The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-09-20
VOL. s-NEW SERIES NO 1862.

There has scarcely been any fighting since
the war OF restoration in which ne was
not actively engaged.
, ~ is the. general opinion Of japanese
aaal maIshai famagata Is the ablcst
general that Japan now has There are
iour held marshals Ia the Japanese army,
ana count 1dmagata Is the only one who
rs nqt oi piinceiy birth The other three
sonaNes OF royal blood
- MARSHAL Namagata has I'm his staff fin
'oIed Licutcnant-General Nodsu. as vice
commander. who has had as brilliant a
mlhtatY career as the Marshal himself
th'| nave been together i'm previous bat
iteS ana know each other wen. IT is not
likely that there viii be any disagreement
between them as tO military 0perations
- IL is a remarkable coincidence that
General Nodsu and Mr.. Ot0H. the present
japanese Minister 10 COrea. are brOuvbt
together TO work IN the same Held Thcy
were foes In the war OF restoration and
fought against each other al many places.
the former being an impcraiist and the
latter rebel, who supported The Shogun
Government.
Under such lehlcrs OF extraordinary
merits. the japanese soldiers cannot fan
to make short work OF the Chinese. ut-
merous though The latter may be.
TIE CITY TaE JAYASrsE c,rrrnru.
Foreigners VINO have visited Corea say
that iing-Yang is one Of the most pic
turesque cities Of the Land OF fhe N,r,,-
northern bank Of the TatOng. ID rs tine
principal town In the great northwestern
province or flng-an. The province is one
OF ihe largest ii not The largest I'm C0rea
lt is very mountainous and I'm large
part covered with dense forests % is
cut 10y two rivers, the Ta-tong and the
thOnF gang, whose general course is
from northeast TO southwest. The Yaiu
river by far the greatest with which
the Coreans have 70 90, forms the north
west boundary Of the province and oil
COrca. Between these three streams
which run In rocky thluly inhabited val
leys, are high mountain chains some
of whose peaks reach an altitude Of 7NOI
and 5000 feet. Travel across country is
extremely slow and difficult.
Before the invention OF Firearms Ping
Yang was considered great stron--
hold. It could only be approached by th-
mountain passes or from the sea. Il he
former could he guarded 10y "a few forts
and EarrtsOnS while the latter was de-
Tended by a powerful navy. II was III,
state of affairs which prompted the old
MOugolian kings 10 make 10 their capital
long before the Christian era. Fulnily
enough, IL IS still supposed 10 be- guarded
by a powerful navy, but II is only upon
paper. The official blue book OF the King
of Corea gives navy list of 50) war
ships with 1909 naval officers. ranging
from admirals down 70 ieutenants one
squadron Of thirty, with some $50 officers
Is set aside for the defence OF Ping-Iang
and its adjacent cities. with headq quarters
ina the Raw of TA~Toug. As d matter Of
fact the 800 ships and the Png-Yan-
squadron exist only Oh paper. Cored does
not possess one war snip, though she
owns Il few merchantmen which carry
tribute and rice To Cnemulpo.
la PuB-an-dO. or the province Of Ping
an. there are fOrty-tWO towns, OF "hlch
nearly all are either on the seacoast or
on the banks Of the three rivers de-
scribcd and their aiiiuents. The Chinese
fugitives from the battle iu Whith TIE
Japanese have been the NlctoFs, ana VINO
must be- some 5000 or 10000 lh HuinOet
are now making their way noi III Naru'
IN the hope Of reaching the am river.
which is the boundary between DoTtd ana
their own country, and crossing IL lhtu
the imperial district of Lian-tahS. nose
that have gone westward toWhi u tht So
and thence along the coast ID the morn
stand fair chance OF reaching thelI
destination. ,, ,3
tho advantage Of the ground, the WallS o'
the old city. and Of earthworks, Which
tbev themselves constructed. II Is a
wonderful evidence Of the military Supe
riorftv of the japanese mat ihcy "rIt
able 10 overcome these adNaht4fts WIN
such apparent case. Inc BIouIu ~ lio'ii7
and rocky. ana consists largely OF boHI-
dors and broken rock. which nave Leen
disclosed from the mountains ana DIDu5Il
down Dy water, Zee. of 6i't'i''r 'r- m 7''
spleudidly as r1mpart5 Tor deleHcr anu
az cavalry The city walls are made ol
stone brick and tile laid I'm cement.
They were nigh ana strons centuries 30
but to-day are diapldatcd a.' ,, n"l.
broken down at numerous points. Ii-j
would serve materially as q protection
AGAINST bullets bat would be- no defence
whatever AGAINST the hgntest afNi. cry. Ah
fact thcv would increase It's eIhllehty.
4 sin..le shot would sweep away seNei'i
souare yards OF surface oi wall ana
IrFNII lI IIil
Immediate ncghbOThOod. What ie"
earthworks there were must have neeh
erected by the detachment of Il Hunf
Changes army, which alone stood IT'S
sround and was cut to pieces hy the
victors These men have been thor9nsn-
y drilled by European officers ana had
among other things course oI tram
ing In raising partAwOrks according u
the latest German system. The Chinese
themselves seldom indulge IN this KIND
of defence They like 10 dig only 10
make mines or else TO turn water
course upon an enemy