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Show On the Eve of a fat Battle Gen. Kuropatkin and Gon. Kuroki Forces Are Nearing- an Engagement. ST. PETERSBURG, June 25. An ' un-named Russian General 1b quoted in the Viedomosti today to-day as declaring that this Is the eve of a great battle, adding that Gen. Kuropatkin is moving to meet Gen. Kuroki, whom he will dispose of before Gen. Oku arrives. The army organ figures that the armies of Gens. Cku and Kuroki, when combined, will consist of eleven and a half divisions', exclusive of cavalry and artillery, divided as follows: With Oku, four divisions and one and a half divisions in reserve, Including the Fifth, Eighth and Eleventh. With Kuroki, the Second, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, Twelfth and tho guards. Work on the Baltic pquadron designed for service In tho Pacific Is being pushed with redoubled vigor night and day. Admiral Ad-miral Blrlleff, the commandcr-ln-chlef at Cronatadt, Is co-operating with Vlce-Admlral Vlce-Admlral Rojestvenaky, In command of the Baltic flet, to hasten the work. The captains of the battleships Navarln and Slsolvellky and tho armored cruiser Admiral Ad-miral Nakinioff, the first vessel to go out Into the roadstead In commission, have been publicly complimented for their diligence. In order not to Impede the work, the crews are not mustered to salute the commander-in-chief when he visits the vessels. A strict guard Is maintained at Cron-stadt. Cron-stadt. Even the warship launches are not allowed to enter the naval basins after af-ter dusk, Lieut. Vavlllor, In charge of the naval laboratory, was arrested recently re-cently and confinc-d to n fortress for bringing a relative to the laboratory without permission. The Admiralty has no direct news of the naval battle fought off Port Arthur June 23, but the announcement, of the engagement evidently created no surprise sur-prise here, the officials being awnro that the squadron of Rear-Admiral Withoeft was ready to put to sea at a moment's notice. On Thursday the correspondent- of the Associated Press was Informed, as announced an-nounced In these dispatches, that Important Im-portant naval developments were anticipated. antic-ipated. If an actual engagement occurred the Admiralty cannot believe that Admiral Togo got off practically scott free. Particular solicitude, therefore Is expressed ex-pressed to know whether the Russian battleship Peresvlet was sun by a mine as she was emerging from tho harbor or by a projectile, as It was known that the Japanese had repeatedly repeat-edly tried to mine the entrance. |