As we entered the roadstead we found there, at anchor, a small Chinese
junk of such a dilapidated and weather-beaten appearance that she seemed
as though she might go to pieces at any moment. She was flying the
Japanese mercantile flag, a white flag with a red ball in the centre--
which is also the Japanese "Jack," and I soon learned that in her case,
as in many others, appearances were deceptive, for I was assured that
she was as staunch as staunch could be. She was officered and manned by
a Chinese crew, and she was ostensibly loaded with bricks; but
surrounded by these bricks, which were only a blind, was a sturdy little
closed-in engine and boiler, the smoke from the latter issuing from the
unusually big chimney of her galley stove, while the engine worked a
small but powerful set of pumps which strongly sucked in water through
her bows and discharged it equally strongly from her stern, under water,
of course, giving her a speed of seven knots in smooth water. And when
I sought further information with regard to this mysterious craft, I was
informed by Ito, who seemed to know all about her, that she had been
purchased by the Japanese Secret Service Department, fitted with her
engine, boiler, and pumps by an ingenious Japanese engineer, and that
her business was to go to and fro between Port Arthur and "a certain
place," ostensibly as a trader, but in reality that her skipper, a
particularly bold and clever spy, might obtain information for the
Japanese.
The spy's name, it appeared, was Hang-won,--a rather ominous name, I
thought, under the circumstances,--while the name of the junk was
_Chung-sa_. She had arrived from Port Arthur about midday, and this was
Hang-won's first essay in Japan's service. But he had brought from Port
Arthur two items of news that were likely to prove most valuable to us;
one of them being, that the Russian destroyers were being sent to sea
every night to reconnoitre, and that upon their return they always
showed a white light above a red, to indicate that they were Russian;
while the second item was to the effect that that day, 8th February,
happened to be the name-day of Madame Stark, the wife of the Russian
Admiral, and that in honour of the day a great banquet was to be given
at nine o'clock that night, at the Admiral's house, which was to be
followed by a special performance at a circus which chanced to be in the
town.
The moment that this information was communicated to Togo, he recognised
the magnificent possibilities offered by the occasion. For it was
morally certain that, between the banquet and the circus, most of the
officers, and possibly also a good many of the men, of the Russian fleet
would be ashore, that night; and what better opportunity for an attack
upon it was likely to offer? The chance was very much too good to be
missed, and a signal was at once made for the captains of all craft,
destroyers included, to repair on board the _Mikasa_.
I was one of the last to reach the flagship, for the destroyers were
anchored outside the rest of the fleet, and when I arrived the Admiral's
cabin was full of men, as many of them as could find room being seated
round the table, while the rest were accommodated with chairs. All were
talking indiscriminately together, for the council had not yet begun;
but it was characteristic of Togo that he saw me the instant I entered
the cabin, and rose to shake hands with me, exclaiming, "Ah! here comes
our young British giant." Then, pointing to a chair near himself, he
motioned me to be seated, saying as he did so with a humorous smile:
"Well, Mr Swinburne, I hope you find the _Kasanumi_ a nice, steady,
comfortable ship. Is there room enough in her for you to stretch
yourself, or shall we have to lengthen her a few feet?"
"She is a splendid little craft, sir," I said heartily, "far better than
the British boat in which I saw some service. She is a magnificent sea
boat, and came through the wild weather of yesterday and last night
without turning a hair. True, she is a bit cramped between the beams,
and I have already raised a few bumps on my head while trying to stand
upright in my cabin; but I'm ready to go anywhere and attempt anything
in her."
"That's right," remarked Togo; "you show the true Nelson spirit, sir--
the spirit which we expect to find in every Briton; the spirit which we
so greatly admire, and which we are humbly striving to imbue our
Japanese seamen with. So you are `ready to go anywhere and attempt
anything,' eh? Excellent! I hope to afford you the opportunity to show
us what you can do before you are many hours older."
Then, turning to where Captain Ijichi stood near the cabin door, he
said, in Japanese:
"Are all present, Ijichi?"
Some half a dozen officers had followed close upon my heels, and I
noticed that, as each entered, the _Mikasa's_ skipper had ticked off
something on a list which he held in his hand.
"All present, sir," answered Ijichi, referring to his list.
"Good!" remarked the Admiral. "Then, be so good as to tell the sentry
that we are on no account to be interrupted. Then close the door and
find a seat for yourself."
With the closing of the cabin door the general conversation that had
been proceeding came to an abrupt termination and a tense silence
ensued. Togo looked round the cabin, as though taking stock of us all;
then in a few terse words he communicated to us the information which he
had just learned from Hang-won, who, by the way, was still in the cabin,
ready to answer any questions that might be put to him.
