APPROACHING WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 15, 19 January 1904, Page 3

APPROACHING WAR.

FEAII9 IN COMAIF.UCIAL I'lliC'LES. RUSSIA'S WAITINH l'Ol.h'Y. LONDuS, Jan. IT. Japanese merchants and traders at Port Arthur have i.utitiuned Admiral Prince AlexielT, iitisxian Viceroy to take special nieasun s to ensure their safety in tin' event of hostilities. Admiral AlexielT |in>mises to fully protect them. The Russian battleship Oslabva has left fon Suez. The.rest of the Itussian squadron is awaiting orders at Port Said. A general exodus is taking place of train JJalney, and l'orl Arthur. A telegram from the Hong KongShanghai .Hank statos that the Japanese reply to Russia will probably lead to a continuance of negotiations. M. PavlofT has informed the Daily Mail correspondent that the Russian fleet would employ I'ahian tactics, and would not light. The British cruiser King Alfred has followed the Nisshin,. one of the Japanese cruisers en route from Genoa to Japan. JAPAN'S LITTLE ItILL WITH UNCLE SAM. NEW YORK, Jan. 17. Five million ■dollars oi Japanese gold arrived in 'Frisco during the last fortnight in payment of su]iplies* and .munitions. More is 011route. A representative of Japan at \\inipeg purchased five hundred thousand buslhels of Manitoija wheat for delivery when required, the price to be the market quotations at the time of ordering. " Fabian tactics " is the term applied to the tactical delaying or avoidance of battle. The initialo.' of this dilotorifiess as a practice of War was Q. Fabius Maxiinus, a Rolnanlgeneral who conducted operations against Hannilral. He declined -to ..risk a lijttie in the open field, contenting himself witih harassing the enemy by marches, countermarches and ambuscades. .THE CRUISERS AT til 13 C'AXAL. Received 18, 10.1 p.in. LONDON, Jan. 18. The following are the movements, of Russian vessels at I'ort .Said The steamer SaralolT, bound to tinFar East, is loading coal. The torpedo flotilla is relitting|. The transport Orel, with 12U0 troops on board, passed through bound to the Far East. The battleship Oslabva, at Suez, is taking in 1000 tons of coal. The French cruiser Sully has been detained, owing to the discovery of Serious defects in her armament. Forty thousand tons of Belgian coal have been shipped to the lar East. THE CZAR'S WILL. Receiived 18, 10.51 p.m. LONDON, Jam. 18. Admiral AlexielT, addressing the troops at a New Year's Day (Jan. 14tb) paraile at l'ovt Arthur said : A ''lt is the Ciar's will that iieace sihouM be preserved." The Latest. A RISING FEARED IN KOREA. LETTERS FROM HERBERT SPENCER. Received 19, 1.15 a.m. LONDON, Jan. 18. Mr Bennett Buriei'g£>, Daily Telegraph cortvsjxymk'nl. states that a rising in Phonfihyaiig- is imminent, hMd Korean soldiers are co-operat-ing with the ietx-ls. The Times Tok-io correspondent publishes Heribert Spencer's letter to •Baron Kalieko (sent in 18'J2 with a ' stijAilaitiioii that it should not be publish nod iu his lifetime) in which he urges Jajyan to exclude ami keep foreigners at anus' length. The Times says Uie letter is a sWk to some of Spencer's disciples. The Standard's Tokio corresjioarient says the Ruissian assurance regarding the Powers' treaty rights in Manchuria excludes the ment of foreign settlemen«« or anythitljg prejudicial to Russia's future relations with MamJiuria.

RUSSIA INCLINED TO PEACE. Received 19, 1.15 a.m. LONDON, Jan. 18. Various Russian correspondents oi the Times report a -feeling in faxoui , of peace, since it became known to sotue few that a special assembly ol Ministers, under tin.* Czar's presidency, had been decidedly of opinion that war sfyoukl in every case U» avoided. j There is no doulbt that Mr Balfour's recent sptveh influenced the decision. It is rej>orted that Russia is withdrawing her pretunsioiis lo Korea, fend is opening ports in Mauchiuria, and will not insist on thv retention .of Port Arthur as a stronghold. The Emperor Francis Joseph .01 Austria is optimistic with regard to peace. DIPLOMATIC CHANGES. RUSSIAN VOLUNTEER SHIPS PROCEEDING EA STWAKDS. Received 19. 1.30 a.m. LONDON, .Jan. 18. Mr Cheshire, who was secretary to the American Legation during the Boxer trouble, bus bei n selected es Consul-General at Mukden. Mr Davidson, Consul at Tamsui, has been transferred to Autung. Mr ,C. Morgan, a New York millionaire, goes nominally to Dalney, but really acts as a roving commercial agent. The Russian volunteer cruisers Vladimar and Smolensk have been requisitioned. The Smolensk is a 20-knot vessel. The Ministers of Finance mid Interior at Seoul have been replaced by pro-Japanese.