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Show Believe Russians Have Won Their Case French Press Gives This Statement of North. Sea Court Marked Prominence. PARIS, Feb. 4 Tho close of tho testimony testi-mony before tho International commission Inquiring Into tho North sea Incident has been followed by a rather notlccablo diminution of . the confidence In British circles connected with the case, and a corresponding cor-responding elation on the part of tho Russians. Rus-sians. Tho French press, which Is strongly pro-Russian, gives marked prominence to statements that tho Russians havo virtually vir-tually won their case, tho usually conservative conser-vative Temps and Journal asserting positively posi-tively that tho majority of tho court now favors the Russian theory that torpedo-boats torpedo-boats attacked Vlce-Admlral Rojestven-sky's Rojestven-sky's squadron. No Basis for Reports. However, inquiry In well-informed circles cir-cles docs not show any real basis for theso reports On the contrary. Intimations Intima-tions aro made that the tendency within tho court Is rather In the opposite direction. direc-tion. Tho reports favorable to tho Russian Rus-sian view result mainly from tho posltlvc-ness posltlvc-ness of the testimony of Cant. Clado nnd other Russian officers that they saw torpedo-boats attack tho squadron, whereas the strongest British witnesses did not swear that no torpedo-boats were there,, but merely that they did not see them there. Impression of Audience. Tho Impression scorned to jircvall among the audience In tho court that the commissioners com-missioners wcro likely to accept the directness di-rectness of tho Russlun witnesses rather than the qualified negative given by tho British fishermen However, those Intimately Inti-mately familiar with the commissioners say that this Impression Is not warranted, as" tho commissioners, being skilled naval technicians, are disposed to differ from Cnpt. Clado on a number of the most Important Im-portant technical points. Theso pertain chiefly to his ability to sco a torpedo boat at night two miles away and his statements state-ments concerning tho effects of searchlights. search-lights. It Is known that some of tho commissioners com-missioners consider Capt. dado's stnto-montu stnto-montu to bo at varlanco with tho accepted principles of naval science. As to Clado's Testimony.' How far this will lnfluenco their ultimate ulti-mate verdict Is not clear, lut It appears to show that tho commissioners do not sharo tho prevailing Impression that Capt. Clado's testimony was decisive. |