St. Petersburg, August 1.
A little book entitled " Kuropstkin. From recollections of the Russo-Japanese War" lately published in St. Petersburg, does not raise our esteem of the late commander-in-chief. The writer, who conceals his identity under the letters V. A., says that Kuropatkin bad a genius for putting the round man in the square hole. An authority on tactics was placed in charge of the: intendant's department, a cavalry leader was given charge of the hospitals, an expert in railways got an ordinary post. On the Yalu the commander of the 2nd corps led the 3rd corps, the com-dent, in a telegmm dated Sage.
"The Times" Peking cor 1 states:
For some time past I have been visiting among other places in North China the British port and leased territory of Weihaiwei. The ion is small in territorial extent, bot is one presenting a remarkable illusory tion of the British genius for governing Asiatics. The opinion is widely held in the Far East that the time come when the British Government should announce its intention as to the future of the port. The present on-certainty stifles all development and causes constant misunderstanding. Why cannot our Foreign Office give the mander of the latter being in Port] Fa! quisite assurance to the British in China thet Weihaiwei will continue"
Arthur. These unusual appointments British possession? The port his were never justified by results.
The spirit of indecision seized on the great advantages as a sanatorium both for our navy and our subjects in Chins, army s soon as General Kuropatkin who now, uncertain of the futore, took charge of it. Mischenko was called hesitate to invest money there, and back from the Yalu and the army thus: resort instead, during the summer, to lost its eyes and ears." never seemed to realize the enormous the German port of Tsingtan or to sanatoria on Chinese soil, to the importance of the Yalu and of Port Achar, "Hie staff treated very lightly preeogerds those places. Every englishman who before the presen! uncertainty invested money in Weibsi-"wei did so under the direct encourage Kuropatkin complained that he could not get information about the enemy but he never used his enormous cavalry force in order todo so. At Wafankow he remained 200 or 300 miles from the scene of the action and did nothing to raise the spirits of the troops. Decorations intended for the troops remained for months with the staff and a bad impression was created in the army when St. George's Crosses that had been bestowed on some of the' soldiers were taken back because mistake had been made in the chan-
When General Kuropatkin resolved to come closer to the army and went to Tachihchiao things got worse, for he went too much into detail, tried to command companies and even pointed out the exact position which certain batteries and battalions should occupy, as if there were no such persons as brigade and regimental commanders. His declaration that he would "not ment of official statements in the House of Commons that Weibsinri would be held so long as other Powers held similar leases of Chinese territory, yet when the British community on Jane 1, 1906, petitioned for inform. tion as to the future, they had to wait ten months for a reply. Even thea, on March 21 last, Lord Elgin evaded direct answer, and retused to dis "hypothetical cases," but cartly informed the colonists that " whatever contingency may arise the British Government could not entertain soy claim of compensation to firms or iaviduals who have invested money la Weihai The present policy is regarded in the Far East as illogical. If the British Government will a nounce its intention to retain Websiwei industries will be started and the colony will quickly prosper. If the Government is pr to. restore ion to China, the Chinese Government would certainly engage compensate the residents who had invested money there while the pot was under the British flag. in himself but none in his is the verdict of " V. A." on Kuropatkin.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.