RUSSIA'S UNREADINESS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8043, 22 June 1904, Page 3

RUSSIA'S UNREADINESS.

An officer of the merchant marine wio has fip4nt 4 great deal of time in the East, and has had excellent opportunities of seeing the state of affairs, in Port Arthur, sends a very interesting letter to a friend in Auckland, in which he strongly contrasts the unreadiness of the. Russians with the preparedness of the Japanese for the present conflict. Writing of the Japanese preparations, h6 says : — " Three years ago I was in Kuri, their principal naval aocsenal, a place impregnable from its peculiar position in the inland sea; and day and night the orew'A of all the ships were drilled and perfected in every exercise, from small arms and. great gun to ' general qnartes.' Sadden alarm* were sounded at dead of i^kpht, and the drills were performed with the oeatneee and celerity which only comes of long practioel" ;

. Then, the writer give* a dlffeftfeafc (picture!—"l -was In Port Arfclrar jtisfc Jb*ft*« ths war broke otifc, and *&en the sroinen bf officers and laerchants, ©tc., w«r« fleetag to Vladlvostock on board one of the Rtission volunteer steamers. During the lyhole of t&a time I w«» tier*— aibout foiiiteen dayH —I never saw a gun exercise on bowd & single ship in tie dock or katbottf. On the fortifiofctions I gxw a pair of Kn*pp guns cleaned I>y Wo men. The Tvaiships "were all id a "loost disgfaoeful Condition, Vfith fclfe exception of one or t\w ia^ cruieei«»

which ha-d been at sea, and they were not much to brag about. The seamen were all dirty and unkempt, and whatever the iron rule of Russia, the men seemed to run riot > all over the ships (I speak of those in dock here), and! the officers were mostly eonepicu- j ous by their absence. "Positions were being rapidly strengthened by earthwork*. Port Arthur seemed to me to be impregnable, for the entrance is narrow, and the peninsula carries a fort or 'battery on every hill. Aa to the ohances of either Power haying to retreat to, or be attacked m t Korea, it is an ideal oountry, and just what the Japs are used to."