South Wales Weekly Post

I TURKS NEARSUEi."¡ SK!RM!SH BETWEEN OUTPOSTS. CAIRO, Friday. News. has reached here of sharp fight-. ing in the desert east of the Suez Ca-naJ.' lodi&n troops were engaged, and lost one! officer and one of the rank and ule, while live Gurkhas were wounded, The scene of the engagement; which! took place early yesterday morning, was nem Bir-el-Duesdal'. twelve jniles east of Ei Kantara, on the historic desert route. i The Turkish force, which is described as A recofMWttrtng party, opened the attack by advancing from Dir-el-Duesdar, where t!iey were en- camped, and opening lire upon the, Indians, who replied to such purpose tho,t the Turks.wti-e beaten off, lea.vmgi four dead on the neld, one being an in-I fantry onicer. Several wounded they carried away with them. The Turkish Expeditionary Force is! now in occupation of Katia, an impor- tant watering place on the Northern, ca.r&va.n route, and it was apparently: from here that the troops were drawn' for yesterday's attack. The enemy is also holding Moya. Harab, 2.5 miles east' nf the Bittet- Lakes, Bir Maheiuk, 12 miles east of Suez, and Tor, in the Sinai PeninsuJa.—("Daily News and Leader.") t MAJN BODY NOT YET ADVANCING. "The TitrA!" correspondont at Cairo sa,N,s:-The recent brushes with TurkiA ad- vanced partMs afre likely to pfOTe the pre- lude t<) f?t?hw?mimporta.nit enccMiurters with snMLn bodiM of the enemy, who have I pushed forwaaxi ppe&uma,My witji the object cff aocerta7ining tlie strength of our posiHona. '11h11S f<M' there Js no proof tha.t the enemy'a maan force hM yet been dennitely co'nunitted to an &d vaj!oe across the gin,a-i Pentnauja 6int the Ca.na'1 defenoes. I RUSSIANS AT TABRIZ i TURKS LOSE IMPORTANT' I TOWN. j We learn that. the Turks have soetaifoed M)(jthrblow in Persia. The Rttssiam troops have OÇêlWied Tabriz. Thp Twktsh troops aroa'eeing.tcwarde .\Ioragali. I (Tabriz js the s<:ca:)d largest city in Persia, between the Urumujah La4te and Caapi&a Sea/ about 60 'miles South of -the Roeman frontier.) I HARD F!CHT FOR, TABRtZ. I The Russian ilmdquaxt ore m toe U&u- casus report:— TheM is no importaatt change to report on the Sfuyka-mysh front. During the 28th the Turkish a.rtiliery' carried out Mi energetic ca-njionade on aeveraJ sectors of our front, but nowhere did they meet with a.ny succeaa. i In the Alaaohkert Vailey we remain in cental with the enemy, and minor engage- I ments ajf reported. Our (X)Iunut occupied Soiia.n a,ft.cr H. hard I i'c-ugb.t struggle, amd there capture a. iia?f. g)uis a/nd stores. The enemy hs.s i'etired to- wards Tabriz, leaving on the battJe&dd s&veMl huodrod ooBpsae. ? ? ? J ? -?. ? .?- ???-??——??.