"Now, gentlemen," he continued, "there is no need for me to enlarge upon
the splendid opportunity which Madame Stark's celebration of her
name-day offers us to strike a heavy blow at the enemy's fleet; I am
sure that you will all see it for yourselves. The only question is: In
what way can we best avail ourselves of the opportunity? What form is
the blow to take?
"So far as we are concerned, we are seventeen ships strong, apart from
our destroyers, while our friend, Hang-won, informs me that the Russian
fleet consists of fourteen ships, again apart from destroyers. We are
therefore three ships to the good. But, of those fourteen Russian
ships, seven are battleships, while we muster only six; furthermore, the
whole fleet is anchored under the protection of the Port Arthur
batteries, a further tremendous advantage to them. Notwithstanding
this, however, the opportunity is such a splendid one that, were my
hands free, I should be strongly disposed to take my whole fleet into
Port Arthur roadstead, engage the Russian ships at close quarters,
trusting to find them unprepared; do them as much damage as possible
with our heavy guns; and trust to our destroyers to complete their
destruction while the confusion of the surprise was at its height. But,
gentlemen, I cannot do this. My orders from the Cabinet and the Elder
Statesmen are clear and precise, and under no circumstances whatever am
I to disobey them. They are, that I am never to risk my ships,
especially my battleships, by exposing them to the fire of the Port
Arthur batteries; and if I do not myself obey orders, how may I expect
that my orders will be obeyed? Strict and unquestioning obedience to
orders is, as you all know, almost an article of faith with us;
therefore, sorely tempted though I am, to disobey just this once, I dare
not set an example which might be fraught with the most disastrous
consequences. Hence, gentlemen, I have summoned you this afternoon, to
assist me with your counsels. I may mention that, keeping in view the
fact that my superiors, the Government, have given me certain orders
which I must obey, the only thing I can see for it is to send in our
destroyers, and let them do their best. Can any of you suggest a better
plan?"
For a full minute or more a tense silence reigned in the cabin,
everybody apparently waiting for somebody else to speak first. Then a
young officer in lieutenant's uniform (whom I subsequently learned was
no less a personage than Prince Kasho, one of the _Mikasa's_ officers),
rose and, bowing first to the Admiral and then to the rest of us, said,
in Japanese of course:
"Do I understand, Admiral, that your question carries with it your
permission to us to express our candid opinion?"
"Assuredly," answered Togo.
"Good!" returned the Prince. "Then, since no one else appears to have a
suggestion to offer, perhaps I may be permitted to do so, though I
happen to be the junior of most of the honourable officers present. You
told us just now, sir, that, _were your hands free_, you would be
strongly disposed to take your entire fleet into Port Arthur roadstead,
where, I understand, almost every Russian ship of importance in Eastern
waters now rides at anchor, and make an end of them."
The speaker was here interrupted by a low murmur of applause from many
of the officers present, who seemed to have a shrewd suspicion of what
was coming. Togo held up his hand for silence, the Prince bowed
smilingly to his audience, who he felt he had with him, and resumed:
"But you tell us, sir, that you are not free to exercise your own
discretion, that your hands are tied by certain orders which you have
received; and you have reminded us that implicit obedience is the
supreme virtue, almost an article of religious faith, with the Japanese.
"With that sentiment, sir, I am, I scarcely need say, in perfect,
whole-hearted agreement. But there is a point which I wish to make, and
it is this. The Cabinet and the Elder Statesmen are, as their
designation indicates, _statesmen_; they are neither soldiers nor
sailors. And while I will not attempt to dispute either their wisdom or
their right to formulate certain general rules for the guidance of their
Generals and Admirals, I feel that I should not be doing my full duty to
my country, in the circumstances which now confront us, if I did not
boldly declare my fixed conviction that such general rules as I have
just alluded to ought to be regarded and accepted by us merely as
guides, and not as definite, imperative orders which are under no
circumstances whatsoever to be disobeyed."
Here another little murmur of applause, more general and decided than
the first, ran round the cabin. As it died away, the speaker resumed:
"I cannot believe, sir, that the orders laid upon you were intended to
deprive you of the power to exercise your own discretion under such
exceptional circumstances as the present; and I therefore take upon
myself the responsibility of saying, here in the presence of all your
officers, that I believe you would be amply justified in acting in the
manner that you indicated a few minutes ago."
