The Timaru Herald FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 1995. GENERAL STOESSEL'S VERSION.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXI, Issue 12582, 20 January 1905, Page 2

The Timaru Herald FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 1995. GENERAL STOESSEL'S VERSION.

JJr«'Winston Churcßiil,Vwhile engaged jas a war correspondent jit- the Bber campaign, described South Africa in a. graphic-phrase as "a land of lies."- The contradictory reports which made the correspondent's life in .South Africa a.£~burden t . are conspicuously present to-day. in; tlie Far 'East. - One can .readilyunderstand that under the strict censorship which both belligerents - ha,ve established, it is difficult to.;bl)tain ; reliable information about the actual' hostilities, but ihe most surprising feature about-the recent; cablegrams has been the conflict of opinion .vlicther the defence of Port Arthur was carried on as long'as the garrison' could reasonably be expected to hold oi)t-. -.' With' the first news of the capture of the .fortress there arose a chorus of admiration for the .spirited and gallant man'ner;;in { "whi'ch; S'toes-, scl- had held .his post. The Mikadp himself was the first to grant; jgenerous; recognition ' to the stubborn opposition{• which had defied his fmonths.j the' Kaiser bestowed a decoration upon the commander of the■ garrison; and ,thfe est military authorities in- Gjreat Britain, from Lord Roberta downwards, concurred in expressing' their appreciation of the defence:' After the flood, of 'almpst : fulsome flattery there came a sort of reaction, and numerous messages have; been ' telegraphed abroad, giving Arthur had no need to surrender when it did, that there was large-body of. troojis able to- continue the' resistance, and that the supplies of food and ammunition were itnple to sustain the siegte'for •' a considerably longer period. Yesterday we: published what may'be described as the climax of. these attacks on the honour of the Russian, garrison.. ... "The" correspondents at Port- Arthur," .said one-message,," colour in stating that the -surrender . of the fortress was disgracefully premature,' as it was capable of resislingfffor months. The' troops were indignant, and' threw ' their' vifles "and ammunition into; the harbour, looted the warehouses,, and; refused to obey cfficer?. pisgracefvtl scenes fol-

lowed." ' To-day we get General; Stoessel's side of the story, as given to an enterprising • correspondent of the " Daily Express." Ho confirms the statement that immediately after the surrender', the : iroops got, cut of hand,-but if we accept his version of .the case,- there was .nothing disgrncefnjly.premature" about the decision of his Council of War to hand the p'ace-over General Nogi. " Befci-e- the" entry," lie said, " there-yas only-.erigjjgh ammunition, left to resist- one mcrsugenera.l assault."!. Last week the •Japanese' commander .made, a. lerjoi t c'f the", yarioiis stcres ! that -hid ■ '.alien 'into'.:bis possession .when the>. foftreso' . was surrendered:-'' , .Tlie.se - included 82,670 shells. 2,266,800 partridges, and 30,000 kilogrammes .of powdeiy so-that if Nogi's figures arid Stoessel's assertion are both correct, the amount of ammunition require'd to . resist .a single general' assault inu;;t have .been pretty considerable.'' -'lt " is," quite useless to itfeiii'pt a reconciliation of the terribly conflicting statements'that/have, beep distributed by. the ; news a|®ciea. jfEojir-the present,, we. are inclined! £o the first estimate of the if, -lib' getting, away frorjj o ;the faqtjjtliat' St.o?ssei J 'and his Aeß,' ,mQ : ntha, : repulsed ,lthe assarts t)f thef iWsst determined troopswho liavft, ever htflievl ' themselves against, a general's statement-to»-bis interviewer, llie'defence was maintained for three -montKs after lie had> given up hope of being relieved bythe JBaltie fleet, and as, that was his "only-' chance -of .succour,he.:must -have : bean fighting without heart;- When Metre. Hill .'was captured, all the miUtaty crnics•anticipated -that <■ the fall, of Port Arthur was - immliieht, 'Without. -sakmg ■ any .consi.de-, ration of the strength or resources .-of_ the defenders. - "We now learn -ihut the lieayy, guns mpunted i'oii Metre by 1 the Japan-'-ese were' responsible Joy the sinking of t|ie Russian 'warships: in the deatroygd'oiie f>f- the prime ior. continuing' tlie defence. <The iexiitence.'cf those* ships - was. a constant . ifcecace to Admiral Togo-, -who, ,in the "event 'of thearrival of the*.-Baltic fleet, would. hay*?- been obliged to; meet it- with the enfe'strength, of-the- squadrons under liis thus giving-tlie remains, of' the Port ~ Arthur fleet ia free .hand both,.to; out' tie japa.jiese, communications atid'to- f convoy, supplies' ; iiato : tij.e :io'r,t-ress/ Whan the Baltic fleet-, failed to put in' an appearance, and the ships in Port Arthw-wflre ..destroyed 'by the Japanese fire£ .resistance or. •Stoessel's part beeXnifeMv'liseVs.V^' -waste of. life- At Metre . Eill. tco, he lost. the . officer who, as he- adfflitr-fciipsef, was f the! soul of-, the defsare-,'' - ii-tuoWt.l -be»ng, m the words of a - writer : whose description ■of the Russian commanderwas lecentljV published in -our columns, "rathei an en-;, gineerthan a.soldier." It is, however, lm possible to f-erni' .an accurate judgment of what has actually taken place, at Poll Arthur from the contradictory mass of tele grams da^ribing.-the operations since; the • coinmencement of ■: ..arid conveying thb diverse opinions of-a;-great variety of people.- ■ But'of.''tlife; tew. tilings that ; seem obtain, one is that at, present it would tys. " disgracefully -' pren\ature" to. ascribe a' -cowardly and unnecessary-: surrender to the "garrison which maintained a prolonged dcfence against such an enemy' jjs 'the Japanese. t