<ES' RTT??M? TTHUE E M?LB HB ES ?HAC? 1 ——?—— ? ADVANCE ON SOUTH RHINE. Possible Italian Co- operation. An ajficia hi the B'ebnmry uF()rtnjg!htly" discusses the coming offensive by the Allied comnnndcrs. The \\Titer takes the view that..is Betg-'um hasbee.n conTerted by the Germans into a p;ig&ntic 6eid fortress, with hne after lina of entrenchments armed with heavy guns of position, the enemy'c right fk.nk '<viU h<' !e*t a!one for tho moment, a watch, however, being kept to take advant- age of a.ny opportunity oSered by a, weaken- ing of the German iarces in thi,,i direction. "The Germans must be fumed cut of Ber: gium, but Sir John French w:U choose his own way of bringing this about. a.nd not aJow his adversary to dictate to him." CUE EASTERN OFFENSIVE. -An onen&ive across their eastern front- ier has always found greater favour with French stratetgiste than an offensive through Belgium. UnUbe the northern frontier de- fences, which had been. allowed to fall into disuse, and most of which had been practic- ally dismantled before the war, those of t3)o eaBtern frontier have bn brought up to modern date. and a French ajmy concen- trated in the Upper Mo&eUe Vally for the invasion of South Germany would start from a secure ba.so, which has been daily growing stronger since the opening of the war. Thia line of operations has anotlMr initial advant- a-ge over the Belgian line in that the Rhine, which is the ma,iu line of Germa.n resistance, 's only a short distance, varyinf from thirty miles m Uy)per Alsace to ninety in Lorraine, from the French base behind the Vosgea mountains, whilst the line of communication through Belgium would be Jengthahed out to 150—180 miles. TO BADEN AND BAVARJA. 1 the two main routes from Eastern France into South Germany are through the Be!fort tr<)iic-r int,o Baden, and through t!he Palatinrtte 'into Ba,\RrIa. After crossing the Rhino between Strassburg and Bale an in- vaduTg ajmy using the nrst of these two routes would at once come up against the Black Forest. The more natural, direct, and historic line of invasion passed through the plateau of JJ-orrai,.ne on the west side of the northern Vosges mouintainti between the Hundsruck and Hardt mountains. An advance aJong this route would have for its nrst objective Mannheim, which is j admitted to be the weakest point on the Rhine frontier. The railway &tatio!n at! Mannheim is one of the largest in Germany, and the depot of vast railway stores. Mann- heim would certainly ba the point of paas- ageofa French Army which rz been vic- torious in the Palatinate. How to reach Mannheim is a problem which will tax all the akill of the French General Staff, and! whidh in a.n.y oape cannot be solved till the German arnues have been decisively beaten in the neld, and driven back to their Rhine, frontier. MAINZ AND THE MAIN. After crosemg the Rhine ait. Majmheim, the next objeotive for a.n invaditig a<rmy would be the line of the Main river, which Napoleon m&de his adranced b&se far his Jooa. oMnpMgn of 1306; but no advance could be made up this river till after the jsubjuga?tion and u?p ? th,; of M&inz by the Allied Foirc&s. Ma.mz is situated on the left bank of t,ha Rhine just where the Main 6ow& into it, and & glance at the map shows how strategicaJly important is its position, stand- ing as it does a& sentine! over the mMn line of advice into Southern Gorma-ny, ajid oom- ma.ndmg several Hne<s of railway. M&m.z is the central German point .d'ppuioR. tha 1 Rhine. and hM been cB 1ed the key of Ger- HJune, The foi*ti8c?ti<tig AJ.? very oompli- tD&B. cate(l¡ha,ving been built at diScrentrperioda Mnoe 1604, fargp sume of money have been spent on th<s fpit!4.q since 1870, ajid it has beem canvertc-d into -an entronolied camp requiring a gam3011 of 21,000 men; but even now the p!ace i? not canoidered to be eoure P-ga:tiist the attack of the he&vy howitzer ba,tt-eries which we liav-P been oon- tru.ctring in Rngiaud for the past six mon,<!ha with a- view to the boniba-rdmeDt of the j.!ihine fortres$" ITALY AND TYROL. It may be that in the coming spi-mg we Shill see a repet.Knou of N&poleau's strategy I in 1805, and another French descent i)),to the valley of the Danube with the intenftion of grngi. a hand to an Italian inva?T.o.n of B&v.a<fi& through tho Austnaji Tyrol. Enoug'h has perhaps bean sa.id to indicate some of the diffiewties con-frdnting the Allies. None of them are insurnicuntable. With bra.ve sOldiÍerr-s a<nd skiKut !ead€a'&—we have bot'h— toWerything is p0fh;ib!< To get thin Germans oti,t, of Belgium aaid Fra,uea is the first iwiiit of wci'k fc<r, but oniy as ante.>edent to others which muat follow. The war must be oajTied into the euemy's oountry, and until <lbM is done it is useless to talk aborut viotoi'* v, jj or think nbout pewe.

CAPTURE OF PiLKALLEN FMGHT OF ABLE-BODIED I POPULACE. PETROCRAD, Pnda.y. The RMsaian oocu.pa.tion of Pi&aUen was preceded by a day's shelling of the pta<ce, and the garrison suata.ined iieavv losses be- I'ore it retired. As to the mh.&bitta.nts, out of a. population of about six or roven tth<msan'd onkn, three humdred womien Rmd children and old men j -vere I'oT.t.od when the Russians entered. The Germans ha.v€ atfong defences north j of the Masuriaji La.kes up M ? M Einfater. burg, along the riyer AWrap, out further no)i'tJi\va-rd s to Tilsit their defences am oom- p;u'a<tively wea<k. THe R'tisauuis are stiU pushing on to Tilsit loot,,h from the north a.nd the sou.t.h. The Grermafn\a<tta<ak on the Reft na.nik of aw southern force haa completely fa<Ued I Shoiild the Russijar- advance weatwarda be'bwee<n Tilait an<d IngteFburg towards Koen- igaberg tthe first roa-Uy importa.mt. defences they will meet wiH be on the line of La.bla'u- TapM'n-Valan a.nd the -iYer Prca-eJ. —

CUP-FtNAL VENUE. ,¡ NOT FOR LONDON. .1 At the English F.A. Council meeting to be I held "in iondon on Monday next the draw for the third round of the English Cup tour. naml-lit- will be m&dc. foUowing the decision of the second, round to-day. The Ooaji- cH will aJao consider the question of aelect- in< a ground for the Cop final tie on April 24, in connection with which the Finance Committee have already recommended the Council not to have tha.t event played in Londo n this eeason It is proba-Me tb&t the final will be played in Birmingham, pit her at Vina. Park or St. Andrews.

