South Wales Weekly Post

MR. WILLIAMS TO FIGHT. SWANSEA DISTRICT I SPLIT. I SOME INTERESTING DEVELOPMENTS. J I Wire to Mr. Master- I man. Interesting developments may be expected from the Liberal split in the Swansea DIs- tri-ct, Division. In the event of Mr. T. J. Williams dennit?ly deciding to contest I- ?111 be the unofficial Liberal cand.idate. 1 The objection by Mr. T. J. WiJ1iams and his supporters is that the voting on Satur- day doQ,? not truly represent the fecyngs in the constituency. Apart from the delegates, the numbers of votes at the various meet- inl-s show that Mr. T. J. Williams possesses a majority of 12. I Mr. Edward Harris, one of Mr. T. J. j .Williams' leading supporters, in an inter- view with the" Daily Post," said the vot- ing at the Neath coni'erence WA" not accept- !?f le. First of all it was based upon the number of electors in each district. Mr. Williams' supi-rters maintained that. that, was, although pcssiblv usuaJ, unfair in the Swansea district, as Loughor, St. John's, Land ore, and Morriston are distinctly Liberal, whilst in Neatli there is a great proportion of so that <1.1- though there ate less electors in the former di.,tiict, there are a. greater number of Liberals. "Further than that." continued Mr. Tlitr-ci 's, "we object to the majority system of I tr,king votes. There were 97 votes recorded at Neath, of which 41 went to Mr. T. J. Williams. Y< t Mr. Williams did not get one of the votes, the whole 27 delegates £ oiug for Mr. Master man. And the same thing on a smaller scale applied at Aberavon and Cwmavon. What we claim is that the roles should have been ] Recorded in proportion í t??)eY..t? corded at the meetings, m j which event Mr. T. J. Wilii??s wo?d have .Nlr. T. J. Williaiii,.? N,,otild hive no ?'ccted Mr. Masterrin. n-ia i kr i tv have  are alro dissatisfied with the proce- dure adopted at Abeiavoii. 'Ihere. although 36 electors voted for Mr. T. J. Williams, many of them prominent. and life long Lib- erals. a resolution was passed that no person -who had voted for Mr. Williams was to he selected as a delegate to the meeting at Ke-itb. With the result that many H. Liberals tnere strongly resent ine I Position a,nd are keen to fight, as they have been I ignored by the majority from having any partis the selection. <At Pott TaJbot a Counciliof wag.asked to attend the local meeting and to vote for Mr. laterman. The gentleman attended, wa.9 voted to the chair, but. when it was dis- covered he was in favour of Mr. Williams objection wns taken to his being present, with the result that he withdrew from the meeting at the same time a.s a large number of others, keen supporters of Mr. T. J. a it -s a protest." I ),Î;,c. Harris concluded "I understand ) Mr. Williams intends consulting all his friends and supporters throughout the con- stituency as to his future action and steps to ascertain their opinion will be immedi- ately taken. STRASGHT TIP TO MR. MASTERMAN. Subsequent to the mectiag at Neath, we understand timt a number of Mr. Williams' supporters met, and a long telegram was sent to Mr. Marten nan. stating that :— MR. WILLIAMS WOULD UN- DOUBTEDLY GO TO NOMINATION AND FIGHT WITH ALL POSSIBLE VIGOUR FOR THE SEAT WTHICH HIS LATE FATHER HAD OCCUPIED. MR. MASTERMAN WAS ALSO IN- FORMED THAT MR..WILLIAMS HAD NOT ACCEPTED THE VOTING AS BEING FAIR, AND THAT ?F, BE- UEVED T. THE PRIN C r PLg OF SE- LECTION FOR THE PEOPLE BY THE I PEOPLE.

