Llais Llafur

Hos'pital Ship Sunk I in Bristol Channel. ALL WOUNDED SAVED. I WONDERFUL WORK OF RESCUE. i The Secretary of the Admiralty makes the following announcement His Majesty's hospital ship Rewa was torpedoed and sunk in the Bristol i Channel about midnught on January 4 on her way home from Gibraltar. All the wounded were safely trans- ferred C) patrol reikis, and there wk-re only three casualties amon g her crew, three lascars bciing missing. j She was displaying all the lights and markings required by The Hague Con- vention, and she was not, and had not been, within the so-called barred zone delimited in the statement issued by the German Government on Jan. 29, 1917. The Rewa was a steel triple-screw steamer of 7,308 tons, owned bv the British India Steam Navigation. Com- pany (Limited), and registered at Glasgow. Built at Dumbarton in 1906, she was 456ft. in length and 56ft. 2iin. in breadth. THE "OPEN ROUTE." ANOTHER PLEDGE VIOLATED BY GERMANY The torpedoing of the Rewa lis a clear violation of Germany's pledge to respect ships carrying wounded in the zone she herself i declared to be safe. The Germain Government statement referred to bv the British Admiralty declared that" tliev would "no longer suffer anv enemy hospital ship in the maritime I zone which is situated be- tween the lines Flamborough Head to Terseirclilng, on the one hand, arid Ushant to Land's End, on the other. "Should enemy hospital ships be e-fl- countered in this maritime zone, after an appropriate lapse of time, they will be considered as belligerent, and will be attacked without further considera- tion." The German. Government hvpocritic- ally pointed out at the time that they "believed themselves justified in adop- ting these measures, as the route frotai Western and Southern France to the West of England still remains open for enemy hospital ships, a-nd the transport of English wounded to thetir homes can cowsoequentlv be effected now as heretofore without hindrance." It was while iiing tlils "open route" to the West of England that the Rewa was atUioked and torpedoed. SURVIVORS' STORIES AT SWAN- SEA. SUPERB CONDUCT OF SHIP S CAPTAIN AND OFFICERS. The tale of the rescue is an extra- ordinary one. and the fact that pr^e- tically all were saved, including a number of bad "cot" cases, and that during a period of darkness before moon rise, is little short of miracu- lous. Swansea, which figured prominently in the rescue work, passed one of the most exciting days in. iits history on Saturda.v. when the whole of the occu- pants of the liner, including some 250 wounded, were landed. From stories given by survivors it appears that the vessel, which ulti- i n-telv had a total complement on board of 5.53 souls, called at a Greek port and at Malta, for wounded cases, and sushequentlv a few more were taken aboard at Gibraltar. The vessel ex- perienced very hOd weather in the Mediterranean and was four days late in enterin g the Bristol Channel. After dark on Friday might the ship was lighted up (in accordance wi,th present j practice) and she proceeded at ahout four knots up .Channel, being ttieti less than a hundred miles from her destination. Some say that just he- fore the attack suspicious lights were observed, and whilst they were being steadily regarded a torpedo struck the vessel with a terrifie. crash right amidships ("right on the hospital x-ross," as one man observed). It was a- most effective shot. and completely de> flyed all chance of saving the vessel. Those who had retired to rest were suddenly awakened and made a dask on deck, leaving everything they possessed below. Some left watohes and money under their very pillows. A member of the crew stated that the fights on the lower deck were extin- guished by the force of the explosion, and. there was wild groping in the darkness for some vestiges of clothing to enable the men to go on deck. WOUNDED FIRST. Afterwards wonderful oixler was j maintained, and the majority of those ahoard joined in singing hvnins. The cond-t of the e->r>*ain and officers I was superb. Orders were given and I carried out with splendid accuracy- and with the exception of a couple of I)oa,ts (which had apparently been de- stroyed by the explosion) every boat was successfully launched, and whilst the ship was obvilously and rapidly iettlitig down on a perfectly even keel (she hiving been holed right through) the boats were all manned without the slightest accident. There were about 30 "cot" cases, and these were first got out and placed i.n the boats. There were four women cin board—nurses—and these were at- tended to next. At last the crew and officers, crowded on -the deck were embanked, and with the exception, it is believed, of the three lascars wlio cannot be aoc-ounted for, and were probably killed by the effects of the torpedo, every soul on board was taken into the boats. The crew consisted to a large extent of lascars ajid Portu- guese. F.ULL SPEED TO THE RESCUE. About ten minutes afttr the last, boat was loaded the hip, which had been sinking evenly, plunged head foremost into the waters and disap- peared. Fortunately, just, before the engines stopped wireless messages had been scsiit from on board, and they were picked up by two or three vessels, includiaig a tank steamer, and and two patrols or Tni???wpepers, and these cra?t diverted thEr courses and ?t?er?d at fuH speed