RU88<AM COLONEL'S HEROtC END. (fres* AfsociMion war MpeciaJ.) PYOTJKUURAD, Thursd&y. The crew of the Zeppelin wrecked off Libau has been brought here. The Ger-. man onicers were found to be aarr" ving, important documents. A colonel who was seriousty IN-ounded in the legs at Kiernovise ordered his men to la?ce tiim on a stretcher, from which, he led his troops to the a-tt&ck of an i?;_ I portMtt position. The enemy were dis-? lodged, but the brave colonel died &t the! foment of triumph. The apptication of Pontyberem to b? fonued intn a Fwp,arate oivi! parish, ha lIlO' bpen MC01lmended by a s'nb-commit.tec, was ncceded to at lhe quarterly meetmg of the Ca.rma,rthensbdTe County CounoiJ on Wed*

ANOTHER EMINENT ENGINEER I FOR SWANSEA SCHEME ENOUIRY. I MUMBLES DOUBTS ABOUT CRAY WATER k At, t:b<; mnoting it w&a S1.l{;geSted tamt, tjtc Mumblaa w&ter supply M good. and t-h&t the.re is no gua-rajitee I tha.t. the Stv.-t,n,ea Coi-poi'at<ion, it' it secures its extension scheme, wiil supply Cray water. Now there can bv no d<?nbt, reading t.hf sports of the 3lediml 0&cet's Off Health, tha.t. the Mumblee w?ter supply iR open t-o grave suspidoM, 01', to use the weirds oi i-h@ Med'CAl Officer of HeaJth for the county, I "the Caswell BpriiLg shows strong evid'sace jot contamina-tioa." As to there bemg no undet'ta.king that th-A Corpora-liou wiil BUpp! Cra.y water. it is iMt emible tbM, the Cca'- I parattjotn would be so iinlauaineashke or un- WMC M to co-n.tinue Ute prescn.t Mmnblea' water supply, knowing its very s-eriou8 d&- iects, and also that some miltiol-is ot galkms of wa,tar are ovenlowinLg the dam a<t. the Cray Reaervoir and mnmng to wa-ste. Apoft. from tlat, however, the Swa-nsea CouTi<a.l—fto tha.t the-re ca.n bs no doubt a.bouft it—a,t their meeting on Wodaesday laA, passed a resolution confirining the statement rna.de by the Town dark a-t the meeting of tiM Mumbles on January 13th last, tb&t Cra.y water would bo f.-Ak-on down to the Mumbles. Furthermore, in the estimates in connection with the cxtenson scheme, the Corpora.titm have provided for— (1) Scrappmg the present Mumbles wa.t€T- I Nvorlis, anci (2) For, in lieu thereof, a. supply from the Cray. C<m,aidpT-aJbls tear is <ait&rtajne<i by some of the Mumbles inh&bit&nts that the drain- age scheme is not a good (me, and -;uggei;tions were made at the meeting of the Mumbles <ai l'hu,.1'sdn,y tha-t the C<K'porat.ic;n ought to have ongage-d an independent engineer to report. upon it. In ihL} it is s.d th&t the Corpora.tion have recantly employed <Mi- o'ther emdnen.t iTtdepend&at engi-iiow, Mr. Looock, of vVE!6'tminstetr, in order to make doo.bly sure of their poe.Itio.rL and it is stabbed that he has pronoujK'fd the Mumbles Had a.a <HM of tJM Sneat. sewM- ou.tt'&Il schemes in the ooujitry. In any cveBt, and apaxt from ,-he eyideuc.c of 4:xpe,t8, it may be taken j for gramted t):><1t the enginears of the Local Government Board wil! hold the ba1œ pTO- perly, aj)d tJia.t they wi!i not sanction a sdbame in regard to which thesre is doubt &s to ite eSiciency. In all the ciroum&ta.noes it would fteem tb,at the Mumbles would de- i-ive undmibted advant-ages if it became part of the Borough of Swansea. Ill c&se there shauld be ajiy mis&ppTehen- sion on tha point, it ought to be explained t-lM.t though the effect of the tides at Mumbles Head 80 yards fai-ther InshoTe t.h&n the site of the propose outlpt in 1912 has been considered by Mr. Midgeley Taylor, be, however, advLses the Corpora-tion to pr&cti- oaJIy adbore to the same stte ae propORed three years ago, tha.t is, 110 ya.rds out t« aea. from the Mumbles Lighthouse.

