The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-07-08
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searchlights from the ships and forts
also blinded the Japanese.
AT dawn Friday a reconnaissance OF
the entrance was made by the fourth
and fifth 1otillas, whose report con-
firmed that of the patrol ships as to
the Russian loss
Admiral Togo says the moonlight
and the narrow line of the enemy pre-
vented his fleet from infiicting greater
damage
| The Japanese loss was Unexpectedly
small. The destroyer Shirakumo was
| struck in the cabin and three Of her
crew were killed and three wounded.
The first-class torpedo boat Chi
| dori was struck in the engine-roona.
Torpedo boats Ga, &c and SO We're cam
aged. The others engaged were un-
| injured In concluding his report Ad-
miral Togo says:
1.-THE effect of the attack and the
small loss must be attributed to- the
iIlustrious virtues of his majesty"
MEAGER REPORT MYSTIFYING.
ST. PETERSBURG, June 27.-Em-
peror Nicholas has received the fol-
lowing telegram from Viceroy Alex
Jeff, dated June 9th:
According to reports received from
Rear-AdmiraI Wittsoeft and Rear-Ad-
miral Grigorich, dated respectively
on June Goth and June 23d, the sortie
of the Port Arthur squadron was pre-
ceded by prolonged work in destroying
the enemy's mines by means of nets
carried on all the ships boats and by
night of June 1928 a fight occurred
off Port Arthur between our torpedo
boats and the Japanese torpedo boats,
in which Captain Bliosieff and Lieut.
enant Smyrneff were slightly wound
ed. At o'clock in the afternoon our
squadron put to sea, when eleven Jap
anese ships and twenty-five torpedo
boats were visible on the horizon
Viceroy Alexieff's message tonight,
with the brief dispatch from Rear
Admiral Witrsoeft, naval commander
at Port Arthur throws little additional
light on the sea fight off Port Arthur.
The Admiralty and the Emperor are
awaiting further details with the same
eagerness as the general public. The
latter today for the first time re-
ceived information through the me-
dunn of foreign kilograms that q fight
has occurred.
The loss of three vessels of the Port
Arthur fleet is admitted to be a severe
blow, especially if not purchased by
greater loss to the Japanese than re-
ported by vice-Admira1 Togo
The meagerness of the report is
nnystifying the authorities. who :on-
tinue to believe there has been a later
fight. which has not been reported.
INEXPERIENCED COMMANDER.
In the absence of further Informal
ton the Admiralty is not disposed TO
criticise, although it is admitted to
have been unfortunate for the squad
ron at such a critical time that its
commander should be an officer like
Wittsoeft who, though personally
brave sailor. never before flew his nag
over a squadron 1t is pointed out
that he could not have been forced to
get out of Port Arthur, as the situation
there is not yet by any means des
perate. If he fought his way back
through the investing fleet it was be-
cause one of his patched-up ships had
broken down or for some other urgent
reason. If he arrived in the outer
harbor at night he probably did not
want to go into the inner roadstead
because the narrowness of the channel
made night navigation dangerous or
possibly because one of his ships
stranded at the entrance of the chan
nell Nothing else could account for
his remaining in the outer roadstead,
where he would be exposed to the at
tack of the japanese torpedo boats at
night.
There is a belief that the Vladi-
vostok squadron put to sea Saturday,
and is likely to be next heard of in
the Corean straits.
The Associated Press has received
curious dispatch from a Russian cor
respondent at Vladivostok, who took
pains to say that Vice-Admiral
Skrydloff's squadron would probably
be unable to go out again for weeks,
as the ships had to go into dry dock
for the purpose of thoroughly over
hauling their boilers and cleaning
their hu1ls preparatory to putting to
sea to meet the Baltic squadron.
The dispatch added that some of
the torpedo boats have been battered
by the storm during the last expedi-
ton to the japanese coast. In con-
cIusion, the correspondent says that
nothing has been heard of Vice-Ad-
miraI Karnimura's squadron.
DrnTrU,Srr EDnNY TOvTn