The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1904-02-27
SHELLING
PIT. ARTHUR
japanese Still after Russian
Stronghold.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Place IS Closely Invested and Is
Reported to Be Hardly
Pressed.
HARBORHARDTODEFEND

ST. PETERSBURG, Feb. PA dis
patch received here from Port Arthur
says:
AT l o'clock yesterday morning sew
eral japanese torpedo boats were sight
ed from here with their sails set for
the purpose Of Disgusting their charac-
ter The battleship Retvizan and the
shore batteries opened fire on them and
continued firing until daybreak with
out any visible result After daybreak
a japanese squadron, apparently con
voying transports, was sighted. At
quarter past IL o'clock this squadron
came nearer, and an engagement, which
! lasted forty minutes, ensued. There
was no damage. Few shells fell in
Port Arthur.
1t is expected here that the japanese
will attempt landing soon.
'An inspection of the Japanese fire
ships sent into this harbOr shows they
were loaded with coal and kerosene
and that electrical internal machines
bad been placed in the midst of this
cargo
The official report of Major General
Plug, chief Of staff to Viceroy Alex
eieL, giving details of the attack on
Port Arthur on the morning Of Thurs
day, Feb. 25 Is as follows:
"The enemys squadron Of sixteen
warships approached from the Dalny
side toward the harbor Of Port Arthur
shortly after midnight on the 25th inst.
and at once opened fire upon our three
cruisers standing outside in the road
stead-namely, the Askold, Bayan and
NoVik, and also against the land forts.
At the conclusion of the bombardment
our cruisers retired into the harbor
Tne enemy bombarded the land bat
teries for some time. Then they re-
treated and remained out Of range of
our guns.
'In the meanwhile four japanese
cruisers separated from the enemy's
main squadron and went into Gou-
binsja bay where they opened a heavy
fire upon one of our torpedo boats sta
toned in the bay and also upon the
coast batteries. Consequently the COM
mander of the fort sent troops to this
point, but no landing took place. The
bombardment there lasted twenty-five
minutes, at the expiration of which
time the japanese cruisers retreated.
The loss on our side ryas one man
wounded in one of the land batteries
The officer commanding at Vladi-
vostok reports that on Feb. 24, early in
the morning, ten of the enemy's ships |
were seen south of the islands. They |
disappeared on the horizon in the even
ing"
a report from Seoul says that the |
Korean government has decided to or |
der the Korean troops to join the Jap |
anese in the field and that the port OF |
Wiju was opened TO foreign trade. |
The limitations to be placed on trade
and other incidental matters will be |
passed later. This action necessitates
harbor, so Yopgampho has been de-
cided upon.
A late dispatch from Port Arthur
says the Japanese torpedo boat attack
of Feb. 20 resulted in a complete Rus
sian success. The accurate shooting of
the batteries inflicted losses on the en-
emy and caused the boiler of one OF
the japanese torpedo boats to explode.
A report from Chefu says that the
japanese minister at Seoul, Korea, has
requested the Korean government to
hand the French minister his pass
ports.
1t is reported from London that
there are good many military experts
there who think that the reported jap
anese landing at Possiet bay is an ac-
complished fact, and one who is usual
ly good judge went so far as to pre-
dict that ere long a simultaneous at
tack would be made on Vladivostok
and Port Arthur. That, he said, would
be coup de theatre quite in line with
the declaration made by Japan's pre-
mier, Count Katsura, that Japan was
resolved to strike hard and strike fast
If only that the agony might be as