,EXORBITA,NT FREtGHTSj MENACE. TO THE TINPLATE INDUSTRY. At a mooting oi the Llajiejiy Ottamber of Commerce ou Ft'iday uig'ht Mr. E. Willi.s Jones, tdie newly e&obed president in the oha<ir, a resolution waa adopted caliling upon the Govanunent to expeliite ax-,angemeutg fctf bringuig bosubs now engaged in its sar- vice fm' traoc lju!pooes and thua relieve the gra,ve shorta.ge in the supply of raw material ior the at&pie iiMimatry of the town and dis- trict. The G,ovm=eut we're iurt4her asked in Tiew of the em/bafgo now placed oa tin- ¡I pJia<tes to several Europm-n ccmntrMa to u take Kucih steps as may be assumed neces- sary to ppev?Tit the 'inc-ne?sicg impartsMtibn o'f t.inp!a.tes from the United States of Amadca bo smeh pro'?i?ited oountriM <)?, fadlmg this, the South WaJes tinplate in-I duistry will ce-rta.inJ)' pc'i'nian'e.n.'tly 10&11 the c.c<tnma<nding poaition it vow ocoopies in Utese maa'k&ts." Mr. Deui Williajna, J.P., the waU-known tinpla.te majiufa<cturar, secondir4,, the lx*o- i luitMrn which was submitted from the oh&ir, rafeirred to the high freights. As aJi in- ) staioco ho nxejitiooed tti&t a limit of 13s. a ton had been pJaoad that da.y, he said, 00 a c&rg<o of coaj to be SHIPPED FROM SWANSEA TO DIEPPE, wheraM in nonaAi tj.m(s a.t th.a<t time of tb& y&aj the freight would be 5s. 6d. As ac aSer of 18s. per torn wa.a u nMMie {dr th'e boat it could not be got. The dennu*- r,age on oo..ts to Fra,u.<;e was extr&arduMMTly hc&vy, a-nd-hc knew of a. oaae where VPW h-a<d had to be pMd. It t-he--efore paid the 'owners to keep tiheir-boats idle. DoaA-inig with th'e tinpb.te induabry Mr. WiUiobms &a.id it absolutely meant the dos- i-ng ap of aM the tinpLa,te wOY"kl'! unless some- thing o&n be done to relieve the exorMt'a.nt prices now being charged for freights 'which, in his opmion, were absolutely umieceas&ry. An cuuendnient by Mr. D. Jenninga thait ii! uhe opuHon of the C!haj]abea' the t it? tha am-ived when the Government should c<Mn- mandeer all boats found no support.

ONE SHOT-TWO VICTIMS. TORQUAY SEAFRONT I TRAGEDY. I SENTRY'S ALTERCATION I WITH OFFICERS. I The Coroner's inquiry was resumed tb Torquay on Friday respecting the death of L/ieut. Hart. R.N., and Lieut. Sunpson, A.S.C., who wet'e fatally shot <X! Hie aea front on Sunday night. Privates Harris amd Pullman, South Devon Reserves, who were on pa.trcl duty at the time, aj-e under remand in connection with the t.ra,gedy. Mr. Harold Murton, who drove the mc'tor- oa.r which wa. stopped by Ha<rrM &nd P).dl- Otan, was recaJM. Witness admitted that decease d officers uaid himseif made use of bad l<mgua.ge durmg the heat of argument with the sentnoa. Dr. Lacey said Lieut. Simpson died a few ntinut'es atter being bpo'jght to the hospital. De-ath was due to hemorrhage caused by the bullet wound. The bu! entered the left arm parsed through the chest, damaging the lung, and buried itself in the muscles of the back. There was no tmœ th'at deceased had been drinking. CoMtaJble Mugndge stated thait Priva-te Harrie volun.ta.nJy told him that he dis- charged the rine. adding "It was an a«u- dent. Per,)Ie behind poked my arm, a<nd it went off." Pullman had no spent ca<rt- ridges in hi)? haA 0:10. Private Rott<(rill deposed that he sLood between file two aantrias by the side of the car. Both were holding their rine& in the "present" position. Pallmaji caJled wit- neea's a-ttentic.)' to the number plate on the oar, and an alt'ett'oat.ion took place betwMiD Lieut. Ha.i't. aaid Haxi-is respecting it. Lieut. Ha<rt said he had p&aaed sp'ntrMs a,t PJy- mouth and Devonpcn-t and satisfied them. He bent down, showed an aryn to Hams, ajid rema'rked, Can you see I act & BritMh navaJ ofBoer? I h&ve !ette<ra to prove who I am." Lieut. Hwt. p\lthiS h&nd to bUs breast pocket to get the letters, when H&ma said in very discourteous manner, "I don't wanit to see any letter. Stand there nixtii mv colour-aet'seant con)ea and SHUT UP YOUR YAP." I The oincier rephcd. Don't taJk to me ii.k<- that I ajn your mpenor onicer." Sud- dedy a shot A-as flrw and witneee aa.w a Qamfe from Harris's rifle. Lient. Hart dropped, exclaimins "My God. Witness I said to HMTit, "What have yoo done tjka<t f ow ? I I He repUed. I ajn not godng to argue ttn) point irith MOti. Subsequently witness hea,r,i Harris sy tl); it it waa an accident. Tb,ai(,- ivas, addMi witness, & 'big crowd arouu tjij6 car, but he did not notice any joatJmg. He did not heat either sentfy t<bMa.t<en to tthoot if tJM CM' WM Btoved.

