LITTLE BROWN MEN.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 25, 12 January 1911, Page 11

LITTLE BROWN MEN.

JAPANESE SPIES AT MANILA.

PLANS OF THE FORTS.

San Francisco. Dec. 28.

A Japanese spy was captured today by the United States authorities at Manila, the arrest taking place inside the fortifications on Corregidor Island, which guards the entrance to Manila Bay. Sketches of the forts and copies of military maps were found in his possession.

Belief is growing that the arrest has upset a deep-laid plot on the part of Japanese emissaries. The opinion is that arrangements were nearing completion whereby the harbour would be counter-' mined, with the object of blowing up the American warships in the event of hostilities commencing. It is persistently reported in military circles that, although Major-General Ouval. assistant to the chief of staff commanding the Philippines Division of the U.S. Army, said that the search of the Japanese houses for stores of explosives was abortive, the facts of the ease and the official statements are at variance, and it is stated on good authority that explosives were not only found, but that maps and other papers were secured, indicating the presence of Japanese spies in Manila.

These documents showed that the unwelcome visitors had obtained a perfect working knowledge of the fortifications of the harbour, and had perfected careful plans showing where and how to place

Great excitement prevails in both naval and military circles in Manila, and the Philippines generally, and although information is meagre, and every effort is being made to prevent the most ordinary details leaking out, it is believed that a number of other arrests have already taken place. Japanese from the surrounding islands have been smuggling explosives into the city o Manila for months past.

Washington denies the existence of any plot, and General Wood, formerly military attache to Japan, asserts that the search of the Japanese houses was probably conducted by the civil authorities, and was not ordered by the military.

On the other hand, army officers on the spot express the opinion that the Japanese have been secretly working in the Philippine Islands for years.