VIEWS OF PUBLIC MEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12698, 28 October 1904, Page 5

VIEWS OF PUBLIC MEN.

London, October 26. Lord Salisbury, speaking at Hatfield, said it was affectation to underrate the seriousness of the situation. The duty of the Government was to defend its Subjects from such outrageous treatment as the air tack on the fishermen. He Was sure the whole country Would, follow where the King had led. The Government was confident that Rusijia would not fail to recognise and sympathise with the feelings of the British and make reparation.

NO OFFICIAL REPORTS . IN

SYDNEY.

Sydney, October 27.

Neither the Government nor the Admiralty officials have received any information regarding the Dogger Bsnk. outrage,-

' EFFECT ON FRENCH FISHERMEN. AFRAID TO GO TO SEA. : London, October 26. Owing to the treatment of <■ the Dogger Bank fishermen by the Baltic fleet the French fishermen at Cherbourg are afraid to go to sea, | ADMIRAL FANSHAWM 1 : , OPINION. , . FEEMANTiiB, October 27. . Rear-Admiral Fanshawe, when interviewed here, said it was inexplicable that the Russian warships should have attacked . fishermen. The only solution he could give was that they mistook their boats' for torpedo-boats. • Later. The Euryalua sailed for Singapore where important despatches are expected by the Admiral. NEW ZEALAND SYMPATHY; [by telegeaph.—press association-.] :..-...4 ~-.'- .-,- v Napiee, Thursday. The Borough Council last night decided to send a telegram to the Premier approver of the action of the Government in boniieciioa. with the. recent unfortunate incident of the North Sea trawlers ; also that a letter be sent to the Mayor of Hull expressing the heartfelt sympathy « the Mayor, councillors, and burgesses of Napier with the widows and orphans and other persons who hate suffered thereby":,, ' ... , " Neisw, Thursday. . A public meeting, of which only three hours notice was, given, was held in the lneatre to-night, : ,tb express practical sym- | pathy with the; sufferers.by the Russian outrage, and indignation against the commanders of. the Baltic fleet. The Mavor presided, and the speakers were generally very modeI rate in their utterances. -A resolution exI pressing sympathy with the wounded, and tne widows and orphans of the slain, was carried unanimously,.and ordered to be sent to the Mayor of Hull. The Rev. McKee Wright concluded his speech by urging'.that practical -sympathy should be shown, whereupon a number of those present passed round hats, >and ? veij fair sum was collected. Later on a committee was set up to collect further subscriptions. . The Second resolution, "That this meeting of British subjectsi desjrts to express its,full confidence in the Imperial Government that it wil'i exact from ">? Russian Government full! reparation for the outrage on the Hull fishers, and maintain the hohou* and dignity of the British nation in this national crisis," was also earned unanimously. The meeting ended by the people singing the National Anthem.

THE HIPSANXJ CASE. The North China Daily New*, commenting on the inquiry held at Shanghai into the sinking of the British simmer Hipiong by a Russian torpedo-boat, says: —Gra-ttted: •> that the officers of the Russian torpedoi boats at Port Arthur have been put into such a state of panic by the Japanese that i fear dominates all their reasoning faculties, ; that is a reason for putting them in. an asylum on shore, not for confiding such a. weapon of destruction as the Rats46rc>pny (the • offending destroyer) to then hands. Thci condition to which some m the Russian naval officers have been reduced by the war\ is known by what we learnt from the Anient can. : newspaper correspondent who i'': chart. ered the Fawan.., They are utterly irresponsible and reckless, we were told, and the sinking of the Hipsang is a proof of it. In any civilised country the jommand&r of the Ratstoropuy would be put ion his ; trial' for murd&i, for it WaS nothing a&hort of wan- ' ton murder without ft Shadow of provocation, the only redeeming feature being that while the Hipsang was Sinking; the Rats* toropny did, after some persuasion, take on board the surviving crew and passengers. And when we say that the present is a war between civilisation and barbarism, and that; the barbarism is noli on the side of Japan, there are a few who pretend that w« are unjust to Russia. We have only to duot* the finding of the Naval Court:—"lire Court desires especially to direct the attention of the Board of Trade and the Foreign Office to the fact that the steamship Hipaang was; proceeding with due caution between Niuchwang and Chifu on a correct course, and 1 that, without any just cause, or reason, She was sunk without any warning by bang torpedoed, and that the loss of fife was due to shell hie prior to the act of torpedoing the vessel, and that these acts were done by a Russian torpedo-boat destroyer." . - ■ f _=_