SWANSEA DISTRICT I VACANCY. i I REV. W. F. PHILLIPS' I PUNGENT LETTER. "PUT-UP JOB." I We have reoeived the foilowing letter Sh-.—Tb" s?)ecticn of Mr. Masterman to represent Swansea District in the Liberal| interest is a political scandal of the first magnitude. And I am glad that my friend, Mr. Edward Harris, has had the courage to describe the discreditable trailsactiorls Ul: plain and unvarnished terms. He, as my j election agent in 1930, knows as well as any- one can know, that the very influences which secured my defeat in Gower, although I was a eish-speaking Welshman, are now con- spiring to secure the return of an English- man to represent an adjacent constituency. Mr. Lloyd George, ythose Welsh Nationadisni many besides Mr. Edward Harris are be- ginning, to suspect, absolutely refused to •"upport my candidature. Yet he can find nothing too extravagant to say by way of praise for his friend Mr. Masterman. There can be no doubt at all that his introduction to the constituency was a put up job. There was nothing epolitaneous about it. It was suggested by Liberal headquarters, acting through Mr. Williams. M.P. it was adopted by bhe party ivire-puJ?rs in the division; Md it ha* been foisted upon the majority 01 delegates bv -rneat,*?s which those who know WeÙ!.h politics quite understand. 'rh" is something hum;llatdng f?WeiLsh- h? in the ^otight that a oa?ddda? who ? ? twi<-e defeated in Eng-  ?'?? be foisted on a  And we mav Wekl aa. ????'e"<'y- An? we may safelv hat ??'? not Mr. ?a?tea-ma? & member? ? ma.ni&ge of an aristocratic fajmic a G?or g a personal friend of ??- Lloyd would e AJLT,,i a fa,itMuJ party henchman, ?. woutrt n?? :? an ?ly chance of r«P»- 8entmg a Wejoh conTstit, uency. I have been S telvTv-a^; a book bj^ HilUurc BeHoc and Scil S? ?? ? "? Pa,rty System." To my geiiuine !raZement T came across th* following c h irna^"tensa,t-ion of Mr. Master- man ??sa.fton of Mr. Maaber- of Mr" C. F. G. M?er- -« a T.iKo^i la!<>orrilan end Parliament ;n<T fi 01 mdependent views. Dur- ]g- h1S first tvo vears in the Hor :stlh(>d ?"°"" as a critic of t,he I ?L" ?? ?'? %«■ T<:dutlOnBJll. He criticised with œpecl.al forc:e the policy of ?.J?, Burns at the Local Government Board. 1 His conduct attracted the notice of the leaders of the party. He was offered office, accepted it, and since then has been silent, except for an occasional rhetorical exercise in defence of the Government. On March 13th, 1S08, Mir. Masibeirman voted for the Right to Work Bill of the la- bour party. In May of the same year he accepted a place with a salary of £1,200 a ye.-I-r-it has since risen to £ 1,500. On April 20th, 1909, he vote-d at the bidding of the party whips against the same Bill which he had voted for jn the previous yea.r. Yet this remarkable example of the "peril of change" does not apparently create any indignatAion or even astonish- ment in the political world which Mr. Masterman adorns. On the contrary, he r seems to be generally regarded as a poli- tician of exceptionally high ideals.'— (Page 46). The same authors give expression to the following biting trutb The consistent policy of the Government has been to buy off the Welsh by giving promotion to VYelf^h barristers. Now, the question for those who place the welfare of nation above that of party is this: How long are we going to allow Welsh seats to be bought and sold at the bidding of the ca-ucus ? Are there no Welshmen good enough to represent us? The party wire- pullers of the Swan sea District Division are pleased to urge that one of Mr. Masterman's qualifications is his ripe Parliamentary ex- I perience, and they quote Mr. Lloyd George in support of that. But if the electors of I Carnarvon Boroughs had talked in that iashion, they would have sent Mr. Lloyd George back into the obscurity whence he came. STOCK LIBERAL ARiGUMENT. Before payment of mem bers became law, one of the stock Liberal arguments for the change was that it would permit men with- out means, but otherwise eligible, to seek Parliamentary honours. Where is that pre- cious argument now! South Glamorgan selects the son of a wealthy peer, and Svran- sea District goes to England and selects Mr. .Masterman, who, like Keir Hardie, wa.s de- fea-ted more, than once before he sought sanctuary in a safe Welsh constituency. This sort of thing is enough to make men like Henry Richard and Tom Ellis turn in their graves. One more point. I feel convinced that the party civic fathers thought the present political truce afforded a ready-made oppor- tunity of providing Mr. Masterman with a seat. We have allowed ourselves to be gulled so often that the wire-pullers never imagined we should jib now. Nevertheless, truce or no truce, I trust that if Mr. Master- man allows himself to be nominated arrange- ments ill be made to light the seat. Those who have supported the claims of Mr. T. J. Williams may feel every confidence that, if lie decides to go to the poll, he possesses a good chance of delivering the oavicus a. nasty- blow. In any event, the tactics that have led to the selection of Mr. Masterman will materially assist in hastening the day when Wales will refuse to be treated as the cats- paw of unscrupulous party wire-pullers. There are some of us who have Jived to ex- perience the bitter truth that whereas the Liberal party honours our country with its lips, its heart is far from us. As for the gentlemen who in Wales lend themselves to these unworthy tactics, there is but one thing in store for themtJ1ey must be drum- med out. They are unnt to lead a regiment ? of scarecrows, leave alone to settle the poli- tical fortunes of autonomous and democratic i Welsh constituencies.—Yours, etc.,  Pemb. W. F. PHILLIPS. Tenby. Pem b — )

GERMANS' DREAD. I THE FORCING OF THE SCHELDT. AMSTERDAM, TlLeOOV. I A correspondent of the Telegir"f re- I ports from the Belgian frontier that from preparations being made in Zeiza?ete, on the Bclgo-Ih?tch frontier, and from the con- versation of oaicars there, it would a-ppear that the Germans fear nothing less than the forcing of the Scheldt and canal which con- neots the Dutch town of Terneuzen with hent. Big dxedgers and sandboxee have been ( requisitioned to block- the canal for naviga- tion. There is considerable uneasrness aniomg I the Gesrmom.—(Central News).