for the scene of the disaster. The boats kept close to- gether, and after being adrift for be- tween one and two hours they were picked up "by the rescuing steamers, which, to their intense relief, hove in sight in the moonlight.So smartly was the work of transferring '550 people from boats to ships done that thev./Were all got aboard an,d safely stowed din about an hour, and the vessets bea-ded for the nearest avail- able port. The expedition with which the work was done may he judged by the fact that it took two hours only after their arrival i.n port to. bring them ashore. ) HEROISM ON BOARD. I Many deeds of quiet Jjeioism were performed. The solicitude for the wounded was remarkable, libble in the extreme. One of the nurses gave all her heavy garments to cover men who were very ill, and in turn an officer gave feer his overcoat. Men of all ruuka gave every rag they could spare in order to keep the wounded as comfortable and warm as possible. Members of the crew as well as officers had rushed to their boa;ts with such alacrity that thev had very little clothing on themselves. They we without boots and soaks; many without slai-i-ts and many with- out trousers; several had underpants, but no other garments. Yet they were busy when, required for action, and patient through all those three or four hours until help arrived. The tmk of getting the men ashore wao difficult, as the tide was low art first, but was coming iii, bl't. Before the position became more favourable those who were able to help had a very difficult task. SCENES AT LANDING. PITIFUL PLGHT OF THE srR- I VIVORS. I Great excitment prevailed at Swan- sea. all day ou Saturday, and the in- habitants rose to the occasion. In spite of great difficulties they managed to accommodate the survivors and provide for their wants. They were, in the majority of cases, in a !<pe- less ptight, and maavy had to IK pro- vided with clothing on landing. Some had only blankets about them. Nearly all the crew had lost everything they possessed. The local V.A.D., ° uuder Mr Powell (Q.M.), did splendid work in respect of transport, and were readily assisted by the local chamber of commerce, who provided as much feod and clothing as was immediately required at the docks, and many of the men were taken to the Exchange temp-warily on landing. Motor-'buses end .cars were speedily got together to transport the wounded, the worst of the -as(,s beting taken to the local mili- tarv hospitals for the time being. During the day the military wound- ed were aU despatched from the town bv the ambulance tran whieh had been sent. The rest of the survivors were taken to the Chamber of Com- merce, the Exchange, the Sailors' Home, and the Hotel Metropole, which are all handily situated in the vicinity of the docks. Another special train was despatched to take away the naval and "walking" cases on Sun- day. At the Sailors' Home on Satur- day night there were over 150 men crowded into the living apartments, most of whom were obliged to sleep on the floors for the night, aiid the town was scoured by Mr Morgan (the ..sacretary) and Mr Brunt'(the superin- tendent) for such necessities as blan- kets. TOWNSPEOPLE'S AID. I Manv of the most .active members I of the Chamber of Commerce were hard at work until late on Saturday evening, without taking any meals. Various shops in the town were called uporu by telephone for clothing and articles required, and meals were pro- vided by various tradesmen. Boots, mufflers, caps, braces, and all kinds of clothing were brought in from various quarters. "END OF A PERFECT DAY"! The members of a local public body turned up in full force to feed and entertain their unexpected, but very welcome, guests, waiting upon them and washing up the-dishes as if to the manner born. Others provided them with postcards, letter paper, stamps, and telegraph form in order that they might communicate their safetv to; their relatives auid friends. Later on, when every man had had his wants suplied. there was aai entertainment and speeeh-maki'ng. The proceedings closed by or.e of the guests standing up and, amid applause, singing "The End of a Perfect Day" All the- crew were loud in praise of the arrangements by which such a com- plete rescue was made, of the occu- pants of the vessel, which may rightly be regained as the most remari-ible incident in co-nnection with the ,1', two There was after the" torpe doing very little excitement, except amongst a small section of lascars, but one man had evidently lost his wits when hmd- ed, and at the police-station was evi- dently under the belief that everything he saw was on fire. INJURED MAN'S FORTITUDE. I One man from the stllp went about all day taiking very little notice of anything, and making no complaint. He was in need of clothing, gave his list in when asked, took what was offered, and said, "Thanks." No one thought there was anything seriously the matter with him until iha wearing, when he collapsed. He ill ,:r*t the o' l^Lal i t he was goiing to It was then found he had several ribs broken and other injuries—"a really had case"- arud he had made no complaint. Durng the whole of Saturday in- terested crowd s watched te motor-am- bulances which were arriving, and de- parting fnm the Hotel Metropole, the manager of which and his staff gave splendid assistance, and the resources of the hotel were severely taxed.

