The semi-weekly messenger., 1908-02-25

IlnpfiSOniMeut-1e& 1Ahcn tO
Irevent OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Oh
General Stocssel
St Petersburg, reDTuaTy 20.-Lied-
tenant General SLoSSel was condemned
20 death this evening by military
court tor the surrender OF por- Ar
thur to the Japanese. General t'ock,
who commanded the fourth East Si-
Derian division OF Port Arthur Was
,ruered reprlmanded for a discipil-
nary offence, which was not connect
ed with the surrender, and General
Smirnoff, acting staff to General
Stoessel, were acquitted of the charges
against them for lack OF proof. The
court recommended that the death
sentence upon Lieutenant General
Stoessel be commuted to ten years
imprisonment in a fortress aud that
he be excluded from the service.
General Vodar, president Of the
court, read the sentences amid tense
silence. BY a great effort OF self
control General Stoessel maintained a
rigid soldier-like impassivity. General
Smirnoff also was seemingly uEmoved,
)ut there we're tears in the eyes OF
General Reiss
ed upon Gen. Stoessel for surrend-
ering the fortress before all the means
OF defense had been exhausted, for
failing to enforce has authority and
for military misdmeanors."
Communication of the sentence was
asked on the ground that Port Ar
thur, beset by over helming forces,
defended itself unde1 General Stoes-
seIs leadership VII unexampled
stubbornness and fillci the world with
astonishment at th@ heroic courage
of it's garrison; that several assaults
had been repulsed 18th tremendous
losses on the part o he enemy; that
General Stoessel th ;ghout the siege
maintained the her: courage Of the
defenders, and, fna4.y, that he had
taken energetic part in three cam
paigns."
Before the sentence wa read mea-
sures were taken to prevent demon
Stratio min favor of StOessel by a num-
Der OF young officers and witnesses
who were present. These later sent a
dispatch to the empress saying that
they would humbly bear testimony
that General Stcessel was the soul OF
the defense of Port Arthur, that he
had always encouraged and put heart
in the garrison and that in case Of
war they would wish to serve again
under such a hero, They asked the
empress graciously to bespeak from
the emperor full pardon.
There was a dramatic moment af-
ter the reading Of the sentence when
a detachment of soldiers filed into the
hall. The spectators thinking that they
were about to seize General Stoessel
displayed great excitement, several
women fainting. 1t developed, however,
that this was merely guard for the
disposal of the court. General Stossel
who was accompanied by his son, was
the object of a sympathetic demonstra-
ton, friends kissing and shaking him
by the hand as he left the court lean
ing on his sons shoulder.
A public festival is being organiiz-
ed by the municipality being in hon
or of the defenders of Port Arthur.
The passing of the sentence of death
upon Lieutenant General Stoessel is
harsh and tragic ending to the ca
reer of this Russian commander who,
three years ago, was acclaimed around
the world as the Hero of Port Ar
thur
The basis of the indictments upon
which Lieutenant General Stoessel,
General Fock, who commanded the
fourth East Siberian division of Port
Arthur, and Major Geenral Reiss, chief
Of staff of General Stoessel, were tried
for their lives was a secret report
made by Lieutenant General Smirnoff
on the defense Of Port Arthur. Smir-
noff was acting commandant of the
fortress, Stossel being commander of
the Kwang Tung Peninsula Smirnoff
categorically accused Stoessel Of cow
ardice and incapacity, and, finally. of
the deliberate and reasonable hasten
ing of the surrender to save his own
If and in defiance of the decisions of
two successive councils OF war
General Smirnoff declared that the
fortress which was surrendered to the
Japanese January /, 1905, could have
held out for six weeks longer.
The stand taken by Generals Stoes- |
sci, Reiss and Fock was that the fate
of Port Arthur was sealed with the |
capture of the Eagles Nest" and two
other positions. The indictment against
General Smirnoff charged him with
having failed to remove General Fock |
from his command, although he sus-
pected the agreement between Gener-
ais Stoessel and Fock to surrender the |
fortress.
Anatole Mikhailovitch Stoessel was
born In 1S4S and entered the army in
1864. He comes from a family of mill 1
tary men. He served with the Bull |
garian militia during the Russo-Tur- |
kish war of 1S77-7S and participated |
in the Chinese expedition OF 1s00-1.
He was the first commander to enter |
Tfen Tsin during the Boxer uprising |
and rose to the rank OF major gen
eral for dash displayed I'm the attack
on the Chinese capital.
EtnAasel has haer II .anf nav~n