In Newchwang we had General Kondoratovich, the youngest man of his rank in the army. The Commandant of our division was a good type of officer, intrepid, resourceful, open-hearted and open-handed; the correspondents just made him tired, but he was always courteous to them. He was a free liver, absolutely disregardful of public opinion and capable of minding his own affairs and of guarding Russian interests. Newchwang was also visited by General Linevich, the leader of the Russian expedition to Peking; by the Commander-in-Chief General Kuropatkin, who reviewed the local troops numbering about 6,000, and decided that the port must be evacuated. Newchwang was also visited by the Grand Duke Boris, who viewed its defences, inspected the port, and after being bored by the authorities as a matter of duty was fêted by them as a token of their esteem, and enjoyed himself in his usual manner. On Palm Sunday, March 27, the authorities suddenly announced that the treaty port of Newchwang was under martial law. All residents must remain within the gates of the town; the Russian settlement, Niuchatun, and other villages in the suburbs were out of bounds, and not to be visited without special permission. The Chinese railway station in neutral territory could be visited between sunrise and sunset; during the hours of darkness all river traffic was prohibited. The Chinese, who, until that day, if they were found after dark without carrying a lantern were fined, were fined now if they had a lantern, or if the least glimmer of light showed through their doors, windows, or cracks in the walls of their compound. All the foreign consuls with the exception of the British acquiesced in the order. The British consul would not do so without instructions of the British Minister at Peking to whom he had referred the matter, and who, naturally, never gave instructions. It was a mere verbal quibble, all British subjects were advised to accept the situation; the protection of the consuls could indeed be claimed, but as they had relinquished their power, their consulates were no longer legal sanctuaries for their own nationals. The work of correspondents was made more difficult; and they were regarded with increased suspicion by the authorities. Colonel Telshin and Lt.-Col. Dabovsky were appointed censors, and the Chinese Imperial Railway Telegraph offices were placed in charge of Mr. Pancheka, who had with him a commissioned officer and a squad of Cossacks.