AUSTRALIAN COAL MINES FOR STATE. THOROUGH GOtNG REFORM IN NEW SOUTH WALES. The New SatrtU Wales Government has undertaken h supply the States of Victoria, South Australia, and West Australia with all the coal they need during the next fi-IC years. There is now no doubt whatever that the New South Wales Govern- ment intends- to nationalise all the e-aal mines in the State.

CONSUMERS' COUNCIL MR J. R. CL YNES MEETS LABOUR LFADERS. It was announced on Tuesday that Mr J. R. Clynes, M.P., has been con- ducting negotiations in reference to formation of a Consumers' Council, and that the L;(;ur Party Executive tho men,t Committee of the Trades Union Congress, and the War Kir.er'/ency Committee have now de- clc'V,' to appoint representatives on the Council. All classes of the com- munity will be repre-aented on. the new body, whidl will have headquarters at the Ministry of Food. F ;<h mem ber will &erve on the Ad- vi: oi'y Committews connected with certain* group s of food-scuffs. For ex- ample member will devote all his time to the study of problems connec- ted with oils and fate, another to ment supply, and third to cereal: Women will be among the members of the Council. ————— .—————.

SWANSEA BUTTER SCHEME CARD SYSTEM FOR THE TOWN A-N-D DISTRICT. At the resumed conference of the food committees of Swan-set Borough, Swansea Rural, Mumbles, and Gower on Monday it was decided to introduce at card system for the whole of the districts' concerned for the distribution of butter and margarine. Tho card s will he. on the household system, per- forated, and to last for sixteen weeks.

BRITISH WORKERS TO I I VISIT THE FRONT. J 300 TO BE TAKEN OUT EVERY I I WEEK. I The Secretary of the Wa.r Office makes the following announcement: During the past year arrangements were made for several parties repre- sentative of Labour to pay visits to the British front in France. This opportunity of seeing something of tiie magnitude of the task which is being tackled with so much success by the British Armies in France was greatly appreciated by these visitors, and it enabled them to give some ac- count of their oomrades at home to the immense organisation required to maintain a modern army in the tield and of the indomitable spirit shown by our men in the fighting line. Arrangements have now been made by which a largely increased number of these visitors can be accommodated in France, and a. committee of selec- tion has been appointed with repre- sentatives of all the departments con- cerned upon it. Two parties, each con- sisting of about 25, will proceed to France' for a tour of inspection on every day of the week,' Sundays ex- cepted. The two parties will be con- veyed to various places of interest in the British zone. Rest houses have been arranged at suitable points along the route, and the parties will spend the evenings at these. This scheme will allow of some 300 British workers visiting the front each week, ind they will be able from first-hand knowledge to tell their fel- low-workers at home of the spirit, the efficiency, the endurance, and the needs of our troops -n France.

