AT THE FRONT IN MANCHURIA.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 5031, 21 May 1895, Page 2

AT THE FRONT IN MANCHURIA.

A Graphic Description If OF THE Invading Japs. [Bi i British Resident.] Addressed to a Mnstorton Settler, The following interesting letter from a resident in Manohoria, has been placed at our disposal : "For the last month wo have beon unable to got letters sent off, ; and, of course, we have not heard from the outside world either; you see we are prisoner, and our rights are curtailed. We have been making history in Newchwang this last month, but wa have been so thoroughly cut off froifc, the rest of the world, that most of if ■ has had to remain nhwritten, save by the pens of the Japanese invaders. An opportunity, liowevi has at length presented itself of ing our story, miied with no little indignation, for we have been prisoners of war, non-combatants though we bo. It was welcome news to hear this morning that a British gunboat was off the bar, unable to come any further, of coarse, on account of the river beingstill frozen, It turns out to beH,M,S, Edgar, sent by the Admiral from Chefoo, who is impatient to know,how it has j fared with us since the capturo of our city by the Japs, Captain Henderson succeeded in sending a launch ashore with mails—the firstsinceone brought by a Chinese customs courier on the 3rd March—and men to take back our news,

It was on the evening of the 4th inst. that our little European community was start® to hear from the British Conßl that a letter had come to his hands from the Japs, addressed to the Europeansand native Christians, briefly announcing that wo might expect them shortly, They weresony, they said, to he under the necessity of disturbing our peace, but the Chinese army had formed too strong a base hero, and wore threatening tho line of communication between their first army at HaichSng, and the second at Gaijou; it must therefore bo dislodged. Tho cool assuranco of the note was intensely amusing wheu one considered the formidable size of tho army to be dislodged; yet we, who were behind tho scenes and had witnessed more than one military parade,knew well that such confidence was not ill-founded, and at once set about laying in tho necessary supplies. On the morning of the sth our expectations were confirmed, for there we could see from the city walls the ejrciit Chinese army that had crowded us in so uncomfortably for months past, liliifcj away to the north-west. They 9ft been retreating thus all night noFh mile from our gates; and then we realized tliatGrenerals Sung and Wu, notwithstanding the proud bravado of_ their proclamations, had determined to surrender tho city and country for many miles around without a blow. It was a humiliating spcctaclo for their countrymen —one not unmixed with satisfaction for tho rest of us, for there was no longer any risk of the horrors of war in the British Settlement. But this then was all that the scornful contempt of theso " dwarfs," as they liadopenlytermcdtheJaps,amounted to—a masterly retreat! The immediate cause of it wo found later in tho day to bo the capture of Newchwang (proper), tho city thirty miles up the rivor.

I It came about in thiswise, A • r ) Japanese column marfched out fijßl ) Haieheug on tlio 2nd up the nflft* I road to Liaoyang, This movement ! atoneoraisedthealarmofanadvance ) on Jloukden, in the minds of the i Chinese Generals posted to the i north of Newchwaug, and they ■ at once retired on Liaoyang, with I the view of checking there, any ' . further progress. The Japanese plans, however, wero well laid, and the . Chinese fell easy victims to the strategy. The march north was only a feint, and the road was now clear. On arriving at the saddle-hill, halfway to Liaoyang, tho column j I suddenly turned south-west, and presented themselves at tho north • and west gates of Newchwang s simultaneously with a company ' direct from Haicheng, appearing at ■ the South and East. The Beige began early on tho 4th and,suri rounded as they were, the Chinese made a desperato house to house ■ resistance, It is agreed on all ham, ' that it was far the bloodiest fi™ the Jap has had as yet in Manchuria. • And the numbers killed alone, would ' bear tho statement out—lßßo dead t were counted on the street next day. The most stubborn stand was made ■ ' round tho fortified pawn-shops. Over 300 Japs fell in the assaults upon them. Towards nightfall, however, tho defenders were isolated in two companies, who wero communicated with and advised to surrender. The first, .with a cry of "No surrender ! shot down the messengers ' bearing the flag of truce, and there was nothing left, but to enter and mow down evory man, The other, ' towards midnight, raised high a Ohinose lantern, bearing the characters denoting "Surrender," and 560 of tho gallant defenders were / taken prisoners. Among the dead was General Hu. ' This, then, was the cause of G en . eral Sung's retreat, next day, jfj gave out that he was bourn} fo r <u B relief of the beleaguered garrisofc. but for that, he was too l a t ;8 real object was to save h- s b agoaPid ' only possible lino of Vetreat across thonver,atpen- ]U r ta . w , we rose on the Tve found th 6 natives all a bu7 jis » exc it olftenfc tne they said, „erl upon us at Bnt heed to tor, many suo | l ta]es ™ ™»Ug. the Chinese gingal' , beaieiTj Bti jj npon the wfillg, deter- ' ! to digest our morning chops i v 111 tjßace, while we attacked a Home f m *jil; for it-was the dav for th« weekly dispateh of tie CusloW overland counor, and this was likely to be our last chance, for a good. month to come, Bnt 1] o'clock and the excitement came to a crisis, with the news that '?• the Japs were actually under Je, city walls, whereat weISfttl*' gato wflooH^' 8 at ttlß '•— j enough, was a picket S haIKJJ Y?t,l r u U ', loD ff eft rth-celburem jJorkshire-blaflket coats, while theWi : rather heavy looking kits rested' W-; their feet. They stared- m a t us ia aU a «^ Gt l as much as to .. say, .hpt (rar : word, jonj Bee i truly