I ITALY READY, I PREPARATIONS KEPT SECRET. NEW REGIMENTS BEING FORMED. (Press Association War Special). ROME. Monday. The Premier, Signor isalandra, this after- noon is«u.ed the sibrictest orders to the Pre- fects of all the Italian provinces to proceed with the irnmediate prosecution of all per- sons divulging or publishirig any information t regarding military and narval preparations or movements outside those contained ill official communications. STRENGTHENING THE ARMY. I (Renter's War Service). PARIS, Monday. | Newspapers publisH a telegram from ?R,oyne announcing the formation in Italy of new regiments of infantry and art'inery. They add the Alpine regiments are also to be HicTe?sfd, and tvIT 12 army corps will be formed, each comprising three divisbms. I I ITALY'S FORCES. I BIG FIELD ARMY AND STRONG NAVY. The ptrength of the Italian FieW Army is &.bout 400 000 men. ^Se SforSS My j. aW 2,000,000, aed blie aJm,l c'0"6'Rgent 12n, The nfle IS the 6.5mm. lasto- ca?, ?d the ?mery gun the 1912 7.6cm. I quiafirer De Port. The expenditure on ? army in 19?-14 kl4o-oo The iMid fr<Htti? of Italy adjoin Jmnoe, Switzerland and Austria-H-c.1-Y.

I THEY NEED IT! I GERMAN ARMY'S DAY OFi REPENTANCE. I (Press Association War Special). AMSTERDAM, Monday, The Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant" iaxns from Cologne that the archbishops and bishops of Germany have ordered Sunday, January 10th, to be observed as a 9--lal day of prayer an d repentance in the army. Bishops have instructed priests at the front to encourage soldiers to take part in prayers and services as much as possible.

"THE TIME HAS COME." JOFFRE'S ORDER TO HIS MEN 1 TO ACHIEVE THE FINAL I TRIUMPH. (Central News War Telegram.) AMSTERDAM, Monday. The official communique circulated in Ber- lin yesterday contains the following. The great activity of the French may be explained by an order of the day of enera Joffre, dated December 17, 1914, which was found on one of the French prisoners, ThisI order is as follows :— "For three month.s heavy attack, s have not succeeded in breaking through our lines. We have everywhere made a victorious re- sistance. "The time for us to attack has come, a-s weak points are now offering themselves, and after having been reinforced with men and materials. "After having wrecked the German force, it is now our task to break it and to free our country from the foe. "Soldiers More than ever France reckons upon your valpur, energy, a-nd determina- tion to gain the victory at any price. You have aiready been victorious on the Marne, on the iser, and in Lorraine and the Yosges. You know how to achieve a final j triumph. "(Signed) JOFFRE." WASTERS AND I LUBBERS." i KAISER'S -OPINION OF HIS I DIPLOMATS. The Kaiser's exasperation against England is alinost equalled (says a New York cor- respondent) by his fury against America, which he accuses of being tricked into oppo- sition against Germany by wily British diplomatists. This view is taken by the German newspapers published in the United States, said these, together with the English printed newspapers, find their way regularly to the Kaiser's unhappy quarters. "Ach du iieber Zeit," said the Kaiser lately, rev iewing international politics, "my diplomats have been a set of wasters and lubbers. British diplomats can knock spots off my best men." This opinion is shared by Americans generally, and has been proved, it is considered, by the publication of the official documents issued since the war Lastly, w hew Lile Kaiser, in his despera- tion, continually urges hi-, High Sea Fleet to action. Despite the advice of his High Sea Staff, he has advised raids useless from the naval standpoint, hopeful that they will help create a panic in England. Incidentally, he knows they will cheer the hearts of the Ger- man people, and stave off the revolution which, we believe here, will come w'hen the German people realise that the Kaiser and the military Cabinet have failed almost from the first., and that the nation's tremendous sacrifices have been in vain. DIFFICULT DAYS." According to a Berlin telegram published j in the Amsterdam "Telegraaf," the follow- ing reply has been received by the Provincial Synod to a. message of homage to the Kaiser His Majesty confidently trusts in the unshakable will to conquer which animates the whole German people in defence of its just cause. We will, with God's help, bring the Fatherland through the present difficult days to a happy future. ————— ————-<

