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هرا
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
fellows, each in his sphere, "rolling stones," men of character, in their Oriental way; not empire-builders, but the raw material with which empires are built.
They were willing to tell me all they could, and to bring to me others of their own sort. The Pirate wanted to tell me news of events which the telegraph made known to the wide world months ago; he imagined he understood the journalistic idea. But I got some interesting descriptions of things, as viewed by the ex-soldier and others, from standpoints distinctly out of the ordinary.
troops garrisoning this place are said to have been extremely active lately, and the report that there are now only 8,000 men there, if correct, shows the main portion of the available troops | have been removed to the Yalu valley.. In this case all-reinforcements coming from the north will be sent to Lisoyang. Everything indicates that a great battle will shortly be fought in the vicinity of Antung, unless the Japanese by a flank movement succeed in dislocating the Russian plans entirely. From all accounts, earlier in the field, the Japanese could have easily effected a landing in the neighbourhood of Newchwang. Now, however. gathered that the Russians have had an such an attempt would
strongly enormous amount of entrenching done along the opposed, as the force having possession river-side just below Yinkow, the port of New- of that locality holds the key of the position the chwang. One man said the trenches extended Russians are now defending. As for stores, the along the left (east) bank for nearly twenty Russians seem fairly well off, having five places miles. He did not mean twenty miles of between Fenghwangcheng and Liaoyang making continuous trench. but a trench about every bread. In the latter place, too, there are reported 300 yards for 20 miles up-river. But the river- to be large stores of all necessaries. The road banks, and indeed the whole country within a leading from Liaoyang to the Yalu is in an radius of many miles round Newchwang, is low almost impassible condition on account of the and flat, and is liable to be entirely under thaw which has now set in. Fenghwangcheng water at spring tides, if there happens to be a promises to be a place of some interest, the brisk southerly wind. The whole Gulf of Pechili Russians regarding it as an important outpost of is subject to excessive tides, very readily in Moukden. It is situated on the road between Kin-fluenced by winds, and this northern arm. the lienching and Moukden, and there are reported to be 500 infantry and 700 cavalry (Cossacks) stationed there. The men are quartered in one of the temples, the Russians showing a marked disregard to the religious feelings of the unfortunate Manchurians, in the greatest contrast to the policy which has made British rule as acceptable as it is in other equally "pagan" places. Every cart, or whatever presents transport facilities. in the vicinity has been commandeered by the Russians, and all the cattle obtainable has been driven into the town. There is a great deal of fort- building going on around the walls; indeed the Russians appear to attach a good deal of importance to the holding of this place. At Saho 3,000 infantry are posted. and there are 500 artillery with 16 guns between the place and Antung. At Kiu- lienching they have 2.000 cavalry, and along the banks of the Yalu 5.000 troops of all descriptions are posted. About a week ago 2,000
cavalry under the command of General Karoff crossed the river, and advanced to the south. Nothing authoritative has since been heard of this body, but it is very probable that they assisted at the fight at Chongju.
Several attempts made to bridge the Yalu have not yet resulted in success. Iron piles have been driven into the bed of the river, and boats fastened between them, but. it was found not enough were procurable to complete the bridge. All the wells on the south side of the Yalu have been filled up by the peasants. who all fled on the approach of the Russians; an unsavoury reputation preceding them. The greatest care is observed with regard to all grain or rice-shops; wherever there is one & sentry is posted, and nothing is allowed to be sold.
RUSSIAN MILITARY BLUNDERS.
$
[FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.]
Chefoo, 10th April.
MANY MILES OF USELESS TRENCHES.
Among the thousands of Chinese who have come from Newchwang lately, I got some strange stories from strange points of view, from two or three old acquaintances. One was in 1900 servant to a British newspaper cor- respondent on the Peking expedition, and was well known as "The Pirate," for reasons which are better left unsaid; he is now a merchant, and has been in Manchuria. Another was in 1900 a soldier of the British army, Weihaiwei Regiment; he has not greatly prospered, but went up to the mines in Heilungchiang, and afterwards worked as a coolie in the Russian service at Newchwang, helping to dig trenches. Another used to be junior billiard-marker in an English club in China, went to be a "boy" in the house of a Russian officer, and finally became foreman of a gang of labourers at Dalny. These Chinese usually have a good memory for a foreign face that they have known; and when they recognised me, I remembered them. Good
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Gulf of Liaotung. is the worst of all. The coastline. though it looks irregular in shape. is in effect a funnel, in which the tide hanks up quickly; the water is very shallow throughout. which makes the rise and fall more erratic. All along the shores of the gulf. the distance from low water mark to high water mark runs to some miles, and the flood-tide often becomes a swift-rushing wave.
Now in winter months the north-east monsoon winds prevail very steadily, and so the tide as it advances northward to Newchwang has rather to fight its way over the mud-flats. There is also usually a broad belt of ice sometimes ten miles wide, which helps to check the rush of water into the estuary of the Liao. In summer, with the south-west mousoon winds all the time and no ice, the tides average higher; and it only requires a little extra force in the wind to back up a spring tide, and submerge vast tracts of flats that appear miles inland now. Here, the Chinese said, are the Russian trenches. Perhaps the officer directing the work is new.
and does not ask local advice; or perhaps the Japanese were expected before the change of monsoon; or perhaps the Russians think the chance of flooding is a risk that can be taken. and the damage at worst no very serious matter. At any rate, there are the trenches, and in some people's opinion they are sheer waste of money and energy on an enormous scale. The Russians may before long find out that they have made a colossal blunder.