THE BLUCHERS I WOUNDED. INFORMING CHAT IN HOSPITAL. l DEVASTATING BRITISH ¡ SHELL-FIRE. I Having occasion to visit the hospital at JEdinburgh Castle I found it (says a Times correspondent.) full of wound- I ed German sailors saved from the Blucher. The hospital attendants were performing signs and wonders in a general atmosphere of bewilderment. Proffered assistance. I was enabled to get into communication with some of the patients, and in the short time available gather a few of their impressions. The awful ordeal through which they had passed had left very confused im- pressions behind. Yet they talked freely of what had happened, and as those who could be out of bed gathered round, they recalled incident after incident. It was in general a reminiscence of blood and fire and smoke, and Mefve-ractdng foar and crash. Some on board were rendered deaf. iue ship quivered and rocked under the roar of her own guns. The deadly British broadsides made her reel. Guns were torn from their settings, and whole crews ?hurl.ed to destruction. Men hurtled down from aloft, bruised, bleeding, and dead. Men were swept from the deck ?like nies from a table-cloth. Every- where blood trickled and flowed. It wag a fever of excitement. Men found blood pouring down their legs and could not locate their wounds. Men, too, in authority lost their heads. Their nerves could not stand the strain. Con. sequently there was confusion in places. Curs is a young navy, yours has had more experience," said one sadly. A shell would burst in the interior of the ship in a halo of name, and fire would rise from the deck. What is there to bum ? God knows—but the nre is there. They have praise for their captain and dispute as to whether he was wounded and where. During the nght one had noticed him pull up his trouser-leg to examine. Then there comes the time when they had to leave the nhip. They even recall how fat Schmidt stuck in the rail, and how he wriggled. They were not long in the water-no, and no one clutched at the other. It was each man for himself and by himself. Everything was done in order. It was all so feierlich." Strange thoughts occur at such moments. One confesses with a laugh that when he saw the ship pink he thought of the enor- mous amount of money on the way to the bottom! They even dispute as to whe- ther there were aeroplanes with tbo Zeppelin, and the man from Berlin, who claimed to have been watching through a telescope, declines to give way to the man from Essen. What about their Iron Crosses? I in- quire. They must surely ea-ch hame got one. They laugh. The Iron 'Cross is evidently a subject of jest with them too. Yes, the man two beds a/way, who is sit- ting up, had been awarded one. The hero smiles. It has gone now." he says, and runs his finger down ific, front of his shirt. He was the steersman, they inform me. "Er war besoSen" adds jestingly the man from Essen, and the victim joins in the laugh at his suggested lack of sobriety. But what do they think of the war? Well, the Berliner a highly intelligent "Techniker, thinks it will Stit! tast for a long tinn- perhaps a. year or more. Germany cannot be beaten on land. Impossible, they havo so many reserves—and such men, too. His brother, who is big and strong, is amongst them. For the Russians they have the proverbial German contempt. The others are not sumcient in number to check them. The cost of it appeals to them as terrible. And England and France, they complain plafntively, h&va M) much money. And when a.re their ba-ttleshipf; coming out P Not yet, no—but when they are read:' they wiU come. But they are ob- viously despondent on that <head. Their demeanour reveals that clearly. The man from Essen is frankly pessimistic. It will 00 with our army as with our navy." he says, turning away his head with aa expression too deep for word. "Dieser verdammte Kreig I" adds elo- quently a third. The participation of Eng!an<! ts a aofe po:nt, a.n<j tue use 01 inaian troops still sorer., They anxiously inquire if there h&s been a nse in the price of foodstuffs, and their very anxiety throws light on the German situation. They confess that with them the price of nour and meat has gone up very considera.bly. They were eating Kriegsbrot on boa,rd ship, and for it they had evidently no great relish. They jest about It and compare it with sausage. But it is evident that their warlike fer- vour has been sadly chilled.

