The Saint Paul globe., 1904-10-25

tempt been made to justify the firing
upon innocent fishermen. 1t is felt that
RojeStyensky is too good man and
officer to be summarily condemned. 1t
is agreed that he is entitled to a hear
ing, but even the admiralty regretfully
admits that it is at loss what ex-
planation could justify so apparently
cold blooded an act as the affair is
made to appear by foreign reports.
1t developed during the day that the
admiralty had strong reason to believe
that an attempt would be made
against the squadron during its pas
sage through the Great Belt or the Eng
lish channel. So specific was the in
formation that even the present crisis
has not diverted attention from the
possibility of such an attempt being
made. The failure of the steam
trawlers with the nets out to obey the
signals of the Warships, or the nerv-
BUSINESS of the officers, who imagined
that the fishermen working on their
nets were laying mines, may be respon-
sible for the blunder.
1t is expected the Russian govern
1nent will voluntarily offer the fullest
reparation. It is hinted that the en-
peror tomorrow will send a formal
message to King Edward, conveying his
profound sorrow for the North sea in
cident and offering to make what rep
aration is possible as soon as the re-
sponsibility can be fixed. These ad-
vance assurances, it is hoped, will be
met in an amicable spirit by Great
Britain.
In diplomatic circles the gravity and
delicacy of the situation is recognized
Unquestionably nervousness exists, but
in view of the sentiment in govern
ment circles here the feeling prevails
that an amicable adjustment will be
reached. This evening the censor
passed all kilograms relating to the
subject, which Immediately became the
all absorbing topic in every public re-
sort. The war in the far East SEEM
ingly was temporarily forgotten Not
withStanding the latent sentiment of
hostility against Great Britain which
smolders in almost every Russian
breast, the reports of the blunder Of
the Baltic feet have aroused only ex-
pressions of sincere regret, coupled
with hopes that when Rojestvensky's
report arrives it will place a different
complexion on the incident.
Attack on Ambassador
Count Benckendorff, the Russian am.
bassador, returned to London tonight
from celebrating his silver wedding
with his wife's relatives in Silesia and
barely escaped assault from a crowd at
him almost into the embassy. For
tunately for the issue of peace or war,
nothing resulted; yet throughout the
night a special force of police was COM
PEELED to guard the Russian embassy.
Count Benckendorff has been always
regarded in official circles here as a
friend of peace, and he was as much
opposed as was Count Lamsdorff to the
RuSSO-J Japanese war. Indeed, he is al
most an Anglophile in sentiment. There
is no doubt that Count Benckendorff
was deeply hurt by tonights demon
stration. After escaping from the hos
tile crowd that met him at the station,
he drove at a gallop to the embassy.
Half dozen rowdies followed, but the
ambassador arrived unframed. His
noisy pursuers encountered a Gordon of
police that had been hurriedly dis
patched to guard the embassy. After
singing Rule Britannia" the disturb
ers dispersed. no arrests being made;
but the police continue to guard the
embassy as if it were a British fortress
With such vigilance did they carry out
their task that when Prince Sviatopolk-
MirSky, a cousin of the new Russian
minister of the interior and second sec
retary of the embassy arrived he had
hard work getting in. Count Bencken-
derff had telephoned him to come to the
embassy to write long cipher mes
sage to st. Petersburg describing to-
nights hostile demonstration.
Prince Sviatopolk- AIirsky said:
''The attack on the trawlers was OBJ
viously either an act of war or great
mistake. No sensible man can now
| think it was an act of war, and there
! fore it was mistake; and when you
| have made a mistake all you can do is
to apologize and pay for it. Neither
country concerned wants to go to war
with the other. 1t is annoying to our
! diplomatic relations with Great Brit
ain; but it is quite different from the
sinking of the Maine Incidental mis-