There was no mistaking the meaning of the applause that rang through the
cabin now; it was perfectly evident that--with the solitary exceptions
of the Admiral and myself--the Prince had every man present heartily
with him.
"I have but a very few more words to add, sir," the speaker resumed,
when the applause died away, "and they are these. What you have told us
concerning to-night's projected happenings in Port Arthur seems to
indicate that an opportunity, such as may never occur again, now offers
for us to strike such a blow at the enemy that it will be impossible for
him ever to recover from it; and if the striking of that blow does
indeed involve actual disobedience of precise orders, I venture to
assert that the result will amply justify the deed."
The Prince resumed his seat amid thunders of applause which rang through
the cabin for at least a couple of minutes. When at length it died
down, Togo rose to his feet.
"Gentlemen," he said, "I gather from your plaudits that you all fully
agree with Prince Kasho's honourable speech, for which I beg to most
heartily thank him, although it places me upon the horns of a dilemma.
Let that pass, for the moment, however. What I want, now, is that each
of you should, in as few words as possible, express your opinion upon
the Prince's suggestion that I should take the whole of my ships into
Port Arthur roadstead and engage the enemy in a pitched battle."
In response to this appeal, the officers rose, one after the other,
apparently in the order of their seniority; and each man expressed his
hearty concurrence with Prince Kasho's proposal, the concurrence being
accompanied in many cases by the expression of sundry lofty and
beautiful sentiments extolling the virtues of patriotism and valour. At
length everybody had spoken except myself, and I was heartily hoping
that I should be passed over as a person of so little account that my
opinion would not be considered worth having. Not so, however. The
Admiral turned to me and said, with a smile:
"And now at last we come to our honourable English friend, the captain
of the _Kasanumi_. What has he to say upon the matter? You have heard
what has been said; and although you have perhaps been unable, through
your restricted knowledge of our language, to grasp the full meaning of
it all, you may possibly have understood enough to enable you to
comprehend the way in which this momentous question appeals to the
Japanese heart and intellect. Now, kindly favour us with the view which
you, as a hard-headed Englishman, take of it."
"Really, sir," I said in English, springing to my feet in some
confusion, "I would very much prefer to be excused, if you will kindly
allow me. It would be the most rank presumption on my part to--"
"No, no," cried several voices, among which I distinctly recognised that
of Prince Kasho; "let us hear what the honourable Englishman has to
say."
"Quite right, gentlemen," said Togo. "I fully agree with you. I know
something of the English; and even though Mr Swinburne may differ from
us all, I'll warrant that he will not suggest any action that is not
consonant with our honour, as seamen, or our loyalty to the Emperor.
Pray proceed, Mr Swinburne."
"Very well, then, Admiral, and gentlemen, since you do me the honour to
insist, I will," said I. "But you must permit me to begin by reminding
you that I am only a boy, and that this is my first experience of actual
warfare; therefore if I venture to express an opinion on what has been
justly described as a most momentous question, I do so with the utmost
diffidence. At the same time, although I have had no previous
experience of war, I should like to say that I have studied the subject
deeply and with intense interest. And it is with equal interest that I
have listened to the expression of your views on the question now under
consideration. I am filled with admiration of the noble and patriotic
sentiments which have to-day been spoken within the walls of this
cabin--sentiments with which I most cordially agree, since they happen
to accurately coincide with my own.
"But, gentlemen, may I dare venture to remind you that patriotism and
valour, splendid and admirable as they are, are not the only qualities
that should distinguish the soldier or sailor who fights for his
country? Inspired by them, a man may no doubt accomplish great things,
wonderful things; but we Britons have a proverb which declares that
discretion is the better part of valour, and in my humble opinion--
which, I repeat, I advance with the utmost diffidence--the present is
one of those occasions when valour, as heroic and self-sacrificing as
you will, should go hand in hand with discretion.
"With your kind favour I will briefly mention the picture that arose in
my mind while Prince Kasho was advocating the plan of taking the entire
fleet into Port Arthur roadstead and engaging the Russians in a pitched
battle.
"I readily grant you that the information communicated to the Admiral by
Hang-won seems to indicate that to-night, or the small hours of
to-morrow morning, will afford a magnificent opportunity for such a
_coup_; but--let us consider all the consequences which that _coup_
would entail. It may be that we should be able to take the Russians by
surprise; it is exceedingly probable that some of the officers--perhaps
a good many of them--will be ashore to-night; but, recognising the fact
that Russia and Japan are at war, do you, gentlemen, as reasonable,
sensible men, really believe for a moment that the Russian fleet will be
left defenceless in an open roadstead, or that the vigilance of the
lookouts will be relaxed? I do not. And, if not, the approach of such
a formidable array as ours would assuredly be detected, and the alarm
given, long before we could arrive within effective striking distance.