ENGLtSH PRISONER AND SERGEANT-BULLY. SCENE IN A PRISON CAMP. I WRONG MAN FATALLY SHOT. (Press Association War Specia.) AMSTERJ)A.Nl, Friday. A British prisoner of war named John Bramble was brought up before a coort- majtial at Spaodau yesterday on a charge of making a violent attack on a sergeant, and of insubordination. An account of the proceedings, naturally from German sources, has been received here. An Eng- lish interpreter was present. Prisoner, v'ho appeared in the dock in his y allow working clothes, aaid he knew that Sergeant Ensk&t was his superior. On the morning of November 30th he got no food. He th&reiore stopped and presented his empty bowl to Serge<mt Enakat but the sergeant ordered hnn to move atong. BrambLe repeatedly ebowed the sergeant the bowl aJtd .abood still. Then the sergeant hit him on the back with a ctick ;<.nd afterwards with the butt-and of the rino, so that ac- cused fell over a water-can on to the ground, hurting his left thigh. After he had risen be raD away. At the eame moment a shot rang out, and <!ome- body shouted, but as he did not know who- ther the command was meant for him he did not stop. Suddenly he again stumbled and fell on the ground. Later he. admitted he h3,d thrown h4mglf on the ground, fear- ing he might be shot. and that he knew the order to stop was intended for him. He denied having donf anything wrong, j THE SERGEANT'S VERSION. The nrst witness, Sergeant Snekat, said he told Bramble that food had already been distributed. Accused fajd something ab.< eive in EngHah and displayed a thr4,-aton. ing attit-ude, a.nd as he refused to movEI: witrmm hit him on the back with a whip. A( cii!,q,,d then cp-m,- 'm to him in a 'threatenting nMinti.ar lifting np his bowi, a if he were going to hit him. Aocoeed, 4&gain interrogated by coanse!, declared thpre wao sti!!l food and that he had not been given anything and waa hnngTy. He denied Msaming a threatening attttnde towards the irrg"ant and did not use in- !lnltin'! word. he was Pxcited. Lamdw'&ht'maD Seqdel deposed that the -,e-geant ord'red him to arrest Brambte t-nj) a<way amd tJje La.n<!wehrm3j) could not use hift pine na Bramhie was among ot<her pximnem Anoth'ar Landwehnn&n n :t1t1 feU down. SH<TTTIIE WRONG MAN. Landw&hrma.n Sc.he!! said he WM of the np; il10n th at :x'Hu;;pd was going tc «t' kp thf aergea-nt. Hf tJien fired but wonntl: l tin; wrf.'ng prii-.c-ner, 'A-ho sh<t't.]y died. After three houra* proceedings the trial waa adjouru& t

NEARER MS NEARER -so I RUSSIAN ADVANCE IN PRUSSIA. I I SWEEPING GERMANS BEFORE THEM. ¡ Important New Move- ment. I I (Pr?s6 Association War Special.) P ET.ii.(JU. innnMay. A commumque issued by the General StafS says :— On the 25th mst., in the region to the north of Tilsit, cur troops, acting on the oaenMve, ropulaed the Germajm ajid de- ctroyed the statiin of Pogegen. Fightdng continnes in the wooded ooum- !«ry to the north of Pilkalen and Gumbin- !nen. We are progressing there at certain points. On the reel of the East Prussian front yesterday passed quietly except in the re- gion to the north-east of Darkemen. near Alt Ma-igunischel;, where the Germans at- tacked oar position, but were repulsed and driven back into their own trenchea. On the right bank of the Lower Vistula there have been collisions between the a.d- guards. On the left bajik, in the region of Bor- zimoS, our troops, supported by sappeie, last night attacked the enemy's sa<ps and jjalodged tha Germans by means of mines. Yesterday afternoon the Germans assumed the offensive in this region, but without RUCcet'I!. They also fail'ed near the villago, of VaEs- ched (Lodsta.ia). Yesterday on the left b&nk of t.be Vistula an artiDery due! continued. Our aring \va<- e9ica<aious against the enemy's pof< i t.iao. and silenced several batteries, in&icting great losses on t.he Garma.ns in the especially in the region of the village of Jidokitze, where we saw the German s cajry from their tranches many killed a.Ti<! w<j<unded. [ IN THE CARPATH!ANS. in GaJicia, on the Carpathian front from Hukla. Pass to the Stry-Mounkaitch R&ilway, I we fought on the 26th &nd 27th inst. suc- ceesful actions, which were very Hnportajnt; south-eaat of Dakla. PaBa, where our troops pushed on energetically aj)d forced the enemy on the 26th to retread n-ith al! speed. SLba,n- i donmg ammmlition ajtd trenching impye- cisnte. In the region of Tsekh.nie:yd-D()lklrony we 'seized on the 27th a redoubt and block- aded another one in th-a During this fighting we c&pt.u.red oScprs a.n.d )ldier8. whose number cannot yet be astun&ted.. In certain pl&cea on the same front the eH-emy attempted to h:nder our progress by spiz;ii- MTeraJ poin.te by an cffensi'p movp- m.ant, but everywhere the Austri:uT.s faiIeè. In Bukovina the situat.imi ie THE RUSSIAN STRATEGY i (Not.e.-Tl-ie. above no, is t-bc fir.t that jha<s been.. received of operatic1: in the ex- treme nort-h if East Prussia, near Tn:?it. The line Lndic&ted by the placsnajn.&s (n the a.oova messagp i" roDgMy V shaped. < 'ith the n.pex R.t Gumbumen. t.he Tujuiiing &clLith--cet, ':p- proa<;hing in the to TUsH. If t'he movemen.t develcpe: It tr'y indite an a.t.t<'mpt to g<=-t round to the north ci the ?fa?nn&n La,kf pOMt?on. whc? t?bo Russian adYance has been '?.c-pped t\-?' mc-n't?s).

