what the Russians alleged to have been two torpedo boats, but which others have asserted were the Aurora and Dmitri Donsköi. In the firing damage and loss of life were sustained by the fishing fleet. The Russians proceeded on their course without stopping to aid the victims.
Now it is immaterial whether the Russians fired at their own ships or not, the main point is that they believed themselves to be attacked and at once opened fire without regard to anyone else in the neighbourhood who might get hurt. This was an absolutely proper act from the naval standpoint—'Fire at anything suspicious' is the only possible order for a fleet that believes itself to be in danger of torpedo attack; to wait to ascertain may be to court destruction. Similarly, an admiral believing an attack to have been delivered would commit a more than error by waiting to save any innocent victims of his fire.
These points were evidently borne in mind by the Commissioners whose full report was as follows:—
1. The Commissioners, after minute and prolonged examination of the whole of the facts that have come to their knowledge concerning the incidents submitted to them for investigation by the St. Petersburg declaration of November 12/25, 1904, have in this report proceeded to give an analysed statement of those facts in their proper order.
In communicating the principal opinions of the Commission on each important or decisive point of