Then what would be the ultimate result? I have not a doubt that we
should be victorious, but at what cost? We must remember, gentlemen,
that we should be not only engaging a fleet but slightly inferior in
strength to our own, _but the batteries as well_; and it is in the
batteries that our danger lies. I know not what the armament of those
batteries may be, but I think we may safely assume that it will consist
of weapons heavy enough to sink many of our ships while we are doing our
best to sink theirs. With all submission, I think it would be the
height of folly for us to assume that we could fight such a battle
without serious loss to ourselves. And the point which I wish to
emphasise is this: _How are we going to make good those losses_? The
Russians can make good theirs by sending more ships out from Europe; but
where are we to get more? I need not labour this question, gentlemen; I
am sure you will all see what I mean, and therefore understand why I say
that, altogether apart from the question of slavish obedience to orders,
or otherwise, I think the Admiral is fully justified in his decision not
to risk his ships in such an exceedingly hazardous enterprise."
"Thank you, Mr Swinburne," said Togo, offering me his hand as I sat
down. "You have spoken pretty much as I expected you would." Then,
turning to one of the officers who had been busily writing all the time
that I was speaking, he said:
"Captain Matsumoto, am I correct in supposing that you have been taking
down Mr Swinburne's remarks?"
"Quite correct, sir," answered the skipper of the _Fuji_.
"Then," said Togo, "do me the favour to read them over aloud, in
Japanese, for the benefit of those officers who have been unable to
closely follow Mr Swinburne's English."
This was done; and when Matsumoto sat down there was silence for a few
moments, succeeded by a faint murmur of applause. Then the Admiral
rose.
"Gentlemen," he said, "you have now all spoken; and I tender you my most
hearty thanks for the frank expression of your several opinions. I have
listened with the greatest interest and satisfaction to everything that
has been said, but you must pardon me if I say at once, frankly, that
you leave me as unconvinced as ever. Or, no; not unconvinced; on the
contrary, I am more convinced than ever that, apart, as Mr Swinburne
has remarked, from any question of slavish obedience to orders, I should
be guilty of a serious, even disastrous, error of judgment, were I to
take my battleships and cruisers into Port Arthur roads and give battle
to the Russian fleet. The only alternative is to employ the destroyers;
and I shall be glad of any suggestions you may be pleased to offer as to
the best method of attack."
Nobody spoke. It was easy to see that the officers of the battleships
and cruisers, deeply imbued with the somewhat fantastic and high-flown
ideas of the Japanese with regard to the almost divine virtue of heroism
and self-sacrifice, were profoundly disappointed that they were not to
be afforded an opportunity to display their possession of those virtues.
"Has no one a suggestion to offer?" demanded Togo, in a tone of
surprise. "What say you, Swinburne?" turning to me.
"It would greatly help us, sir," I said, "if Hang-won could give us even
an approximate idea of the position of the Russian ships in the
roadstead."
"You are right, sir; it would," answered the Admiral. And turning to
the Chinaman, he addressed to him a question in what I imagined to be
Chinese. The man was replying at some length when Togo interrupted him
and turned to the skipper of the flagship.
"Captain Ijichi," said he, "a chart of Port Arthur, if you please."
The chart was brought, and Hang-won, after poring over it awhile, took a
pencil and with meticulous care jotted down certain marks upon it. When
he had finished, Togo turned to me and said:
"Here we are, Mr Swinburne. These marks indicate the positions of some
of the Russian ships, as nearly as Hang-won can remember them. As you
see, they are moored in wedge-shaped formation, the point of the wedge
to seaward; and that point is occupied by the _Tsarevich_, a battleship.
Next her, inshore, comes the _Poltava_, also a battleship, then the
_Sevastopol_, another battleship, and abreast of her, in the second
line, the battleship _Pobieda_. Of the positions of these he is
certain, he says, having taken particular notice of them as he came out;
but of the rest he is not so sure, except that there are thirteen of
them, exclusive of the _Askold_, all anchored inside the _Tsarevich_.
The _Askold_ is a cruiser, and according to Hang-won she is performing
patrol duty to and fro, outside the rest of the fleet. You will readily
recognise her from the fact that she is the only craft with five
funnels.