1.SW.!NS.EA..GUARDIAN,a., -1 "Fling" at the County CouncS.j The a.pplica.tioE of a printer to the Swan-, sea, Bo&rd of Gu&rdia.ns on Thursday to ha.ve hi& sixteen year old ,,011, mentally de- Scient, aent to a eciiool, cabled forth c&us- tic criticisms of the. Gle.morgan County Coun- oil from the members of the Board, who had up to the present igncred the dc'nands of the Mental Dp8ci<ncy A<'t to proTtde for eu-ch .a51'3,s. "Thie .body had been continually putting a sprasrg in the wheels of other bodies, who desired to fur- ther the objecta of the Act. Mr. W. A. Thomas: W<. uld it act be weH to refer it bach until Penderry is ii) the bor- ough? (Laughter). Mrs. H. D. Williamp thought dL vrrT tiyifaie that the Board should be asked to p&y a bill, when the Glamorgan County Council contmued to ignore their responsibilities. The boy would not ha,ve become a pauper if the County Council had made provisions. The Chairman: Are you going Lo punish the boy for the County Council's delinqucnc- ies. ) The matter was deferred for a fortnight j pending comm'mica.tion with thp County Council.

SABY WAS CRYING. NEATH HUSBAND'S TRAGIC' DISCOVERY. Mrs. Ada Parsons (27), London-road, Neath, was found dead In a chair in the kitchen of her home on Thursd&y even-I ing. Her husbaud, Mr. George Parsons, a clerk at the Ynysarwed Collieries, near Resotven, returning Lome soon after o'clock, was surprised to find the front door open and made the tragic discovery. The eight months' old baby was lying on the floor crying. The couple were mar- ried Jess than two year-! ago, and were well known in the district. Dr. Evaus was called'in, and afnrmed death to he due to heart failure.

I I OiFFICERS 92 10S. A HEAD. I GERMAN BONUS TO I SNIPERS. The following rema.rbble story by Lieut.- General Sir Henry MacKmnon "a.t. a, dilinw in M&nohester Is reported by the Man- cheater GTtaj'dia.n." The intense devoticji to nMthod of the German could ha<rd!v go further t'h&n reowded below—checking a "sniper's" rebu.m of British oncers shot by (Mft' olvii casualty list. Gresnera.! MaaKmoon ielatcd the story, told to him by a rela-tiw whose compajiy 10 tile towichas was much troubled by a who waa located with grea.t dimcoJty. He was shot Bnally, his body was reaped an order was found on him deputing him to snipe British omcers. He had in his hook pa.rtic:ula:rs. showin,g that he ha<I I KILLED NO FEWER THAN 50 I OFFICERS. and it wa< aippa.i'e&tly a rule of the Germaj) I I War 0{Ecp that a reward wae <pven for each oScw killed when the dajm had been scrutinized -qnd allofwid. The sniper w&s rcqmpod to sta'te the exact position wheeze the oBSoar waa killed, a.nd give pa-rtd culaj-s a-bout hiB ropiTn?nt a.n.d ao on. No d!.u!n \va.f! a?wed unti! it hAd baan ?tested by refaran.pp to th<' casualty lipfs i? Britiab M'ewsp&per'.? and in tb)p casf of th:? pa<rtioulafr RDiper only 25 claajas ware aj- Im,ed, for each of which he had received a reward of 50 ryark: (JB2 10s.)

FOUND HANGING. I GRUESOME DISCOVERY AT I YSTtLYFERA.. I A tragic djscovery was made at AHty- gt'ug Farm, Ystalyfera, on Friday even- ins, when a man named Phillip WiIH&ms, in labourer at the farm, wa.s found hang- ing, in the farm-house. Deceased, who was 53 years of age, and single, wa,s alright when his sister took ')im Rome tea. ahnit 7 o'clock, but when s!'f revi!:itcd him agair. ahout 9 o'clock, c.:he made the gruesome discovery stated. The Swansea. County Coroner has been notified of the de&th. and an inquest will be heI<L

STOF PRESS; i ?'

