted on j the part of the Japanese now, and un- ! less they make a sudden determined at- ' tack soon the garrison will be in a position that it will take long and strenuous eiforts to subjugate it. POURING OIL ON HOUSES. Precipitant endeavours are being made, too, to render Vladivostok immune from attack, and though the coastline between Possiet Pay —where a large Japanese force is "lid to have j landed —is not constantly guardeu, the ! overland route is being patrolled by • cavalry details. Entrenchments have J been run up in various places, but the i Russians do not seem to have over much j confidence in their effectiveness, for they j are anticipating defeat by pouring keroI sene oil upon the houses of the villages. jin order to bring about their rapid dej struct ion, and prevent them falling into Japanese hands should retreat be necessary. Since the failure of the ViaLdivostok forts to return the fire of the Japanese fleet__at the recent bombardment has been ascribed to faulty ammunition • —the shells beiHg several sizes too large for the guns—the troops are not likely to be too sure of the weapons and ammunition with which they are supplied I and' there is just a possibility that thai [ accounts for the preparations for defeal instead of victory which they seem tc be briskly engaged in making. The lad of confidence is "also likely to spreac amongst soldiers in Port Arthur anc elsewhere, for they have been reiuetanl witnesses of the ineptitude displayed b ' the fleet, and may possibly- come to tl 1 conclusion that their own officers an i rifles are not to be relied upon in tin: jof stress. Should 3uch a feeling sprea< there is not likely to be much fightin when a tight pinch comes, and th Japanese will secure victories less cosi ly than if fanatics were fighting agains them. It will be interesting to watch the c: feet of the Russian army, and no les interesting to keep an eye on that c Japan, for some of the weapons hay heyer been tried before in actual wai fare. One would like to give descrij fcions of the effect of some of the fiel guns and rifles of Japan, but for som unaccountable reason information o such subjects is absolutely denied on< and not even an outline of the eommor est type of cannon will be given at thi particular time-