BEER OR PIGS. TEETOTAL FARMER SUMMONED FOR BREACH OF BARLEY ORDER. I A case which excited groat interest in Essex was heard at Halstead sessions when Alfred Blomfield, Orange Hall, Gosfield, was summoned for an alleged contravention of the Barley Restric- tion Order for using barley to feed pigs. The solicitor who prosecuted on be- half of the Ministry of Food said that Mr. Blomfeld, besides being a promi- nent farmer is a J.P. and a member of the Local Food Committee. But be- ling a. teetotaller he appeared to resent the fact that under one of the Orders that had been issued barley sold for making mult fetches a higher prices than if it is to be us<,d for flour. He had written a letter to Lord Rhondda complaining that the millers could not allw him more than 62s. 9d. per quarter for his barley, whereas malsters were quite willing to pay 68s., which he took to be its value on the market. "I have nearly 200 pigs that I wish to turn into ba-oon, and so pro- vide human food," he wrote. "I can buy no feed for tliem so cheap as this barley at 68s. per quarter. I am, there- fore, grinding this barley and giving th? meAl to the pies. 1 fear I may be liable to prosecution, but I ^ou^ rather suffer the penalty than be obliged to sell this barley to the brewer." T Evidence was given by Mr. W, T. Bates Miller, who is acting as an ex- pert for the Food Controller. He sajd that 100 quarters of this barley would make sufficient lfour to keep a hun- dred people 'for a. year and the offal could have fed a large number of pigs. Mr Blomfiield. who conducted his defence himself, argued that he was not liable under the order because lie was turning the pigig into bacon, and ho contended he was th*s manufactur- ing human food. Certtin technical points were also raised for the defence and the Bench decided to adjourn the for a fortnight.

I A LABOUR GOVERNMENT? I FOOD SECRETARY'S APPEAL FOR CAREFUL LANGUAGE. Speaking at Manchester, Mr J. R. Clynes. Parliainentary Secretary to the Ministry -of Food, said bst for the Ministry worse than famine prices would have prevailed, and the posi- tion would have been intolerable for the people. There would have to be rationing of fivP or six of the more important articles of food. In some quarters, lie added, it was sa.id there was some prospect of a Labohr Government. If we were within measurable distance of that period he suggested to all Labour men the time had arrived when they should be care- ful in what they said in order to get fiil ;;n, they ,L;tjd in or(ler to c-et ) flitill-e crit i (-S.

0ITR TIMBER SUPPLIES IMPORTANT REPORT TO BE PUBLISHED. The grave war risks which Great Britain ran through being; dependant iijion foreign countries for its timber supplies and the advantages of end- ing this dependency by growing more .j timber at home are. detailed in a striking lie port presented to the Ministr of Re-construction by the Af- forestation Committee. The report, which will be issued this week, advc- cates a. scheme of afforstation.of .1 most comprehensive kind, details of which, says the Central News, arr-c likely to give rise to great public in- terest and discussion. 4

-4 4 WIDOWS LOST SONS. • Applying for the exemption of her son, aged 18 years, a widow told th-, East Ham Trihunal that her fonv other sons had joined 'up and one of them had been killed. Rising from her seat. she burst iiito tears and sa:,d that that morning she had receive-d notice saying that another of her sons had been k;lled. A member remarked "that it wa.- nothing le&s than a tragedy, and thE. tribunal decided to adjourn the cause for a month. -————

.——— DISILLUSION. [A Rhondda soldier iljf-a letter homo says he prefers "dear "id Ponty" to Jerusalem.] Last night I lay a-slecping, And had a dreapa so,fair, I'm stationed at Jerusalem- One of the Welsh lads there. My dream was*f tlieltiomelai-id, For all my thbtigbts. ifrould^-reatV o Round the familiar mountains.. That guard old Pontypridd. I'd often read of SaleJll With all its holy spells, But never tho\ht rd wâlk its streets Or smell its nasT^, smells, And jostle with the motley throne- That squabble, squall, and seeth»'. 'Tis worse (look you) than Sunday- ( night At dear old Pontypridd. I aren't a thoughtless feIlow- I love my Bible well But blow me if I'd give a bob In Zion for to dwell! I want some cleanliness and peace. And tidy air to breathe. Jerusalem may do for some, But give me Pontypridd. -ldris. in the "Wesetrn Mail. —————

» At M Tribunal a,i applicant, who is a preacher with the Plymouth Brethren, was given one month to register for work of national import- ance. Thirty-four Y.M.C.A. centres ar< now -at work i nthe Salonicti, area. For men stationed' about Jerusalem the association has instituted tours in the Holv iCty. to lie taken advantage < on davs o f lea v. (,n (11