EN AVANT! I ALLIES MOVE ALONG THE I LINE. I (Press Association War Special). PARIS, Monday. As the recent communiques have shown, the fighting in France and Belgium has lately been increasing in violence. It is stated on excel lent authority that a general offensive was taken in earnest three or four days ago. Taking advantage of the fact that the best German troops had been transported to the Polish frontier, the Allies decided on a bold ford movement. NAVAL GUNS BUSY. I BRITISH AGAIN BOMBARDING I COAST. (Central News War Service.) AMSTERDAM, Monday. The '-Telegr.Laf" says very important events are expectcd shortly, and there is considerable nervousness among the inhabi- tants of the occupied sea towns. The Allies' attack is general now. A telegram from Sluis says: —The sound t of heavy firing was heard here last night, and the British warships are believed to have been bombardin.g Zeebrugge again. The Handelsblad" states that Oostkerke, Ramscapelle, and Kooskerkeh" "have been shelled by the Germans. The Allies re- turned the fire with great success. FOR RUSSIA.' BULGARIAN PREMIER TOASTS THE CZAR. ROME, Monday. The Sofia correspondent of the "Giornale d'Italia" says that on Saturday, the name- day of the Tsar of Russia, a great demon- stration in favour of Russia took place. All the Bulgarian Ministers, except the Finance Minister, who is a. Germanophil, were present at the religious ceremony in the Russian chapel, and at the lunch at the Russian Legation, Dr. Radoslavoff, the Pre- mier, proposed1 the toast of the Tsar, and M. Guechoff expressed the hope for Russia's victory.—(Central News). BIG FRENCH TOWN IN WANT (Central News Correspondent). PARIS, Monday, night. MM. Durre and Melin, Deputies for Valen- ciennes, which is occupied by the Germans, have arrived in Paris in spite of great diffi- culties, for the opening of Parliament. The situation at Valenciennes is critical, and the population is in need of food GERMAN SOCIALIST JOINS THE FRENCH. AMSTERDAM, Tuesday. Dr. Weill, Socialist member of the Reich- l stag for Mete, has entered the French Ary according to the Berlin papers.— (Central News.)

THE GERMAN" VIC. TORY. -10 1 I WHAT IT REALLY IS BIG RUSSIAN STRATEGIC MOVE. I Reply to Berlin. (Press Association War SpeciaJ). PETROGRAD, Monday night. The Russian General Staff has issued the following announcement :— In view of the malicious information as to the situation of our armies and their strategic position widely disseminated during the last few days in Germany and Austria- Hungary, the Russian General Staff consider it its duty to inform Russian society of the action it Has taken, and of the in- exactitude of the information about our forces which has been circulated by the hos- tile Press. The adoption by us of a more limited front I is the result of the unfettered decision of the military authorities. This quite natural change of plan was muwd by the concen- tration in front of us of very omziderable German forces. The decision, moreover, has other advan- tages, of which it is unfortunately impos- sible for the moment to give explanations to the public owing to military reasons.

MEANT TO HAVE WAR" MR. BONAR LAW ON GERMANY. NO REGARD FOR RIGHT OR JUSTICE. Mr. Bonar Law at Bootle Oil Monday night said no one who had studied the dip- lomatic correspondence of the different countries now at war could doubt from the hrst Germany meant to have war and have it now For years everyone who was not blind had seen she was preparing for war. We were the tinal objective against which she was aiming, lake everyone else he (Mr. Bonar Law) knew it, but in spite of that knowledge he 4aid in the House of Commons three years ago that he did not believe in inevitable war, but that, if war came be- tween Germany and this country it would be due to the want of human wisdom. In the same speech, however, he also said that the best, perhaps the only; guarantee for peace was that each country should realise the strength of the other. Even yet he did not think he was Wrong. It was DUE TO II CM AN WICKEDNESS STBST, but as the event would how it was due to human folly also, a folly equal to the wicked- ness. Shortly after making that speech he had a talk with a friend, a distinguished gentle- man now doing great service with our army a.t the front. That gentleman believed that war was coming soon. In talking to his friend he developed the idea he had in his mind. He said the relative strength of the different countries was con- stantly changing, and if we could postpone war for ten or even five years it might not come at all. because the resources of Russia were growing so rapidly that self-interest alone would make it neces- sary for Germany to be friendly with France ajid with us. The gentleman's answer showed the pre- science which the event had justified. He said that was precisely what would precipi- tate war. If Germany found that Russia was recovering too quickly she would strike before recovery was complete. That was the whole explanation of this war. Germany had strucik without regard to right or jus- t-ice, for the simple reason that the aggran- disement of Germany seemed to mark this as the hour for war.

KAISER'S MENTAL ILLNESS. VICTORY EXPLAINED. In writing in regard to the health, of the Kaiser, the London corresponrlent of the "Birmingham Daily Post" observes:- The ear and throat troubles are long seated, and the recent renewed attack- of catarrh was anticapa/fced, but the symptoms of nervous and mental distress now being exhibited create acute anticipation, which will not be remoy-ed even if the patient can physically be restored to a point which will again allow him to be seen by his subjects, and, possibly, in the field. The fits of mental depression, alternating with violent burste of anger, which are among the most threatening symptoms, tend to confirm the anticipation entertained by some who attended the Emperor early in his redgn—that he would end by suffering from the CONFUSION OF THE SENSES known as paranoia, which necessitated the removal from the Pirussiian au-onie of his grand uncle William IV., and from the Bavarian, of his kinsman King Otto, while it was responsible for the tragic death of the laifcfcer's brother and immediate prede- cessor, King Ludwig n. There is good ground for staging that the Imperiai] physicians—who, it is significant to note, seem to htve issued no official but- letinea.re earnestly anxious at this mo- ment that everything possible shall be done to sooth e their irritable pationit. It is this, more tihan anything, which aooounts for the tale circulated in Berl-in on Thursday of an overw helming but undefined and undated German victory in Poland. This was a direct emanation from the Nous Palais at Potsdam, where it was first employed, to oalm and oheetr the invalid Emperor.

