OCCUPATION OF THE FORT. 595 water-carriers for the troops. Their lives were protected by a slip of white paper stuck in their caps,bearingthe followinginscriptioninJapanese characters :'This man is not to be killed.'"

wasonly then the Japanese staff took measures to restore order in the town and to removethe ghastly traces of the massacre.

The Japanese Government, shocked by the news from Port Arthur, and startled at the effect which it was producing in Europe and America, tried at first,by means moreingenious than ingenuous, to explain away and minimise what had occurred. Afterwards a Commission of Enquiry was appointed,but it appearsnever to have issued a report,nor wasany official word of censure published.

The fleet had takenlittle share in the capture of Port Arthur. Late in the day the torpedo boatshadheaded off and sunk some smallcraft endeavouring to escape from the harbour loaded with fugitives. The cruisers had also fired on the disbanded soldiers of the garrison as they fled from the works near the sea south and north of the town. The forts on the " Tiger's Tail" were still in the possession of the Chinese on theevening of the 21st, but were evacuated on the following night, their garrisons making good their escape. On the next day the forts wereoccupied by tlae Japanese, whoin this way got possession of the torpedo station on the promontory,and were able to render the mines defending the harbour mouth harmless. These were removed, and the fleet entered the port. On the 23rd some foreign warships arrived. It Mr. Arthur Didsy, who devotes some interesting pages to the subject in his book " The New Far East," suggests that one reason for this official silence was that had the Imperial Government expressed any strong opinion on the matter,many of the chief officers of thearmy wouldhaveat oncecommittedsuicide, a theory which seems plausible enough to those familiar with the code of honour prevailing in the Japanese army.

ADMIRAL COUNT SAICO.