The St. Johns herald., 1895-11-09
TURNED TRAITOR.
Strange Story of the Capture of
 Port Arthur.
connsnder of Hwang Chin Forts Was a Japanese Who Caused the Guns to Be Badly Aimed So That the
 Fleet Was Uniniured

The ease with which the Japanese captured Fort Arthur during the war with China is explained to some extent by an article in the Japan Gazette. Ac- cording to the Gazette, the commander of the Chinese forts was native of Japan, who had acquired favor in Chi nese councils through a long residence in the F1owery Kingdom, and inten- tionally caused the shots from the guns to be misdirectcd so they would fall short of the Japanese warships, having betrayed his adopted land for the land of his birth. The disgraced commander appeared before the victorious Japan csc generals, acknowledged his treason and committed. suicide in their pres ence. The article continues:
 ''When Port Arthur was attacked by the Japanese army and navy the latter, after getting within suitable range, opened fire on the forts near the coast. The batteries on Hwang Chin answered from heavy guns. These were the strongest forts at Port Arthur, their armament being four Krupp guns. The squadrons approaching within range of such ordnance expected a terrible cannonade, and were not a little aston ished by the weakness of the Chinese resistance. It is true that they opened fire upon the ships, but their shells al- ways fell short of the mark. The sail ors supposed this failure to be due to the inferior gunnery of the Chinese, and greeted each shell as it dropped into the sea with loud shouts of de- rision. The officers, however, were puzzled by performance to them in- explainable, inasmuch as they knew that the artillery in the forts, what ever the faultiness of its handling, could not possibly lack force. Mean while, the celebrated naval station of China was stormed from the Landslide, and the defenders of the fort on Hwang Chin hill were either killed or taken prisoners, their retreat having been cut of by the invaders.
 ''When the officers that defended the Fort Hwang Chin were brought before the Japanese generals one of them, apparently an officer of distinction, stepped forward and thus addressed the generals:
 !" I was the commander of the forts, but now that have incurred irreme- diable disgrace I should like to ask special favor, namely, that I be per- mitted to commit suicide in your pres ence'
 'Such request was not only con- trary to the ordinary habits of the Chinese but what was far more surpris- ing it was conveyed in perfectly cor rect Japanese. One of the officers to whom the captive had addressed him. self asked him where he had acquired the Japanese language so well. The prisoner replied that he was originally 9 native of Higo, whence he crossed over to China many years ago. Sub sequently by some chance he attracted the attention of Viceroy Lii, who gradually promoted him till at last he wes appointed commander of the forts
 After making the confession the officer insisted upon committing sui- eide, notwithstanding the remon- stranees of the Japanese generals. Making profound obeisance, he sat down and slew himself according to the strict canons of the Japanese samurai. The officers were much struck by the manly conduct and caused the remains to be inferred with due ceremony"