4,000 REBELS IN PRISON. SOUTH AFRICAN DUTCH DILEMMA. JOHANNESBURG, Monday. Mr. N. J. De Wet, Minister of Justice, in the course of a speech to-night, asked his English friends what their feelings would be if they had to confirm death sentenoes on men who a few years ago fought side by side with them for the same ideals. They oould thus imagine the Government's position re- ■ garding the rebellion. He mentioned that there were 4,OCO rebels in prison. Parliament would in February be asked to constitute some special tribunal for the trial of the rank and file of the rebels and to decide what punishment should be meted out to them,-(Central News). L-

GETTING UNEASY GERMANS ATTACK OF NERVES, I FRENCH REVIEW OF SITUATION. No Reverses Any- where. ,rAJtU&, Monday. A semi-official account of the operations betwen the 7th arid 15th inst. is issued to- night. During this period the ascendancy taken by the French infantry enabled the French to make progress at several points in the front, a progress which would seem to have caused the enemy some uneasiness. German infantry waa everywhere more on the alert, and continuous bursts of rifle fire revealed a certain amount of nervousness. The more and more frequent use of search- lights and sta,r shells also showed how the enemy feared a.n attack. The narrator goes on to say that after the I COSTLY AND VAIN EXPERIMENTS. of last month the enemy seem to have been reduced everywhere to the defensive, and it is now the French who are taking the offen- sive. In artillery duels the allied batteries are showing their superiority more and more. On the sea. and the Lys the enemy, who confined themselves between the 6th and 9th inst. to bombarding the Allies' lines, and particularly at Y pres, delivered three infantry attacks on the 10th against our trenches to the south of the town. The first two were reipulsed in the third the Germana reached the first line of trenches, but the French regained the posi- tion. A fresh attack by the enemy was stopped on the 12th, and on the 14th the Allied in- fantry took the offensive, and, in spite of the sodden ground and machine-gun lire, it succeeded in [ CARRYING GERMAN TRENCHES f.. A e i t j j j I over a ironv 01 several iiunaica yax-as anu held them against violent attacks. On the following day, with the co-opera- tion of the Belgians, the French suoceeded in debouching from Nieuport and taking up a postion in a plantation to the west of the vilage of Lombaerteque and St. George. The German artillery rendered but little assistance to the infantry in the operations. Between the Lys and the Oise progress of the Allies has not been less marked. The capture of the chateau of Vermielle enable the French to sap towards the vil- lage which fell into the hands of the French on December 7th. Explosives were found in some Of the houses and many bodies were lying in the strets.. The occupation of Vermelles obliged the Germans to retreat for a- distance of three kilometres. They left all their stores be- hind. The narrative proceeds. On the same day we captured trenches to the south of Carenco rnd were able to ad- vance in the region of Quesnoy for a distance varying between 350 and 000 metres. Our sharpshooters succeeded in reaching the barbed wire entanglements of the enemy a.nd then holding their ground in spite of a heavy fire. j On the 18th inst. there was I HEAVY FIGHTING ON THE LILLE ROAD to the north of Roclincourt, where a barri- cade was in the end left in our hands. On the 9th we made further progress near Parvillers and Fbuqaescourt, where we are only a hundred metres from the German trenches. Outsidf Andeohy we have advanced be- tween 300 and 60p metres, and-we are at the same time going: forward by sapping. On the Ilfh we blew up a German sap to the east of the Lille road. Zouaves and sappers jumped into the hole made by the! explosion and bombarded the German trenches with grenades filled with melin- i ite. 011 the same day, near Lihons. one of our mines destroyed a German countermine. Several of the German sappers were hurled into the air amid a cloud of smoke. Two attacks delivered by the enemy on the 11th dn the region of Fouqu escouri. and an attack near Ovillers were easily held. The German artillery, which on the 14th bombarded Mareuill, only succeeded in doing some damage to property; on the other hand our batteiries showed their superiority. In spite of rigours of the December weather. and the rains which have con- verted the trenches into quagmires, the spirits and health of our troops are excellent thanks to the devices adopted to prevent collapse. A German expressed his surprise at I THE GAIETY OF THE FRENCH TROOPS. which, he said, was in striking contrast to the dispiritedness of his own comrades. Our troops, wefl.1 fed and warmly clothed, are full of confidence. On December 12th a German soldier ad- vanced towards our trenches holding in one hand cigars, and in the other a pro- clamation announcing Russian defeats. He was not given any time to talk, for a well plaoed bullet put an end to his over- tures. Between the Oise and the Argonne be- tween December 6th and 16th there was an almost daily artillery duel without any in- fantry attack, except on the night of the 7th, when the Germans made an assault on Tracy Le Val, which was easily repulsed. The German artillery