Untitled

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7701, 2 January 1905, Page 2

BITTER STRUGGLES FOR POSSESSION. LONDON 1 , Dec. 00, Seven dynamite mines were exploded at Erlung»han in the «iomintf, and tlic Japanese charged through the trenches under iu\'tr oj a tremendous bombardment. They captured the first line of light , guns, un:t a 'bitter struggle ensued, ' An oiiiCial Tokio account says " \\lun, at four o'clock iu the waiternoon, thp capture iiud lieen pruilicjUliy a«»u''ea, wo c<mrg«i and 'pied tho inner line of heavy B un positions, and ultimately the rem.Jiuiit of the enemy, stubbornly hoki''"b" the gorg<u of the tort. was dis- , lodged. The garrison numbered ( " (HJ , one-third of whom escaped l>y a qovered way, The Japanese casualties were one thousand," I The Japanese c u |.tured ut Erlungshau four Jarjjv) calibre, seven sum® and thirty 3", centimetre, aui two umcluno guns*—43 in a j| (Received Jan. 1, 1,0 >f j, ~, ) Th LO.\'JXJ.\ Dec. 31. he U,IU « tunnels at Erlunifihan were cut out of the solid rock. W ons of dynamite were used, undthe spectacle of tho successive exjloions is described as magnilicent.,nd the infantry s storming as srilenhalfof '^ 8 Un,t killed ono- .. of th « garrison. Some Ruwjaii sailors assisted the garrison, which numbered 500, at Erlungshun. The Wiled, ° sarriSon ttnd saUors *sre LETTER FROM PORT ARTHUR.; PLACES ULACIv COMI'MSXION ON Tllli POSITION, (Received Jan. 1, 4.00 pm ) Th ~ „V ONDON .:Uec. 31. Jhe Daily IVlegraph'* Shanghai oirespondent states that a tunnel towards Sungshushang and Itzushan . ' ,ro jf re &smg rapidly. Sungshushunu ;,osUiin. Vd " nd iUa The Naval Department has published an intercepted letter from a# ofllcer of the Sevastopol. Tho letter to a l l la , t t ! lc infers are resigned to their /ato, but weresadly disappointed at thTSon-arrival of he Baltic Fleet. Noirtrtjheless they are determined to flrfit to the finish, and will not submit'. Jo the shatue of surrender from starvation. The fortress cannot hold Mt after Decemcr. General Stocwel's so-called impregnable enceinte is stated to be a! myth, and the capture of Metre Hill/ the writer considers, implies that Port Arthur is doomed. The shells, after the Ist of December, penetratd the Sevastopol's different decKs to the bottom of tho ship, which is described as being hopelessly daiutnagtxl after quitting the harbour* The writer thinks,without naming hiiu, that General Kuropatkin is responsible for «'ort Arthur's fate, through failing to prevent the Japese from landing at Liaotung, and bitterly adds : "Very few of our officers dare to brav,, death. The maority's only tlce«ro is to save their own lives, while we of the Sevastopol aro ir\erinined to die fighting."- £«; A RUSsSoYEMENT, FIFTY THOI'SJND MEN MOVE EA SI'S' API). I.OKDON, Dec. 31. The Daily Mail » Tokio correspondent says that ne-.tt has reached Niuchwang that thirty thousand Russians from Tich-llng have marched to Tchen-tsu, 50 miles east of Muleden, with the intention o! strengthening the left A CHARACTEEfiTIC INVITATION, MONASTERIES ASKED TO TAX THEMSELVES. St. PETERSBURG, Dec. 31. The Russian Government has invited the orthodox monasteries to tax themselves to assist the war. TOGO'S MODESTY. WILL NOT ALLOW HIM TO ACCEPT HONOURS. | TOKIO, Dec. 31. Admiral Togo declined the Tokio municipality's reception on the ground that the time was not ripe. He attended funeral services in memory of those killed at Port Arthur, and read a, eulogy of their work.

SOME GENERAL ITEMS. JAPAN'S NAVAL HEROES AT HOME. LONDON, Dec. :JO. Japanese warsttips arc seal-thing the Sunda Straits. Admirals Togo and Kamiuiura roccived a groat ovation a» they journeyed by rail from Kuro to Tokio< The capital wenti delirious with excitement. Admiral Skrydloff is returning lo Si)s Petersburg from .Vladivostok,