II THEN THE BRITISH GUNS CAME. THE FIGHTING NEAR LA BASSEE. I TIMELY ARRIVAL SAVES SITUATION. NORTHERN FRANCE, Ja.n. 28, Such detajLs as hare reached me of the ignijjJ; n'oaf La Ba&see on .Monday deadly Øhow import..mii tb-,t 11 be"n IvllbD.t v.! L.he ncjthejm ba.iiw.. line for many weaks. It seems evident that the GermajM hav< boon prepajing .for the opportujuty thua of fared them, wic, they wert. to ta.k3 full advantage of it. They had massed a consiciemble force at this point of the luie. Durmg Sunday night numbars of men were put imro their tranA,land in the rear 5,000 men ware hold in reserve. Only a short distance separated the enemy irom our admooed lines nn frcnt of Givenchy—at aexne points lesa th.m 100 yards. The attack developed very suddenly on Monday morning. DENSE MASSES O 5cHE ENEMY I- emerged from their trenches and changed down upon our position. Rine 6jid m=, iine. gun fire was opened upon them from our trenches, and from the houses in the vil- 'iage. Heavy losa was innicted upon them. They were repulsed aga.in and again, but each time, REINFORCED BY THEIR SUPPORTS, {.hey returned to the charge. ,For nearly three hours t'he issue hung in the balance. Then the weight of ovefwhelm- iiignumbers began to teU in favour of the enem)'. Our fire could no longer stay them. They came right up to cm' trenches throw- ing hajid-grenades with considerable enect M they came. Then with a ima.1 rush with the bayonet the trenches were woe. Our tnen retired :n good ordof.l' rpon the vil- .age, a.nd to the second line of trenchee. The enemy, nushed with their success, pressed forward with the object of capture ing Givenchy. The 56th Prussia:) Infantry and a body of the 7th Pioneers a<ctuaJ!y pene- tr&bed the viU&ge streets. The British artillery ne<.r Festubert ia the north, a.nd the French artillery in the south, had now come into action. A shrap)- nel fire made the road back to La Bassee practically impasable. Their supports could not reach them. Many of them fell in run- ning the gauntlet; some surrendered acme succeeded in reaching the trench which they had captured at so great cost. It was now one o'clock in the afternoon. The British counter-attack began to develop. The units directed to retake the lost trench, a-ided by a. French force on their rigbt, did it manfully and well, charging often knee- deep in water and mud. By nightf&l! the ket position had been regained.-(u Morning Post. '')

OVER THIRTY LOANS: GOWER CONTRACTOR'S ? BANKRUPTCY. OFFICIAL RECEIVER AND "MISTY" ACCOUNTS. At the reaumed examination at the Swan- sea Bankruptcy Court on Friday, a. re< markab-Ie state of aiEairs was reveaSed when John Evans, Newton, builder and contrac- tor, cfuae up for puMic examination. LiaMIitifs amount-ed to j63,064 15s. The assess deluded an item of £1,000 which the debtor loaned in sunm ranging from .E5 M Bllj to Mr. Bishop Davies. The debtor, in Mply to the OScM Re- ceiver, said he received no acknowledgc- mcnt whatever for any of the loans, a.,er thirty in number. He trusted Mr. D&VM implicitly, and since he had left the town it was endeavoured to make the firm to i whch ,f]. Bishop Davies was a partner, liable for the loans. Questioned by the Registrar why he continued to make the ad vances to Mr. Da vies, the debtor replied "I don't know; he got round me." The debtor further stated he had '3<M had time to keep books. At the time o' the purchase of land for speculative o'tu I- nng at .B1.065, which formed the basis of the formation of a limited company, he hAtI not the money at his disposal and he M- e<<rted to borrowing. The OSMTaJ RoceivM- Mea- eajd theM were no account booka, and the more h<) anaJysed the accounts the more misty they became. The examination wai! adjourned for ha'- thcr enqTUT))M!. ? ;cc. -4-

STEAMSHtP OWNERB AND THE GOVERNMENT A large meeting oi cargo ste&mship) owners was held on Thursday night at the offices of the P. and 0. Company to consider the terras of hire for vessels requisitioned for Government service. The terms prcpOMd by & joint committee were accepted by owners for vessels chartered up to the end of December last, but the question of rates for ships char- tered since then was held over for final discussion. It is possible that rates which were considered satisfactory in the autumn would net be regarded as suBS- cient now, in vipw of the rise in working costs and demu.nd for tonnage in all direc- tions. Lord Inchcape presided at the meeting, and about a hundred cwnora fron various ports of the country tfeitj crMant.