Connecticut western news., 1884-09-03
LATEST NEWS NOTES.
Happenings of Interest to All,
 At Home and Abroad.
SHOT, SHELL AND FLAMES.
The Chinese Fleet and FOO-ChOw Arse ua1
 Destroyed.

Dispatches from English sources confirm the' news of the French successes at Foo-Chow.
 When Admiral Courbet ordered his ironclads to open fire he was gallantly responded to by a squadron of ten Chinese gunboats on the River Min These were officered by Europeans, and the Chinese gunners served their pieces well, but the calibre of the guns was too small for the shot to iniict serious injury on the French. The latter fired with terrible effect, and the discipline was perfect
 From the moment the French guns got the range on the Chinese boats & pitiless rain of iron was kept up. In vain the Chinese craft steamed hither and thither. One by one they went down with great gaping holes In tbelr sides, until seven of the well-tought gunboats had sunk with the dragon-fag still flying. The remainder were captured for want of un- wounded men to serve the guns.
 The French fleet now moved up the river md took position opposite the great arsenal of Foo Chow It's thanking forts and water bat teries replied at tiEst with some spirit; but the French shells were dropping beyond them in the arsenal itseR tremendous explosion that shook the earth showed that a French shell had fallen into powder magazine From that moment the Chinese firing ceased. For three hours the French guns poured storm of shell upon the arsenal, which was now on fire in several places.
 The signal to cease firing was at length given, and it was seen that the place was ut terly destroyed.
 Toward nightfall several attachments of sailors and marines landed without opposition. The Chinese batteries were deserted and the place was in the hands of the French.
 No advance was attempted on the city of Foo Chow itself. The French fleet cannot as- cend the river any further.
 In the English accounts there Is no mention of the loss of the two French ronclads re- ported.
 'The French ironclads again entered the n o'clock. The white fort opened fire with Krupp cannon while the ships were three miles away. After an hours engagement the French retired. The Chinese fire was good" :"
 A special from Shanghai says: The arsenal at Foo-Choo is in ruins. Eighteen hundred workmen are out of employment. The arsenal cost 42,000, ,000f., and the arms and ammu- nition destroyed were valued at t40, 100000
 Semi-official advices from China report that during the bombardment of Foo-Choo French officer of high rank was killed Only three Chinese gunboats were destroyed.
 The reports of the destruction of the whole Chinese fleet are confirmed. The French lost five men, including an American pilot who was killed on board the heavily armed French war ship Volta. The French fleet suffered no damage. Admiral Courbet's next step vii will ,i be to destroy destroy & the forte, forts .j5 in the mouth of the river. He will then, it is thought, join Admiral Lespes before Kelung and arrange with him for the occupation of that place. It is also thought that an expedi- tion will be sent from Tonquin into Yunnan at the end of the wet season unless China accepts Frances terms.
 The French are elated at the display of Chi nese pugnacity, because it will conduct to pro- tracted hostilities, in which case only the cap ture of Pekin will effectually end the war. The effect of the situation is to cause an enormous increase in stocks at Hong Kong and to gener ally naralUZa tha in1nOrt trQ6a RiOhf traffic on the Canton River is prohibited. Among the Chinese, who are wholly unprepared for war, there is & bitter feeling. They denounce the malpractices of the provincial Governors and will hold them answerable for any collapse of the national defences.
 dispatch from Shanghai to Reuters Tele- gram Agency says: The French loss in the bombardment of Foo Chow was killed and IA wounded. The Chinese loss is estimated at 1000 killed and 5000 wounded. The Chinese man-of war Yarguri was exploded by torpedo after it had fired broadslde at 8 French tor pedo boat. The boiler of the latter was ex- ploded by means of hand grenades thrown from the Yarguri, after which the boat was sunk by the Volta to preyentits being captured by the Chinese.
 A telegram received from Shanghai states that 80,O00 Chinese troops, who had been secretly massed on the frontier, suddenly in- vaded Tonquin, and, after desperate fighting completely annihilated the French troops in that province, the Chinese losing several thou sand killed during the different engagements which followed in quick succession.
 According to the above dispatch the massing of this large force on the frontier of Tonquin had been going on for some time, under the supervision of experienced military leaders, and 80 well did they conduct the affair that the French commanders were unaware of the proximity of any well-regulated Chinese force until the latter swept down upon them like an avalanche, with the above result.
 The French troops, it is said, fought desper- ately and repeatedly charged the Chinese lines, but as fast as the latter were broken into they closed up again with remarkable military pre- cision, and many hand-to-hand encounters en- sued, the French finally succumbing to oyer- whelming odds.