has been devoting particula,r attention to the towns and villages; on the 6th they bombarded Soissons; on the 10th and 15th Tracy; on the 10th the suburbs of Rheims; on the 12th the town of Rhpims itself, and on the 14th the village of Crony. Our artillery replied with success on the 6th, it wrecked some trains; on the 7th it dispersed gatherings of troops; on the 9th it destroyed an emplocement for machine guns and an e?? ttcp?t and on the 10th On the 11th our heavy artillery silenced some machine guns, and one of the 75's finished off a German 77. On the 13th our shells demolished trenches, and on the 14th our heavy guns again put the German 77 out of action. In the Argonne it is in this section that the enemy shows most activity. Sapping operations are punctuated by infantry at- tacks, and on the 1I,h, in the Grurie Forest, we ignited a mine and pushed our trenches forward. On the 8th we progressed in the Polande Forest, and we blew up three more mines, and a battalion captured the German first line trenches by assault. On the 9th two German attacks against Bagatelle and an attack against St. Hubert were repulsed. The enemy made two costly but fruitless efforts to recapture trenches which they had lost to the west of Perthes. On the 10th we continued in spite of at- tacks to ad vance towards Bagatelle; a Ger- man officer who tried to induce some of our men to surrender was shot in the bead. Near Courtechasses we have progressed by sapping, and have obliged the enemy to evacuate a small position. On the 11th we were subjected in the Grurie Forest to a violent bombardment, and the enemy endeavoured to hamper our en- trenching works. At another point the enemy unsuccessfully attacked us with gun- fire, but they succeeded in blowing up I:> one of our tronedies. On the 12th further trendhes were de- stroyed in Grurie Forest. We gained 250 metres on the 12tli, and contirrued to make slight progress. On the 15th and 16th we blew up a Ger- man sap, and wo also nuide slight progress— 50 metres. In the southern pari of Polande Forest, from the Argonne to the Swiss frontier, in the region of Varennes, and in the heights i of the Meuse, artiUery alone ha? been act" The enemy bombarded on the 10th the region of Cuisy; on the 12th and 13th the village of Aubreville, and on the 14th the railway near that place, as well as the sta- tion of Clermont. Tliev only succeeded, however, in doing slight damage to pro- P?ty- Our artillery on the 11th managed, with the help of an airman, to get the range of a German column near Varennes, and de- stroyed two batteries of heavy artillery. On the 12th our guns destroyed some of the enemy's trenches near Varennes be- tween the Meuse and the Moselle. We gained daily between the 7th and the llth some ground in the Le Pretre Forest, capturing some machine-cruns and MAKING NUMEROUS PRISONERS. Phe German captives were in very low spirits, and declared that they had reoond I orders from their officers not to use their ifrearms so as not. to draw our fire. An attack en our part again at the Re- mieres and Sonnard woods was less success- ful we were able to occupy the first line of trenches, but from the second line trenches, which were so situated that they could not be reached by our artillery, our men were subjected to a violent fusillade. They resisted, the first German counter-at- tack, although they were up to their knees in mud, but were driven over by the Ger- mans who came on a second time and re- occupied their own tzenches, but were not able to advance against ours. On the same day we returned to the at- tack, and in spite of the difficulties arising from the sodden state of the ground we were able to recapture the trenches along a front of 500 metres; Other attacks by the enemy were repulsed on the 13th in the Aillv Forest, and on the 15th in the Montgere Forest, where shortly before we had captured some Car- man trenches. On the 12th an aeroplane set fire to a train at Pagny sur Moselle on the 13th the station of Commerevs and Fp houses near it were subjected to a. bombardment. j In the Vosgpi the Position,: gained have be?n solidly held in the face of German at- attacks. On the 10th our troops captured the sta- tion of Aspach to the south-east of Thann, with small loss, and drove back a German counter-attack. On the 13th we occupied the heights to the west of Cernav and the village of Stein- bach. An attempt by the enemy to resume the offensive was repulsed with heavy loss. On the 14th the Germans again i^' icked and succeeded at a heavy loss in cr<pyh>ff Steinbach, but they could not debouch from the place and the heights were dominated aaid Cernay remained in our hands. A fresh effort of the Germans on the 15th came to nothing, and communicatiou was assured with the troops advancing from jj Belfort. The town of Tlwuin, which had hitherto been spared, was bombarded, and on the 11th and 13th five persons were killed, in- chiding a, little gir1. Oil dropped bombs on the stat ion at Freeburg upon the aero- plane sheds. To sum up we have made atta-ok* at a large number of points, which have been crowned with success, and at no points have we abandoned what we gained, and everyhere the enemy ha" hen obliged to assume a defensive attitude. This has confirmed our troops in the con- sciousness of +heir superiority.

