JAPANESE OUTPOST AT MANCHENTSU.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 780, 24 March 1905, Page 3

JAPANESE OUTPOST AT MANCHENTSU.

(Received March 23, 10.57 p.m.) LONDON, March 23. Lincvitch from Changchun reports that Ihe Japanese outnosts arc at Manchentsu, to the southwest. RUSSIA AND THE DARDANELLES.

Captain iKlado, who maintains that Japanese torpedo-boats did attack Admiral Koshdestvensky's ships in the North Sea, under cover of our trawlers-,, expressed himself strongly to a Times «.on .'spomient in Paris, as to the desirability 1 of an entente between Great Britain ami «ussia. but held that such an arrangement would only be possible after a "definite settlement of the Dardanelles question. On the other hand, the Buss. St. Petersburg, says : —" It would be very disagreeable to : us to see the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus open to the warships of every nation. These straits would become a high road which would carry all sorts of squadrons to us. Today we should sec one ol them cording along, tomorrow another, and: sometimes several together. Britsih iron-clads would pour into the Black Sea through the Bosphorus by dozens on pleasure trips, along tWe coast of Asia Minor to edify the Turk* near Bulgaria to influence certain elements in that principality, and also along the Roumanian coast in order to increase the feeling oi sympathy for Western civilised countries among the Roumanians. Xor could the British iron-clads forget us in their pereginaftion from one of our southern ports to another. Imagine the black Sea, -without the Turkish Straits closed, at the time when the Korth Sea incident was atits- height. How many nights and days would the British battleships and cruisers thavc taken through the Straits and to reach Odessa or Theodosai ? We must admit that the British fleet is really very numerous. What role would our Black Sea Fleet play ? Why, the same us tliat played by the remains of the fleet which we have at present in the Baltic Sea. Wte might without hesitation send all the warships which we *>till have to reinforce Admiral Kozhdcstvensky's squadron, for these ships would in any case be of no use in a conflict witli Great Britain or Germany. They would be unable to make o

fight of it with a real squadron, and would be obliged to take refuge under the shelter of the forts on our coast. Viiih the suppression of| the closing of the Straits,. the Mack Sea Fleet would also liecome a useless factor in a cafe of active defvnee. •