| Show i flInli GETS A 130DY BfiOW is Deprived of the Chen Tuen the Finest Battleship in Her Navy T BLOWN UP BY HER OWN TORPEDOES I I CHINESE NAVY DEPRIVED OF OFFENSIVE OF-FENSIVE POWER Japanese Advance on Port Arthur Regarded as Having an Important Import-ant Bearing1 on the Pence XeJoit yfOf ations Capture of the fiCfcH Stronghold Will Sot lie Jiutle Without a Desperate Strriaple Guarded By Powder Mines Connected Con-nected With Electric WiresMany Allies Away Regular Roads lUst He Avoided By the Japanese Fall of Port Arthur Would Do Much to Bring an End to the Trouble k hington Nov 22The Chinese fh ave lost the finest and most powerful vessel of their navy the great battleship battle-ship Chen Yuen which stood the brunt of the fighting at Yalu The cable re I 1I L I Pr < t > i Ticw of Port Arthur the Stronghold the Chinese and Their Vavnl Re air Station Which the Japanese HaveJ oxjsr Planned to Capture Reproduced from the New rlffera1d3 ceived at the navy department today states that thevChen Tuen in leaving Wei Hal Wei harbor on the 18th inst accidentally struck a torpedo She was beached but was rendered useless for lack of docking facilities In despair at the catastrophe the commander Commodore Lin committed suicide Like Our Own 3Ialnc The Chen Yuen was a magnificent fighting machine very much like our own battleship Maine She was built in Europe In 1SSL and was of 7450 tins displacement It would seem that the ship fell a victim to one of the torpedoes tor-pedoes planted by the Chinese themselves them-selves to guard the entrance of TS el HalWei which was the last of the Treat naval strongholds of the empire save Port Arthur now tottering to its fall faUt was as well that Commodore Lin Lmmitted suicide for he would doubt ij4ss have been decapitated as the re s suit of his error It is believed here this loss has deprived the Chinese navy of its offensive power There remains tie Ting Yuen a powerful battleship and a few lesser ironclads but without with-out the aid of the Chen Yuen they would hardly dare to make an offensive offen-sive campaign and probably will remain re-main in port to assist in the defense The departure of the Chinese customs cus-toms chief for Japan is regarded by officials here as the result of a Japanese Japan-ese demand for a direct offer from China The De Ting mentioned in the cable is said to be Dietring a German cable of commis nrho occupies the position sioner of customs That he should be 5 oner custms pent af the peace envoy is accounted for by officials on the ground that an indemnity would probably be secured on the customs receipts of China 1 te contentions has been one of Japans contentons that she would expect to receive the customs receipts of the big Chinese ports in case an indemnity was arranged ar-ranged It ts sid the Chinese envoy will probably b the guest of United btates Minister Dun at Tokio Chinese officials offi-cials have been accorded every courtesy cour-tesy Advance on Port Arthur The advance on Port Arthur is regarded re-garded as having an important bear the peace negotiations Lieu int on negotations tenant Miyoka naval attache of the Japanese legation here says the advance ad-vance movement has been most cautious cau-tious as the ground for 40 miles round Port Arthur has been found fairly alive with powder mines connected con-nected with electric wires to Port Arthur Ar-thur Three days ago the Japanese were vrlthln a days march of the fortress iut it was necessary to send ahead a nail scouting party to pick a route I ay from the mines and electric wIres The regular roads cannot be used for the artillery as i would have been blown up and accordingly the big guns have to be moved in circuitous circuit-ous < outes through woods and morasses morass-es i is regarded as likely this cautious cau-tious march will have been completed today and the Japanese legation is hourly expecting word that the decisive blow ha been struck though a long siege may be necessary as the fortress has one of the strongest defenses of morn times I is believed that a Japa Jeie success would quickly close the pee negotiations but that a repulse re-pulse would impel China to hold off further Records of Dun and Denby Officials and diplomats are scanning the records of Messrs Dun and Denby t ascertain their capacity to deal with tHe large question committed to them Sir Dun has had unusual experience in Japan General Capron who built the Japanese Japan-ese legation in Washington wished to o send a consignment of fine merino sheep to Japan and Mr Dun who1 lad a stock farm in Ohio went in charge of the shipment He finally carried a Japanese lady of high fnly fP 5 by ji jhom he had a daughter I This s g em to the Japanese and ma ixesm a fixture there Presi I dent Ar10 tffirst appointed him a C jjedoodi r i fmarary V of the United States t 1 i A ji 1 I j 11 I L I Segation at Tokio When President Clevelands administration began two years ago California mado an effort to secure the appointment of the minister min-ister CoJapan for one of her favored S < n s Ait an opportune time however Judge Thvrman who had been on the presi den al tickets with Mr Cleveland four yfrs ago asked the president as the jfily Favor he had to request that Mr Dun be promoted to minister The request pomote mitster quest was complied with Mr Duns Japanese wife is dead but Ms relations with the Japanese are very cordial which with his long experience ex-perience well fits him for the present negotiations Minister Denby is a lawyer of ability who has served through three administrations admin-istrations being appointed during Mr Clevelands first term retained by Mr Harrison owing to their personal associations as-sociations in Indiana and the objection of China to Senator Blair and again retained by Mr Cleveland He has an outward austerity which has not however how-ever prevented his being most acceptable accept-able to China CHINAS OFFER I Would Seem Enough to Satisfy the Japs Washington Nov 22In accordance with th < suggestion of Japan the state department has notified Ministers Dun at Tokio and Denby at Pekin to transmit trans-mit any direct offer China may wish to make to Japan The Chinese delegation here is not notifiedas to shat4course its government govern-ment will taTic ili wn fef The Associate Press cable from j Japan states however that China has I 1 I intimated hJ willingness to pay an indemnito one hundred million taels I and in addition all the war expenses expnses incured by Japan As the war expenses i i ex-penses will reach one hundred and I I fifty million taels the total offer of I China would be two hundred and fifty million taels A tel is a Chinese sil ver coin worth about 75 cents at the I present rate of exchange I is believed be-lieved here that arrangements between the two nations could be effected on I terms providing for smaller war indemnity in-demnity The diplomats say that under I un-der ordinary circumstances it would I take some time for China to formally i present its offer to Minister Denby but j a the Japanese are now at the walls j of Port Arthur about to make a last I blow at Chinas greatest fortress it is I anticipated that China may hurry the I negotiations to a conclusion I is ex 1 pacted Minister Denby will transmit I the offer by telegraph to Tien Tsin Ian I-an Shang ai and thence by cable to Yokohama I Japs at Work I Tien Tsin Nov 22 Reliable information infor-mation received here from Poi Arthur shows that the first attack of the Japanese Jap-anese drqve in the Chinese outposts I I Three other attacks were subsequently made but in each instance the Japanese Jap-anese were repulsed Heavy and incessant in-cessant firing has been going on since noon Tuesday The Japanese are landing land-ing additional trops They warned a British vessel t clear a their fleet intended in-tended t bombard the forls Wednesday I To Arrange For Pence I Tien Tsin Nov 22Chief of the Imperial Im-perial Customs De Ting recently summoned sum-moned to Pekin to confer with the government as to the ways and means for raising money for war has left for Japan to arrange the terms of peace Shelled the Japs Yokohama Nov 22The Chinese Pie Yang squadron is reported to have shelled the Japanese troops marching on Port Arthur A desperate battle between be-tween the Japanese and Chinese followed fol-lowed The result is not known |
