Mr. W. H. Donald—correspondent. for the "Sydney Daily Telegraph "—who is at Present in Tokio, has forwarded to the "Japan Times" the following, which appeared in his paper on 27th February under the signature of "J. S.7;—Since the Confederates leamed how to the Yankee telegraph wires during the Civil War, perhaps no achievement of skilled espionage has been so remarkably successful as the interception of the ethergrams by which Admiral Togo with the Japanese cruising squadron maintains communication with the Japanese Lind forces. The intercepted ethergrams point to a plan for ending the war quickly, but, under circumstances which are obviously contrary to the law of nations, and must can the reprobation of the whole of the civilised world. The design of the Japanese as revealed by these ethergrams is to muzzle all the war correspondents who are on the spot, and by preventing any news of the naval and military operations reaching the European Press to at once remove the ain casson why the war should be continue A selection of the intercepted ether-gris which were sent in plain Japanese is given hereunder (1) To Marquis Yamagata, Tokio. Propose attack Port Arthur to-night. Russian officers are all at the pantounime, and Alexeieff's sit ti with towel round cad writing current fiction labelled dic-"Don't tell the Press.—(Sicned) Togo, battleship Acama, Monday (Repls) To Admiral Togo, H.MLS. Asama somewhere off Weihaiwei—War eorrespo1 dents are all enjoying themselves at smoke concert in Tea House of Ten Thousand Joys. Don't worry about them, old man; go in and win.—(Signed) Yamagata, Tokio. (2) To Marquis Yamagata, Tokio—Gave them slops again last night. If you can only keep war correspondents quiet we shall be all right. Look out for Bennet Burleigh, If he won't stop in the Tea House invite him to dinner and fill him up with rie till he is like the Jumping Frog of Calaveras. (Signed) Togo, Asuma.
(Repl) To Admiral Togo, Asama, off Chefoo.—Have yarded up 1,800 war correspondents, and made the head geishas of the Principal tea-houses responsible for them, Regret to report that Bennet Burleigh escaped. Have executed three telegraph operators for sending unauthorised messages. Shall I boil Burleigh in oil when captured? Wire instructions.
To Marquis Yamagata, Tokio.—Bennet Burleigh only correspondent ever mentioned in the papers. If you stop him all nows apparently ceases. "Do your best for the sake of old Japan.—(Signed) Togo, Asama.
THE MAN BEHIND THE PEN, Oh, where are all the paper-men, the brilliant gifted crew.
Who send us news of battle and of deeds of detring-do Who feed us fut on horrors and on tales of Russians surly?
Oh, bang " official sources," let us have our Bennet Burleigh.
He's the party we require, For he writes with blood and fire, And we read him in editions late and early, While the twelve-inch guns are bawling, You can still hear Europe calling, "What's, up, Burleigh?
Now Japan is full of writers who have gathered from afar, OF strategists and experts in the noble game They're going out in hundreds to the Eastern Armageddon, By desire of fle Ling glory or by: hope of dollars led on; By the one who knows the way When the band begins to play, And the trumpets drown the signs of each sad girlie, Is a gentleman—ye Ken it~ With the Christian name of Bennet, Surnamed Burleigh, An honour of this waxwork scribe we raise a jasons shout (Ho seems to be the only one who's fit to et abont}, He tells us at our breakfast who are winners, who are losers, And the number of the losses of their buttle-ships and cruisers.
But our cheek with sorrow pales As he tells his various tales, And on our toast we drop a tear that's pearly, As we try in vain, awhile: All the yams to reconcile, Of Bennet Burleigh.
He's an everlasting traveller to the earth's Temotest shores: He's sometimes in Somaliland and sometimes midst the Boers Rus tastes are of the simplest; all the rations he's requiring, Are sone ciunon balls for breakfast. and a Junch of volley-firing.
For he passes all his life In_an atmosphere of strife, In a din and crash of battle wild and whirly Should the guns' loud thunder cease, Even marriage would seem peace To Bennet Burleigh.
—"Kobe Herald."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.