The Daily News. THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1905. THE OPPOSING FLEETS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7797, 13 April 1905, Page 2

The Daily News. THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1905. THE OPPOSING FLEETS.

■ O ' Day by day public interest in the movements o( the Baltic and Japanese fleets grows more intense, in fact the meeting of these two naval forces is awaited with) fc nat excitement which betokens the feeling that the fina,l act in a sensational drama is about to take place. According to latest cables the Russians are credited with the Hesire to. choose their own battleground, but in Admiral Togo they have to deal with a man who has proved himself a tactician of the first rank, and it is unlikely that lie will play into the enemy's hands. On the contrary it may safely be assumed that bis plan of operations is already decided on, and that he is skillullji arranging his forces with a view to striking e. final blow. No doubt the Hussian Admiral would prefer to be in such a position that, in the not improlbaible event o£ a defeat, ho might try to save a.s many ships us potsiblc by matting for « harbour of refuge, and for that reason would hope the battle might be near h'i'igon, the French port of Lower Cochin China, That Admiral Togo has not attempted to give buttle in the narrow, waters of the Suait s:cms to indicate that he anticipates either bottling up the lfuwjian fleet in a neutral port or forilng a sea light further north, nearer his own base. The Times' correspondent, writing in the early par! of lust month, said :—" The l'.altic FloeS wavers in its choice between heroism and ignominy. It is not to •be despised, and no serious man in Japan makes the mistake cf underrating its menace. Hut whatever tho fate of the chief battleships their leader is cursed with the escort of a great unwieldy and vulnerable convoy, and will have no freedom of manoeuvres. Out cf all tho vast armada o{ 70 or SO vessels there are only five battleships which seriously count. Moreover the delay will reduce the speed of the Hussian ships, and correspondingly reduce the chances of victory." Apparently the Russian fleet consists of eight battleships, three armoured cruisers, five protected cruisers, fourteen torpedo boats, and about thirty transports and auxiliaries of little fighting value. The Japanese have five battleships-, fourteen cruisers, seven or eight protected cruisers and a number of gunboats and torpedo boats;.: It will be seen that on paper the Russian fleet is tho. stronger of the two, but her ships are fouled with seaweed and the llarge number of transports are a decided element of weakness in a naval duel.. If the Russian Admiral contemplates breaking through th 9 Japanese fleet and thereby reaching Vladivostok he must have a more sanguine temperament than he has hitherto disclosed. It is far mora likely that he feels the fleet must go to its doom in obedience to oiticis, or be cut off from its supplies and die of inanition. There is of cour.-e the possibility of Rozhdestvensky feeling impelled to die gamely so as, in a measure, to show the world that he no more hesitates to attack" a we|ll-armod foe than a few harmless fishing boats. This remains to be seen, and apparently tho time will not be long before this chapter in the war is closed. Russia will then practically be at the mercy of Japan as to terms of peace. Meanwhile Japan is steadfastly maintaining a masterly policy on land and leaving nothing to chance, so that the prospects of peace seem centred on the result of the conflict between the -fleets of the two nations.