18th July.
While the fate of Port Arthur may be decided at any moment it is worth while to quote one more of the many personal appreciations of the strength and weakness of the famous fortress, which have appeared during the past months. At the end of a long article in the "St. James's Budget" the writer says: " Unfortunately for Port Arthur, range of hills runs down the Liaotung peninsula till it almost touches the fortified Perimeter. From these many of the forts and batteries can be dominated, an advantage of which the astute soldiers of Japan will doubtless avail themselves once more, and unless a very largo garrison is disposable the remote works might be captured in detail. Moreover, the ground in front of the defences, even where apparently open on the nap, is deeply scored in all directions with gullies and ravines affording splendid cover for the riflemen of a daring enemy right up to within 300 yards of some of the main defences. Very much will depend on the size of the available garrison. Until quite lately Port Arthur contained 25,000 men, a force by no means too large for its defence. But when the Japanese rushed the line of the Yalu it became evident. that Russia's available field army was nothing like strong enough to lock up so many: that were badly wanted elsewhere. The latest aitimate Places the garrison at about 6,000' But whether this includes the naval force or not, It is perfectly evident that such numbers are quite adequate to make good the defence Of #0 extended a perimeter as that of the works at. Port Arthur,"
Few of those who have hoped and expressed the most sanguine things of Japan in the Present war have gone quite so fur as a former member of the Asiatic department of the Russian Foreign Office, who, in an interview with the Kieff correspondent of the "Standard," has declared it to be his belief that "sooner or later the Baikal will form Hussia's: eastern frontier." Further than that, brushing aside, as a Russian naturally would, Japan's oft-repeated protestations that she meditates no territorial aggression, this ex-official goes on to make other in. teresting surmises. "Let us say," he argues, "tht in the present campaign Japan is eventually overborne by the sheer force of numbers. What then? She holds command of the sea. She will immediately address hor self Ww the task of doubling the strength of her fleet ani quadrupling the strength of hor Army. The question of Japanese or Russian supremacy in Eastern Asia is searcely likely to be decided by one camnpaign and speaking within my own knowledge, the recuperative powers of the Japanese are immensely superior to our own. Hence my opinion that the Baikal will ullémately become the demarcating border between ourselves and the great Power now arising in Eastern Asia."
It seems a little hard on the "Japan Gazette" to find it among the papers ined for breach of the censorship regulation, seeing that it was one of those which abstained from signing the recent memorial by the editors, and even went the length of writing an attic] explaining abstention himself and taking another with him, he and defending the censorship. "The entered the tank, and though partly over-'Japanese censorate," said the Gazette," is come, he man to fasten a rope very stringent; some of its regulations we around the chief officer's body and the consider too stringent, but of the principle two were hauled up. Me. Graham was ima a whole we cannot but approve. The mediately conveyed to the General Hospi-secrecy drawn around all Japanese move-tal and artificial respiration was tried, but monte is one of the great sources of their he was unconscious throughout the night strength and success, and we could not ask and till Tuesday evening. After the for the relaxation of any point that seemed rescue of the chief officer, another native fin any way indirectly pertinent to a succossentered the tank to get out the bodies of ful prosecution of the war. That is our the two stevedores who had first been position, and we protest against any attempt overcome. He in turn was overcome and to interpret our action otherwise, even if we though rescued alive, died on Monday are in the minority. The Jepanese have a evening. The tank was then ventilated right to conduct their war to suit themselves by means of electric fans and the other to long as no private rights are assailed, and in this war, as far as we have seen, bodies were recovered. We regret to foreign and Japanese papers have received learn that Mr. Graham died yesterday. equal treatment."
Phe " Negasaki Press' gives the following
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.