Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-10-28
READY FOX ACTION.
British Fleet May Bar Gi-
 braltar Gate.
ULTIMATUi TO GO TO RUSSIA
RojeatvensIxy's Report, Claims That His Fleet Was Attacked by Tor pedo Boats and That He Sank
 a Destroyer.


 Destroyer.
 LONDON, Oct. 28.-A dispatch from Gibraltar says that the ships of the British channel fleet have cleared their the whole fleet, with the exception of the ,battleship Caesar will steam west ward today with the alleged purpose of making sham attack against the Rock of Gibraltar.
 Several torpedo boats have left Tan gier fully equipped. Work at the arsenal is proceeding under high pres sure.
 A division of the Mediterranean fleet, comprising six battleships, all the ar mored cruisers and twenty torpedo boats, arrived at Gibraltar today.
 The situation is generally regarded as extremely grave, and as the hours go by the belief becomes stronger that the British government will be obliged to instruct Lord Charles Beresford to sail from Gibraltar with the channel squad ron to '.muzzle the mad dog feet" as it is called here.
 II RUSSIA WduCS war SuC Sudll nave it with vengeance"
 This phrase from an editorial in one London paper pretty accurately repre- sents the feeling predominant through out all classes of the British public. England, it is declared, is as ready as she was in 1898, when the kaiser's tele gram to MT. Kruger touched the raw. and more so than on any previous oc- casion when it had been found neces- sary to prepare for the eventualities of war.
 A decidedly united front is presented to the world.
 The official reply from Russia polite ly refusing the condition on the ground that it was an unwarrantable interfer- ence with her sovereign rights has been presented to the British government.
 In this reply Russia contended that punishment, if such were needed, could only emanate from the authorities at St. Petersburg.
 Simultaneously, however, comes an urgent offer of good offices by the French government.
 Lord. Lansdowne had on Wednesday afternoon, with conciseness and straightforwardness which has made great impression, informed practical ly all the diplomatic corps of Britain's decision, which, couched in minimum terms, was taken not only in the inter- est of Great Britain but ill that of all those who use the high seas for peace full commerce
 The foreign secretary further an nounced that the British government had asked for al specific answer from Russia within a period of twenty-four hours.
 Rojestvensky's reference to torpedo boats among the fishing fleet is con sidered absurd.
 It has only aggravated matters, and London is talking of nothing now but the probability of war. The feeling is absolutely unanimous in favor of the justice of the British demands.
 A copy of Admiral Rojestvensky's report has reached the Russian >em- bassy here. He declares in it that he had no intention of firing upon the trawlers. If any stray shot hit one it was entirely accidental.
 He states that among the fleet were two steamships, moving at a high rate of speed and exactly resembling tor pedo boats. He concluded that they were Japanese.
 Admiral Rojestvensky elnphatically denies that a Russian warship remain ed behind six hours and did not assist the injured.
 Rojestvensky declares that his off, cers were totally ignorant that any trawler had been struck. He expresses extreme regret himself and says that every man in his fleet regrets that any one was injured. He asks what the warship was that was noticed near the scene.
 Admiral Rojestvensky reports that one of the torpedo beats which he be- lieves attacked his fleet was sunk and the other seriously damaged.
 Admiral Rojestvensky affirms that there were no torpedo boats with the Russian squadron on the Dogger bank and that the two torpedo boats men toned in the English reports as hav- ing approached and been seen by the fishermen before the Russian ships opened fire were either Japanese or English.
 These two torpedo boats, the admi- ral says, advanced to attack the first Russian cruiser, which fired at it. They then retreated among a fleet of small vessels. When these proved to be fishing boats the Russians ceased fir ing
 Baron Hayashi. the Japanese min ister, after reading Admiral Rojestven- sky's report, again reiterated his state ment that it was impossible that any Japanese torpedo boat could have been where the Russian admiral thought them. He declared that Rojestvensky's own statement of indiscriminate firing after such slight investigation proved that the Russian fleet was likely to menace the safety of all neutral seas and make international law merely q farce. War between England and Rus sia, Baron Hayashi frankly admitted would be greatly to Japan's advantage, | yet as a friend of England he would be %<, + rCI, o,s