17th May.
Ir wil be remembered that the British Consul-General here pub lished a fortnight ago a notification in the following terms "From a report issued by the Commanding Officer of H. M. S. Hague it appears that the reports of the many floating -mines between Shanghai and Chefoo have been greatly exaggerated.
"Although mines do exist, it is probable that what are taken for mines are in many cases only floating casks, logs of wood, ete.; and whilst every precaution should still be adopted, it is hoped that confidence will be somewhat restored by reason of this information, which has been issued after a careful and constant survey of these waters,"
A.'more unfortunate notification than this we have not seen for a long time, and we can only imagine that it was really intended for quotation in the House of Commons by Earl Perey, or to reassure the British squadron that is coming up to Weihaiwei from the South. The ineptitude.of the notification is remarkable. The Hague, we are told, has made "a careful and constant survey," and found that the mines " do exist why, then, did she not destroy them? "Every precaution should still be adopted," and yet "it is hoped that confidence will be somewhat restored -how can confidence be restored as long as it is still necessary to take every precaution? The fact is that Sir John Fisher's precipitate reforms have deprived the Commander-in-Chief on this station of any vessels which he can use to destroy mines, and the job is left. o merchant vessels, hardly 'a day passing before and since the issue of the "Hogue's notification, without an account in our columns of the attempted or successful explosion of a mine by a merchant steamer. The Hague is 4 recent arrival on this station, and her commanding officer
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.