New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-02-19
4B1NDON PORT ARTHUR.
This Belieued To Be AIerief's Plan.

London. Feb. 19.-Little Far Eastern news ap-
/ pears in the press this morning. with the ex-
/ ceptlon Of official dispatches. and the comment
Is MADE that the Official reports Of Ntceroy
AIexieff and others are remarkable mostly for
what they leave uusaid- These reports attract
far less attention than does the significantly
frank Russian procaru4tiOu asking the people
20 be patient until the army is ready TO strike
bIov,s worthy Of the dignity and might Of Rus
sia. The threats i'm this document are com
D,auted uron by the British press I'm tones Of
considerable ironv II is now believed both in
London and on the Continent that Viceroy
AIexiefr has decided 70 fall back upon Harbin.
practically abandoning Port Arthur. Vladivostok
and the whole Of Southern Marchuria 10 the
japanese and that he is perhaps hoping that
the reduction Of Port Arthur and VladivOstok
will occupy the enemy while ne IS concentrating
his forces at Harbin-
4 military correspondent Of The Times asks
whether the Russian proclamation portends
repetition OF Russia's policy OF 1ol2 and the
vaginE Of a war Of exhaustion. He thinks this
proclarnation can have no other meaning. unless
il was concocted deliberately for deception. or
written with the knowledge that the N11nchurian
Railroad is wrecked already. Yet this seems
madness" the correspondent continues, be
cause. il the Russian Army stood still while
Jauau was reducing the two great fortresses at
Port Arthur and Vladtvostok. Russia would be-
cor7e the laughing stock of Europe and the mock
Of Asia
The papers this morning comment upon the
activity which is seen at WOolwich and else
where in redttins the navy in preparation for
any emergency. II is admitted that the manu-
facturers of fixed ammunition have been work
ing nieht shifts since Christmas. and that all
the surplus and obsolete war material on vessels
at home and abroad is being replaced as rap
idlv as possible. Especial interest attaches 10
the eouipment Of sixty battleships with the new
Pinch wire steel guns. $50 Of which were or
dered bv the Admiralty four years ago at an ex-
pense Of SO J00OOO These are said to be the
most modern and most powerful guns in exist
ence in any navy. ard they are capable Of
throwing an aimed shot accurately a distance
OF sixteen tnOuscnd yards.
According to the Toxic correspondent Of The
Daily Mall the Emperor Of Japan has declared
his intention Of giving the treasures Of the pal
ace to the Bank OF Japan for the purposes Of the
war fund other dispatches from Toxic confirm
the great success Of the internal war loan
The correspondents Of The Times and The
Daily Telegraph at Toxic unite in announcing
the resumption Of the japanese coastlnS trade.
and confirm previous reports that the Russian
cruiser BCya~in was sunk during the attack on
Port Arthur OF February IT, some CORR spCnd-
ents say the warship in question was the cruiser
Bayan. and not the Boya~tu-
Full accounts Of the firing Ly Russian ships
on the British steamer Hsi-Ping. at Port Arthur,
show that the Russians ordered the Hsi-Piug.
together with the British steamer Chiug-Ping
and the German steamer PrOntO. 10 eXtinguish
their lights and fires Russian warsh1ps then
arrived and. hnding three vessels in the road
stead without lights, began nrinS 81 them The
ProntO received most OF the shots. The forts
then began firing. and the utmost confusion
PrsyaIsd