The fort which is supposed to command the entrance of the river is apparently not formid- able. I am told that it contains at present four guns, of about five-inch calibre, with the mark of the Peterburgskiya Arsenal on them. They are guns of modern type, but mounted in the style of about twenty years ago. There are also some of the regular field artillery, about 3-inch calibre, in the fort; and the naval guns of the Sivoutch were being put into the fort. But it seems the whole thing when completed could not stand against a couple of good gunboats.
There have been reports that the approach to the port by sea was guarded by sunken vessels and submarine mines. There was an official notification published by the Russian Consul in Chefoo, in the name of Viceroy Alexieff. that obstructions had been placed in the river. and mines along the coast. I am informed that these statements are incorrect, as far as is known in Newchwang. A number of Chinese junks and a large quantity of stone had undoubt- edly been purchased, and the usual very liberal commissions had been pocketed by certain officers-it is notorious that Russian officers fill their pockets by such transactions as these, and this fact constitutes one of the chief underlying causes of the chain of events which dragged Russia into war. But though there was expen- diture on account of blocking the river, it is still unblocked. I could not ascertain why, but I was assured that the junks and the stones are still waiting to be utilised. There is a reason for the submarine mines not yet being in posi. tion; there has been so much floating ice in the river that the mines could not be put down, and it will be necessary to wait until there are no big lumps of drift-ice left. That is only a matter
[April 23, 1904
of a few days now; and possibly the junks are waiting till the mines are placed. Further- more, when the mines are "planted," it remains to be seen whether they will be of use, for the conditions are high water there is a vast expanse of water in very unfavourable. At
the estuary; deep-sea vessels have to be very careful and pick their way through a narrow channel, but vessels of lighter draught can go over some miles of shallows, where at low tide there are exposed mud-banks. It is a similar position to the Bristol Channel or the Bay of Fundy. Now, it is impossible to have a three-mile string of mines removable at low water and replaceable as the tide rises. If not removed, they would sink in the mud as the water recedes, and would probably never come up again.
To construct barriers like those in the Canton River, just below the Bogue Forts, is a laborious task, and takes time, as well as resources more complete than Newchwang possesses. submarine mines seem useless in very shallow and receding waters.
And
At Yinkow, where the foreign settlement is, there are not more than about 5,000 Russian
troops. At Newchwang proper, higher up the river, there are about 1.000. There are said to be 100,000 at Tashichao, about 40 miles away, where the main line of railway from Port Arthur to Harbin is joined by the Newchwang branch. The number of soldiers is corroborated from various sources, and I still think there is an element of doubt for which people as a rule forget to allow. Chinese carpenters and bricklayers know how many buildings have been put up, and what is the capacity of each bar- reports about 100,000. rack-room, and that is the origin of all the But I think there are more vacant quarters than people suspect, for a room that can hold 100 looks pretty full with only 70.
It is worth noting that in 1900, on the Boxer alarm reaching Newchwang, the Russians then at Tachichao received orders at 11 p.m. to move into Newchwang, and arrived by 4 a.m. next day, with all impedimenta. Of course it was not a record achievement to strike camp, entrain, and go 40 miles by rail in five hours, for less than 1,000 men; but I mention it only as an example of actual practice.
The Russians are raising revenue from the peasantry by charging each farmer one string of cash, about a dollar, for “ protection," with- out which they are told they are not permitted to till their fields. The Chinaman meekly pays, but cannot plough because his oxen have been taken away. The Russians come and seize what they want, and fix their own prices; the farmer cannot help it. And the Russian officers, together with their Chinese interpreters and other hangers-on, pocket a good deal of money both in tax-collecting and in paying for commandeered goods. So they like war.
NOTES FROM THE BOTANIC
GARDENS.
The chief attractions this week centre round the east side of the Old Gardens. On the ex- treme eastern edge overhanging Garden Road are two old Cratavas in full flower. Higher up are two of our most beautiful native trees flowering freely under the influence of the spring weather, as indeed they may be seen just now in most of the woods upon the island, viz. Homalium and Reevesio. Both have conspi- cuous white flowers; the former in tassels, the latter in bunches. If any tree in Hongkong takes the place of the English Hawthorn it is Reevesia, which has flowers of a strikingly similar scent and not unlike in appearance. Another native tree, Pygeum phæostictum, is in flower not far off.
One of the showiest Orchids in the collection, Dendrobium densiflorum, is now at its best in the Orchid house. The profusion of its deep yellow flowers gives it a most striking appear-
ance.
The Grevilleas will soon be covered with their curious tawny flowers. There is a great num- ber of different kinds of Silk Oak growing in Australia varying in size from large trees to small shrubs. The species represented in our Gardens is Grevillea robusta, the largest of the genus, attaining 100 feet or more in its native country.
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