black serpents towards us, across tin plain. Onr position turned out t< bo a good one for seeing all that to going.on, far the chief of the staff w under General Wogni, took up thoii P quarters on the river bank, just out side tho gate. What struck us most was again their cool assurance—the cool nir with which they smoked . their cigarottes, as if tho capture oi a city was one of tho most ordinary cvouts in lifo. It certainly was the first oxporicuce of it, nud likely to be tlio only one for most of us inside, Yetthe tirst officer to come forward, finding a, Britisher at the gate enjoying a smoke, while'he watched events, deliberately produced a weed, which witli some cool equivalent for " Excuse me," he proceeded to light at my friend's pipe. It was most laughable and not less so when he proceeded to business by enquiring (writing Chinese characters—our ( only mode of communication with S| the uni-lingnists among them) whother there were any soldiers in the houses just inside the gate. - Whereupon, being assured that they • had all fled, he set his sentries, and V' the city was practically taken. But what of the Chinese garrison ? Well, most of them had cleared out with all speed when the enemy was reported to bo a mile away; and to make flight easy they had torn off all oncumbrances in the way of guns and swords, and ammunition. These, and Chinese banners, uniforms, and gingals, littered the streets, and many of-them are in Europoan hands as curios. The main body (led across the river at the opposite end of the town, followed by all the civil officials and many of the merchants and others. The carps of Captain Wang which we had had the pleasure of seeing on parade at our back doors only the day before, made some pretence of a stand under cover of some it mud houses just on the other side, a Japanese file was quickly told off to meet them. It was an exciting moment when they ran across tho frozen river—led by their officers, not followed ii. la Chinoise. After kneeling to fire, they took advantage of the cover afforded by somo peaboats and retired behind them under the cloud of stroke; but it was unnecessary for their fire was not returned. At the first volley most of the Chinese broke and lied, 'scattering in all directions. The Japanese advancing fired four more volleys among them in quick succession; and this was followedl by a cavalry charge, whereat Captain Wang and his followers passed quickly out of sight. While.tho firing was goirg on a Japanese officer, speaking very good French, rode up to where we' stood and courteously invited us to keep our minds at ease as there was no further fear of trouble The only other shots fired at the taking of the city were at some soldiers standing about the Red Cross Hospital gates from the guns of three scouts who •entered unobserved from the south, jand very pluckily covered the main street alone, while their comrades outside the east gate, beyond the British settlement, awaited the denouement of events across the river. At last, however, the general order was given to enter and formal possession was taken of the place, But the forts had yet to bo reckoned with. They are some distance down the river on the same side and it was reported they were still held by a considerable force. During a hasty ' tiffen ' we were startled by the bursting of shells that seemed to shake the very foundations of the place. The Japanese did not,however, make any determined attack on them, that day, preferring, apparently, to give the garrison a night to think about it, Nor were they far wrong, for at nine . Jhat night, the place was complstely npacuated. We saw the artillery pass out again to the East Suburb, in the course of the evening, and a magnificent equipment it appeared. Some three dozen Kruppguns were drawn with ease oyer unspeakable roads, each by six fine sturdy horses, backed by men, the quiet confidence on whose faces, one cannot easily forget. Everything was in perfect working order, even to spare wheels in case of a break-down about the gun caifiages. During the occupation of the place, a good deal of looting was done by the roughs down town One of the most pitiablo reminders of the day, is the wreck of the fino Customs House which overlooks the "Foreign Square," JTo sooner was this building deserted by the officials, than the vultures swooped down upou the carcase, and «;thinan hoi'-, the whole building as wrecked—even windows, doors, and stairs, were cairied off by the very creatures who should have been foremost in its defence. A fom of Japanese only woke up to what was going on, too late, and themselves set a guard upon it. The looting was the moat contemptible part of the day. Mr Jfaclntyre, by single-handed pluck, just saved the Government rice stores from going in the 6ame way. He happened to be in one of the Red Cross Hospitals, just opposite the store, when the loot began, and hearing of it, he seized a carrying polo, and rushing amongst the crowd alone,brandished •his awkward weapon to such effect that looting was stopped in that quarter. Much of the same rice was secured next dayforthcGOOwonnded Chinese soldiers, who had been left in our four Hospitals. The Japs have left the care of these men entirely to the Europeans, only setting sentries over tho gates m claim them as prisoners of war. m is marvellous to see the change over .these poor fellows since they camo to us. They came, thoroughly distrusting us as ' foreigners'; now ihey cannot do enough for us, -Formerly they were in terror of the Japs coming upon them before they .were ablo to escape; we counselled them when the enemy did come to be still and keep their minds at ease, which advice they took practically! i to a man. One of the finest sights I have seen of late was, when a •Japanese Hed Cross Surgeon entered ■one of our wards next day, and was ; shewn some of the most interesting •cases, to notice the fear and tremMingwith which.he was received, change to trust when they noted how carefully he touched them and rearranged their pillows and coverlets. But to proceed: next day, the 7th, was extremely stormy, but werther makes littlo difference to the Japs, though it is a serious item in the Chinese programme. The great army marched in that day, some ■ of them passing through the *wn io occupy the fork The 43 ins there wore found intact, and •all trained to ; cover the foreign -■settlement, which makes it providential for us they were never fired. ■Some nights after, a mine exploded killing five Japs and .wounding '■several more,' Had it been fired at