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THE TRAIL OF RETREAT. HAVOC IN THE AUSTRIANS'! TRACK. I (PrMs Association W?r Special.)?- J NISH, Thursday. Serbian authorities have been reinstated all over the province of Podrinje. Nearly everyw here they found Austrian soldiers, who surrendered. Austrian prisoners state that the, Austro- Hungarian losses are enormous and exceed the number of prisoners. Moreover, this had already been ascer- tained, at- the enemy left a great number of unburied dead on the road by which they made their retreat. The Serbian authorities j have'taken measures for the burying of the bodies. The enemy al&o abandoned a large number of wounded. In this province the Aurtriani took away 311 men from 15 to 60 years of a,ge. Wher- ever they passed, Hungarian and German troops, especially those of the 6th Regiment, among other acts perpetrated a massacre of women and children and old people, and rape and pillage. BULGARIA AND B 11. ? I buj< j A. jmcia y. The brilliant and heroic feat of Submarine B 11 in sinking the Messuduyeh in the Dar- danelles has evoked the utmost admiration in Bulgaria. The Turks now officially admit that the- vessel was lost in consequence of contact with a mine which had become detached near the place where she was anchored, or by a tbrpedo fired at her. The official com- munique does not, hôwever, state who fired the torpedo. The language of Turkish official commun- iqnes show the Young Turks are expert imi- tators of the Hamidian phraseology, the principal characteristics of which were dis- simulation and deceit.

A Great Our portrait is of Wf „ r f jf Miss Edith Daniels of 15, Pershore- Va road, Ten Acres, t xttMMMi l i i f Birmingham, who tIKBm writes :— I have A been a great suf- Jty&hys .MK ferer from Itheu- matism. I have been, under my .)9;i:0:,¡.Lrtk:øjFtË:r1::Ä ?????S???t? and have also taken medicated baths, but I have derived more benefit from Cla'rke's Blood Mixture than all the doctor's medicine and baths put together. I think all sufferers ought to know of this wonderful remedy—(Signed), EDITH DANIELS." In a further letter Miss Daniels writes I wish you to know that I am now quite cured of Rheumatism, thanks to your 'Cla&e's Blood Mixture.' I shall take it now and again as a blood purifier," CURED BY I If you suffer from am such disease as Eczema, Scrofula, Bad Leirst Abscesses, Ulcers, Glandular Swellings, Bolls, Pimples, Sores of any kind, Piles, Blood Poison, Rheumatism, Gout. Ac., don't waste your time and money on useless lotions and messy oint- ments which cannot get below the surface of the skin. What y (m want and what you must have to be permanently cured is a medicine that will thoroughly free the blood of the poisonous matter which alone is the true cause of all your suffering. Clarke's Blood Mixture is just such a medicine. It is composed of ingredients which quickly expel from he blood all impurities from whatever cause aris- ing, and by rendering it clean and pure CM be re- lied on to effect a complete and lasting cure. Over fifty years' SUCOGSS- r pleasant to the !j ?t- < J f taste. j arn.e.s ———? ?o? p Sold by &H lood ?' Chem st. and it imixtu { Stores. is==s^^snmH9«sss=!l 2/9 per bottle. Refuse Substitutes. "THE WORLD'S BEST BLOOD PURIFIER. 'i I

