'24th June.
The following statement of the survivors from the Hitachi Maru, sunk by the Viudivostock Squadron, appears in the "Kobe Herald"
When it became clear that nothing could be done on board, Lieutenant-Colonel Suchi, Commander of the Regiment, ordered his mien to burn the regimental flag and all the important letters. The order was promptly obeyed and the flag, which had been neid by Ensign Okubo, was burnt together with the important letters. Having ascertained that all these things had been destroyed Lieutenant-Colonel Suchi committed suidd with his pistol, while Mr. Yamagata, Commander of a' battalion, and Lieutenant agao, Commander of 'a Company, committed seppuku. Captain Hashimoto, Commander of one company, and several other officers, and many belonging to the ship, committed suicide—some with pistols and others with swords. Several jumped. overboard and tried hard to swim to the shore, some succeeding, while many sank for good and all. In the meantime, the Russians saw the ship still floating, and the Rossia came within two hundred metres and fired on us about three hundred shots, bullets falling heavy rain on and around the ship. Hundreds of men, both on board and in tne water, were killed by this volley. Heaps of bodies, red with blood, were piled up on board and scurl: t streams were seen in the water, about the ship. The cruelty of Russians and the deplorable sights on a around the ship were indescribable. There is no doubt the Russians determined to kill the Japanese to a man. Of seventeen men under Sergeant Tadokoro, eight fell at tie sume moment, killed by one shot. 'The geant intended to commit suicide but cov! not get at his sword, as all weapons had been taken' away and stored together before the transport sailed. He jumped overboard and was wounded in his ear, but, was not killed. He saw Captain Mishima struggling with the waves beside him, and called to im, but the Captain disappeared in the water with the words " Mo-shikata-ga-nai" (It cannot be helped). The inhuinanity of the Russians may be judged from the fact that most of the dead were killed with bullets; very few were drowned. When the engine room was struck, more than two hundred were wounded there and then. Cries of "Banzai" arose here and there on board, and amid such cries the ship went to the bottom. Thanks to Heaven no Japanese was taken prisoner by the Russians. It must especially be remembered the Captain of the ship, Mr. J. Campbell, was standing on the bridge determined to stand by the ship to the last moment, but finally died a brave death with Ota Kohei, his purser, when the ship sank and nothing more could be done.
In the absence of any news which can be regarded as reliable, all sorts of stories are aflat as to the condition of affairs inside Port Arthur, Refugees and others manage to get out but their stories are most, con-fioting. The other day we were told that all the damaged ships had been repaired. There is just as much or as little reason for fleying the following, which was sant to the There are at present nine Russian battleships and cruisers at Port Arthur, but of this number only five are seaworthy, the remainder being disabled. Nor were any repairs being effected to the damaged vessels at the time the narrator lete the port. All the guns on the disabled vessels have been dismantled and are now mounted on the shore batteries. None of the uninjured war-vessels have for a long time veen under steam, and they are left in charge of a small force, the majority of their crews having been sent to the shore batteries. Nine or ten torpedo-boats and destroyers are still intact, and a few of chem often steam out of the harbour, returning each time after an absence of half an hour, Both land and sea forces are busily engaged in completing the defence works, and a great many nese coolies are employed in the construction and repairing of roads for the purpose of facilitating the transport of the heavy guns. The number of the Russian troop: at Port Arthar is estimated at some 15,000. Each Chinese family in the neighbourhood of the port is forced to supply the Russians with ten pounds of provisions, while even the barley under cultivation is being commandeered as fodder."
'A story which is attributed to Shanghai is that the British fleet, now at the Saddles, is to make some sort of a demonstration in the north The wa ing i thal: Shang. vain imaginings of irresponsible correspon-dante, Many of thee ate feb oven " tu.
It is expected in Japan tnat the Russian cruiser Varyag, sunk in Chemulpo harbour, can be floated by September. The holes in the sides have been repaired and pumping operations are being commenced. 1 The occupation by the Japanese of Saimachi has attracted comparatively little attention in Tokio and else! where, the position heving been taken after only a skirmish. From a strategical point of views, however, says the "Kobe Chronicle," its occupation is regarded as very important, as the natural stronghold of Moticnling is now of little avail to the enemy. Saimachi is regarded as the most important strategical point on the roed from Fénghnangehéng to Mukden and Lisoyang. Now that the Japanese have occupied the place, Mukden and Liaoyang are in a dangerous position, the Japanese closely watching the enemy's positions from the Russian flank. By the occupation of Saimachi, indeed, the plan of General Kuropatkin to march southward is regarded as being entirely frustrated.
The following notes are from Japan papers:—The first number of a paper said to be the mouthpiece of the Russians was issued at Peking on the 14th inst. The contents, as well as its general make-up, are, however, very crade.—The guns captured at Kiulien were tried by the Japanese in the interval between the 26th of May and the th of June. Some of them were found to be effective up to 8,000 metres.—Home exchanges state that a report is current in railway circles in Russia, that, in spite of the war, the Russian Government has decided in principle to have a second set. of rails laid along the Siberian Railway. The Czar is stated to have expressed a wish to see the work completed in two years, and Prince Khilkoff has since submitted an estimate according to which the task could be finished in 18 months.—It now turns out to be untrue that any preparations for flight were advised by the Japanese Consul at Wonsan or made by the inhabitants. Absolute reliance was placed on the ability of the Japanese garrison to hold the place against any Russian assault.
There is being printed in the American papers a letter which first appeared in a Polish organ at Baltimore and purports to come from a Pole in the Russian Army. According to this, General Kuropatkin has doen so impressed by a recent dream that he carries with his baggage a coffin with a liver name-plate already engraved. His dream was that he was killed in battle and buried with others in a trench, an indignity which he hopes to circumvent in this manner.
The Russian Heclesiustical Mission School has published an excellent Japunese-Rus-sion Conversation Book fur the use of the soldiers, und has contributed 8,000 copies to the army and five to each newspaper office. The book has also been put on sula, and the proceeds will be given to the war relief fund. This information from the "Japan Times" affords another instance of the fact that war often leads to a better knowledge and therefore a better understanding of each other by the peoples who have been at strife.
Some interesting comments, by Lieutenant-Colonel Rousset, in the "Gaulois," are reproduced in the "Hongkong ' Daily Press," which says they clearly indicate the difficulty experienced by devoted French admirers of Russia in appreciating the strategy of General Kuropatkin. Colonel Rousset's view of the situation acquites increased importance from the tact that he is one of the most prominent and authoritative French military writers, and that his work on Frederick the Great, Napoleon, and Moltke is an obligatory textbook in the Nicholas Military Acadamy in Russia. According to Colonel Rousset the only acceptable excuse for the failure of the Russians to oppose the landing of the Second Japanese Army opposite the Elliot Islands would be the lack of a sufficient number of troops. " But," he asks, is tnat possible after all the sanguine dispatches of the General Staff respecting the number of men conveyed by the Trans-Siberian Railway?" The Russians, he says, were nob taken by surprise, as Admiral Alexeieff nad time'to reach Mukden. Ten thousand men with guns would have rendered the ex-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.