the right time it would have done much more serious damage, but evidently the Chinese did not know bow to work the electrical apparatns that charged the fuse.

That .evening it was very pifcifiv to see the refugees from tho suburb; anil villages to the east of us plunging iu through the snow. The pooi creatures, many of them old women tottering an their small feet, and crying childien carried in baskets slung on carrying poles over the shoulders of the men, had been driven out ruthlessly by tho conconquerors, who used their sticks of furniture to imiko them fires, while the ownors thereof wandered miserable and homeless into the city. We found a placo of refuge for some of thorn, and Mr Webster did much iu helping them to find quarters and food. Tho great armies under Sung and Wu had been repulsed, but not defeated, as no decisivo battle had been fought. The Japs are not tho people to let tho grass grow under their feet, and they no soouor had Nowchwang (proper) and Yingtzu in their hands, than they prepared to march upon the Chinese base at Tion-juang-tai. To understand tho importance of this step, it is necessary to explain its situation, It is a placo of 25,000 inhabitants on the right bank of tho Liao, where it.widens,about 13 miles north-west oi this port. It is horo that tlio great winter roads from the far north and from Peking jidss eacli other, and near hero that the two main streams of tho Liao converge, Itis therefore an extremely ictive trading centre, and being by :ar the busiest ford in Manchuriamost of the great river pea-boats work from here and are beached in tvintei—Sung and Wu hud for long established themselves in a very strong position at the place, md worked from it as their base of operation's, and to dislodge Hie Chinese (rom it meant that they jould have no further hold in all •southern Marchuria, This then was the task tho lapancso essayed on Friday, the Stli, Hid which, if they succeeded, would be the most decisive victory of all. A inia.ll force marched out from hero [Yingtzu) on the preceding evening ind hud a brush with the enemy in ;he morning but they wore not itrong enough, and only served to :ost the strength of tho position, They were speedily reinforced from lere and Newchwang (proper), The icige began in earnestabout 3o'clock n the morning by heavy shelling rom the opposite bank of the river, vhieh was of course very distinctly ludible hero in Yingtzu. The mgagement lasted for some hours, jut at last,iiotwithstiinding the fact ;hat the Chinese were entrenched iu treat force and under good cover, md that tho Japs had to cross tliej 'rosen river in comparatively small lumbers, and without cover, the; jreat army broke and lied. General j fiang was severely wounded and had I ;reat difficulty in getting carried j iway by the panic-stricken soldiers, j Vfterthe capture of tho town and daughter of the fugitives beyond, ■lie Japs gave formal notice to the nhabitants to quit, and deliberately ;et fire to the placo. We could see ■lie smoke of the burning for days. I ■ode out three days later and sawthe lattle-lield. What a sight! As we Irew near the river we began to see vcapons and ammunition scattered lere and there, which increased in lumbers as we crossed the ice, On he opposite bank lay the dead just .s they fell-some still clutching heir weapons. Wo passed through he town. It is a perfect city of leath. Bodies horribly gashed lay ibout, I say it reluctantly, but I un afraid the Japanese gave no quarer. First there are no wounded to ic found, though hundreds lie dead ; .ml secondly, we came across severed leads and dismembered limbs that 10 wounds of shot or shell suffice to 'xplain. Two poor fellows tied by heir queues to each other, and to ho girdle of another, all dreadfully nutilated. But the most horrible ight of all is the work of the pariah logs who make no distinction ictween man and beast; but amongst ho dead there are no women or ih'ldren. The Japanese did not :nter the houses in, their work of lestruction. Mail time is up, so you must wait or the rest." f IXGTZU on Pom OK Newchwasg. North China. March 28th, 1895.