BESET BY WOLVES. RUS;SIAN JEWS ORDEAL A gruesome yet enthralling story of A Russian soldier's ordeal is related in the Daily Chronicle" by Mr. Peroival ??bb who is, by the way, & son of the -??- ,J. M. Gibbon, formerly a well- known Swansea minister. I had speech with another man in the hospital (writes Mr. Gibbon from Vilna), a Baltic Province Jew, who was likewise wounded on the Prussian frontier. No horror- here; against the white of his pillow and his bed-clothes, he was as vivid as trumpet-music—jowled like the bust of a Caesar, splendidly hooked-nosed. with full, moist lips, arrogant eyes, and hair that was almost blue-black. He smoked all the time that he talked (there is & fund here to furnish the wounded with cigarettes), letting the smoke trickle slowly forth from his mouth to hang cloudily above his face in the dead air. n A Severed Artery. tie had been shot in the thigh, late in the afternoon, and again in the foot while he sa i on the ground, trying to staunch the iirst wound. It bled copiously; he found himself seated in a puddle of his own blood, and had had the sense to diagnose a cut artery. He knew what to do: he cut away the trouser-leg from the wound and found that he could arrest the breeding by pressing at a certain point with both thumbs. It was a diffi- cult posture to maintain, but each time that he sought to ease it the flow of blood began anew, and at last he settled himself for the night, holding on to his life by his stiff and chilled fingers, reso- lute to survive. Close to him lay a non- commissioned officer shot through thf chest, who died during the night. Wolvesl f x -» tie liad been some hours thus racked y cramps on top of the pain from hil\ wounds, and the non-commissioned officer I hncl long ceased to groan, when he be- came aware that there were things about him that moved in the darkness, a lurk- ing population of the night that cam a and went and drew ever nearer to him and his till companion. He knew what they were even be- fore he heard the voice of them uplifted in t,hat long cry that swells from a moaning whine to a howl; in West- ern Russia, this is the season of wolves. There we many of them, dodging just out of his sight in the darkness, showing them- selves nearer, and flitt-ing back again. He told us that he was not greatly alarm- ed. He had often shot wolves in the hunts which are organised by the authorities in many districts, but he knew his danger. A company of seven wolves will attack a pair- horse sledge, and here were many more than seven. There was nothing near him that he could pu:t his back to; he had had to con- trive to keep a watch behind him by shuf- fling round him in a. sitting position, and he detached one hand from his thigh to reach his rifle. He needed both hands to load it—a hurried jerk .back of the bolt, fumbling the cartridges in with numb fingers, thrusting the bolt to again, and then a swift groping for the spot above the wound where is waa necessary to press upon the spoutine artery. Cheated of their Prey. It was a long time before the wolves drew in upon him. He had been waiting for that, and, save for the need of looking behind him, he had kept as still as he could to en- courage them. He said he could smell their rankness, the carrion odour of their hides. He let go of his side, feeling the blood spout hot upon his skin as he did so, snatched the- rifle and emptied the magazine at the ring of them, shooting as fast as he could work the bolt. One of them he hit without kill- ing it; he heard it yelp, and then he caught again at the artery whence his life was leak- ing forth. Twice again during the night he loaded and fired in feverish haste, losing blood each time, fighting his way to the morning. If PEÂCE AND BREAD." REPORT OF DISORDER IN BERLIN. Aocoroing to travellers from Berlin who have arrived at Warsaw (states the Paris "Gaulois") grave disorders took place in the German capital, a fortnight's casualty list being published, containing the names of over 40,000 killed and wounded, an immense crowd from the suburbs invading the centre of the town. The mounted police prevented them from going any further. In order to stop the crowd the police had to charge them with drawn swords. The crowd wa,s veiling, "Give us back our fathers and our sons," "Down with the war." "Peace and Bread. A regiment of the Landwehr, who re- j ceived the ordr to disperse the agitators, re- fused to obey. THE CAVE MAN'S WAR. I SOLDIER'S LITTLE STROLL. I An officer in the R.A.M.C. writes:- f igure to yourseii ? WcUs says, isn't it?) i 's? 't it?) a country ot hat ploughed held, pollajd wil- lows, and deep muddy ditches. Then we come along, and in military parlance" dig ourselves in." That is, with the sweat of the brows of hundreds of Tommies working by night deep narrow trenches, 5ft. deep at least with the earth thrown up another 4fL as a bank on top. These trenches are lft. to 2ft. wide, and curl and twist a/bout in a maddening manner to make them safer from shell-fire. Little caves are scooped in the walls of the trenches, where the men live a/bout four to a hole, and slightly bagger dug-outs where two officers live. All the soil is cl a y, stiokier and, than one could believe possible. it's like i almost solid paint, and the least raim,makes i the sides of the trenches slimy, and the I bottom A PERFECT SEA OF MUD— pulls the heels off your boots almost. One feels like Gulliver walking along a Lilli- P-utian town all the time. The front line of trenches-tdio firing liqe, have scientific jj loopholes and look-out places in them for sooing and firing from, and a dropping tire goes on from both sides all day long, but is Very harmless. AN EXAMPLE OF PLUCK. I was just starting for my daily constitu- tional "on top" when the enemy began their 'oombaidiiig. nearly li hours earlier than usual, so I will postpone my little walk and finish this instead. Yesterday we had one man killed and two wounded, the first casualties for over a week. The story of one of the wounded is worth telling to show you the pluck of these men. He told me he noticed some new digging going 011 on the side of the enemy in front of his firing* post. One <xm see the spadefuls of earth coming up from below the ground level when new trenches are being dug. Although this was in broad daylight, our man thought he would go and see what the Germans were up to, so he hops over the side of the trench and runs forward 30 ya-rds to a ditch and crawls along it some hundred yards or so. He then spots a large shell-hole in the field on one side of the ditch, so doubles off and gets into that and has a good look rund. UP A TREE. Not satisfied with the point of -vie-, sprints to a line of willows nearer s?ill, the enemy—within 250 yards of them in* deed—and proceeds to climb up one of them. While do:ng this he getc shot throiightllo should. He told me he thought he haA ricked his arm at first, as it felt numb aJ,d useless. Meanwhile a great pal of his in the regiment, hearing that he had gone out like this, hops over the parapet and sets off to look for him, and comes up just as he gete hit. The second man upbraids the first roundly for being a fool, carries liis rtitle for him, and brings him back. All this is done quite in the day's work and sub rosa," as they would get pun- ished for leaving the trench like that in the day-time if it was spotted. The pluck of < these men is perfectly extraordinary, and the placid way life goes on under the ri? of being sniped or shelled any moment ? tmtH one gets used to seeing It, q niw p.. ? belief. I must say the omcers set the m?; a magnificent example.