CÆSAR'S CAMP.

Evening Post, Volume LXVII, Issue 147, 22 June 1904, Page 5

CÆSAR'S CAMP.

A PARALLEL BETWEEN" PORT ARTHUR AND LADYSMITH. . The Tokio eoiivsnondonl of llic London L'lnoiueU", My. (! oiae Jadcli, sent n very siguilicant loleunim on 6th Mny. 110 begins hv snyin^ tlmt, but for the extit-nu> ciirefulncss of the J.ip.im'so ocnstushiji, tho rt'iT-nl landing of Vlic .Second Army ut Pitsuwo would linve boon impo&siblo. A voiv small Kusskiii fo()ce concentrated on tiie spot, vouW h«vc

pievenlod it, if only thb st'ciflt Lad heen j;ivimi away by some indihcicot conespon-dt-nt. It if>, of coursi', hardly to be un-agiiu-d that even a Hritiith censor vould lni\o let Much a ])ie*'ii of information through ; but still, from the point of view of hecrecy, Japan has been far more suecf«»iul in mushing out news than any Power at war bince the tclcgiaph was iiist instituted. LAD VSMITIFS M KNACK. IJuL Mr. Lynch goes on to s.iy the J;w p«ine«-<' aio meditating an ahsault upon «i po.Mtiou like (Junai's C.i nip. That tin' coiiMir .'■hoiihl allow Mich inU'lligL'iii.o tlnough wJiows ho\v completely Ik- <_ouMidbrs Pint Arthur to lie isolated (hitys a. wutvr in tho C'hiouicle). Ths Ca.-sar's Camp; tv which our corlp^pdiidcnt refers, wnt> lltu Jn^li ridge 1111111111^; along tho soutli and south-west of L;i<}y;inilh hm>e---hoe of defence. It fornieu, m fact, the wouthciu cur-vo of Mho iioiK'-shoe, nt an obtuse angle with, Wagon fljll, but being in reality part of Uie ."(.me long ridgo of edye, which con< tiniif.l with very slight variation of height, for .sonic thiee miles, or rather more, uui of the whole length of the thirteen milts of defence. The Dutch culled ii Pl.ilif Jierg, becatiho of its broad, fiat top. They miuht have called almoai any hill in youth Africa the same, and they goneially did, unless they called it Taft-lkop. For among their many excellent qualities, the imaginative power of inventing names was nob one. As the ridg^ was the highest in the neighbourhood, and commanded the town from end to end for guns, and along a gieat pa.it of jt» length for rifles too, it was obviously tho key to tho position. The Miinchoslors wore up there the whole of the siege, living in extreme discomfort, poisoned by fouJ water, exposed to heavy gun fiio from three pointy, and never flinching tluoug.li all tho four months of blockade. The 60th (King's Royal Rifles) were near the centre of tlio ridge, and the Imperial Light Horse held the Wagon Hill extremity, where there wore also two howitzers, and Captain Lambton hud built two tuingara for some naval guns which were to cover Bullcr's expected advance. lienci.il lan Hamilton was in command of the defences along tho whole riugc, but had unhappily neglected to Iniilcf shelter or fortiiieations. Accoidingly when the Dutch made their great assault on 6th January, 1900, they leached thu lop at both ends and near the centie almost unperceived, and all clay long it was found impossible to drive them entirely olf. At timox it looked as if they wero going to drive us off instead, and it was then that Sir George White signalled to liullor, "Very hard pressed." After fourteen hours -*f terrible fighting, the position wa« cleared at last by a gal hint bayonet charge of foury companies of DeVons under Colonel Park, us all the world knows. WHAT IS PORf ARTHUR'S POSITION? Somo weeks befdre tho great attack, Mr. Lynch had ridden out of Ladysmith into thu Boer lines. Ho was very nearly shot an a «py, but after being a prisoner in Pretoria ho 1 got away and*went to China for tho relief of the Legations at Pekin. But, of course, ho remembers Cawar's Camp well, and thu question is: What position at Port Arthur does ho now compare to it? The town and harbour are almost surroundod by hills, except where tho railway comes in on the north .side. The highest of tho foitifkd hills is Mnntzetzinjr, standing on the promontory which shelters the .shallow West Pint from tho open .sea, ami ends in the Tiger's T«U, which fornis the narrow channel for the entrance of ships. Another l^oight is Minnounted by tho North-west f<frt, and that commands the towir and both harbours, though at long range. But it seems most piobabki that Mr. Lynch is referring to "(joklen Hill." or Hwangehinshan, tho height overhanging tho East Port, and absolutely commanding the entrance channel and the town, at short ranges. The position is lriavily fortified, it is true, but probnbly much of the approncli is "dead" giound, and could bo covered without ii>k from the big guns. Another htrong ica!>on for suppflsinp that this is the chosen scene of assault is that it was lieio tho Japanese slonned the Chinese defence** on Sjlfl November, 1894, and the moment that they reached the summit of Golden Hill it wiis found that the wholo port and town were at their mercy.