Buildings in the Central district were shaken to their foundations ey a terrify detonation about 4.47 o'clock yesterday morning when another éltempt was made to sink the Japanese cruiser Idzumo, flagship of Vice-Admiral Hasegawa, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Third Fleet, The blast which broke the early morning quiet and turned many people out of their beds, shattered many windows along the waterfront, and was followed by a duel between Japanese warships and Chinese artillery in Pootung. For nearly an hour and a half firing continued as the: Japanese warships poured heavy fire into Pootung in answer to the somewhat feeble -Chinese shelling, and some of the warships used broadside effects which put shell after shell as far as four miles into the district although the objectives seemed tobe obscure, It was the most intense hour and a half that ihe Whangpoo district has experienced since the outbreak of hostilities, Mystery veils the attack on the Idzumo, and' even the Japanese authorities. last night were puzzled as to the precise nature of the attack. Suggestions swung between a mine floated down river or a torpedo fired from the Pootung side of the river, Opinion was in favour of? a © mine which struck the protective nets a hundred yards from the Idzumo but did no serious damage, although the vessel's starboard side yesterday appeared to have been scorched as if by some tremendous explosion, Yesterday afternoon, boats were out with nets apparently trying to drag the Pootung side of the river nearest to the cruiser,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.