"There is another point in favour of our employing destroyers. It
appears that Admiral Stark sends out a destroyer flotilla every night to
patrol the coast as far as Dalny--there it is, about twenty miles
north-east of Port Arthur. If, upon approaching the roadstead, our
boats show the lights usually exhibited by the Russian destroyers--a
white light above a red--on their return from Dalny, they ought to be
able to get right in among the Russian fleet and do a tremendous amount
of damage before their identity is discovered, and I shall confidently
look for important results accordingly. Now, gentlemen, I have my own
idea as to how the attack should be conducted; but I have heard it said
that in many councillors there is wisdom, therefore I should be glad to
have your views on the subject."
And, one after the other, the officers present gave them, the general
opinion being that the destroyers ought to approach to within about five
miles of the shore at a moderate speed, showing no lights; then dash in
at top speed, discharging torpedoes right and left, and continue to do
so, regardless of consequences, until every Russian ship was destroyed.
Finally, I was called for to give my opinion; and again I found myself
obliged to differ from the others.
"If I were leading the attack, sir," I said, "I should time myself to
arrive at about eleven o'clock, that being the time, I imagine, when the
banquet and the special performance will both be at their height. At
the distance of about five miles from the shore I should slow down,
instead of increasing speed, because I should then have no fear of
flames escaping from my funnels and so betraying my approach. I should
then divide my force into two, one of which should sweep well away to
the nor'ard, while the other sheered off toward the south, my object
being to get my boats well into the concealment of the shadow of the
high land east and west of the roadstead. Under the cover of this
shadow I should creep close along shore until I was well inside the
enemy's fleet, when I should wheel outward, get good way on my boats,
and torpedo the enemy, ship after ship, as I came out. By this plan I
should be heading seaward, ready to make good my escape as soon as the
alarm was given, which I believe will be within a few seconds after the
first torpedo is fired. Then I should run for it out to sea, at top
speed; for I am convinced that, once the alarm is given and the
searchlights are turned on, we shall be afforded no further opportunity
to do mischief; and I see no sense in sacrificing ships and lives
uselessly. I have heard the remark made, more than once, that it is a
glorious thing to die for one's country and one's Emperor. So it is--
when the sacrifice of one's life is necessary to secure a certain
object; but I maintain that it is still more glorious to _live_ for
one's country. One live man can render more useful service to his
country than a hundred dead ones."
Again there was a little half-hearted murmur of applause.
But Togo expressed his approval in no half-hearted manner. Dashing his
fist upon the table he exclaimed:
"By Hachiman Sama!" (the Japanese god of War), "you are right, Mr
Swinburne. You told us, a little while ago, that you are only a boy,
but you have the brains and wisdom of a man, sir. Your plan of attack
is the right one--cannot you see that it is, gentlemen?--and it shall be
followed. By attempting the other plan, we should in all probability
lose every boat and every man, with no better result; while, by adopting
Mr Swinburne's plan, we may save at least two-thirds of them. Now,
gentlemen, before we terminate the council, has any one a better plan to
propose?" And he glanced round the cabin, inquiringly.
No one answered. Then Captain Matsumoto, commanding the battleship
_Fuji_, rose.
"As one whose knowledge of the august English language is perhaps
superior to that of most present--your honourable self, sir, excepted,"
he said, addressing the Admiral, "I should like to say that I have
listened to the remarks of the honourable commander of the _Kasanumi_
with profound interest. His doctrine, that it is more glorious to live
than to die for one's Emperor, is a new one to us Japanese, and I
confess that for the moment it shocked me, as I saw that it shocked most
of us. But, if one comes to reflect, one sees that there is sound sense
in it; therefore I should like to record my entire approval of the
projected plan of attack upon the enemy's fleet. For, by adopting it,
there is a good prospect that many lives and many craft, which would
otherwise be uselessly sacrificed, may be preserved to render further
valuable service to Japan and its Emperor."
The applause this time was real and hearty enough, and several of the
officers who were sitting near me offered me their hands and smilingly
complimented me.
"Very well, then, gentlemen, that matter is settled, and most
satisfactorily, too, in my humble opinion. And, now, as to details.
Divisions 1, 2, and 3 of the destroyer flotilla will attack the fleet at
Port Arthur; Divisions 4 and 5 will proceed to Dalny in quest of the
Russian destroyers said to reconnoitre in that direction nightly; and
all will inflict as much damage as possible upon the enemy. Captain
Matsunaga of the _Asashio_ will command Divisions 1, 2, and 3; while
Captain Nagai will command Divisions 4 and 5. The flotilla will start
at five o'clock this evening. You are dismissed, gentlemen. I thank
you for your honourable attendance, and the assistance which you have
rendered me."