The Cambria Daily Leader

[1 ENVOY TO THE PGPl. r I 1'1 Rome, December 27th.-Sir Henry Howard, the special British Envoy to the i Vatican, will present his credentials to ] the Pope on Wedneday.-Reuter. ii ,t;

I! • MINE WASHED ASHORE. ii ? ..i i.. A Tobermory message states that mother mine, th?. fourth reported' found itmong the Western IsleS, has come i ashore at Port Misken. near Bunessana, in Mull. The occurrence was reported to the Customs authorities in Oban,, and it has how been exploded by the guns of a patrol steamer guarding the West Coast, (Passed by Censor.)

FRENCH CAPTURE SIEGE GUNS. Paris, Sunday.—An official note issued Mates that the captures made on Dec. M [ in the German trenches in the Perth^ ?*?ion include, besides two mitrailleuf^s, ei,6ge grins mounted on their car- riages, one bomb-thrower of 215 milli- ai^Lres, a 56 millimetre gun with art fcrmoured cupola, and a revolving gun of 37 milliinetiteis. Home idea of the German defensive or- ganisation may he gathered from this ^numeration.—Eeutor

FEELING THE PINCH. Paris, Sunday.—Germany is beginning to feel the pinch, and serevelv. Witness the following facts which were told to a Lyons ri^rspaper by a manufacturer who has spent the last few weeks in Alsace. In all the schools, says the traveller, the children are told by their toasters and mistresses to bring whatever copper utensils their parents have at home. But it is not only copper that is running short, but a more precious metal a well. M. X .read at Strasbourg, he sftjat- .placards ordering the inhabitants tn bring all their gold to the ;?tate Bureaux, there to exchange it for paper lyojjey under the pain of imprisonment. 'Hie, manufacturer was informed that this measure is now general throughout all Alsace-Lorraine. Further, ail French names on shop signs have been ordered to be (JftrmanjIJed -Ch- 'leg M'st become Karl, Guillaume Wilhelm, and so on. Throughout Alsace the Germans are organising defensive works. Thus, in front of Strassbourg all trees and vines, everything, in fact, that might afford cover to an enemy. have been cut down. Everywhere there are trenches in rein- torcd concrete.

A SOLDIER'S ROMANCE. I The death of General Kelly-Kenny re-! Tails the fact that the additional surname of Kenny, which he adopted in 1874, had a romantic origin. Captain Kelly, as he was -at that time. was not particularly well off, and had only a very small pri-; Vfate income "to supplement his pay as a junior captain in a line regiment. He had, however, what is termed "luck," and one of the first indications of For- tune's kindly intentions towards him; CMbe wheii he was spending a few days' feave at Brighton, in tho winter of 1873 One stormy afternoon he was standing outside his lodgings on the front when he noticed a feeble old gentleman vainly en- deavouring to cross the road in the teeth of the gale. Seeing that the old man was in difficulties, the future General, hastened forward and offered his assist I' anoe. It was gratefully accepted, and the stranger, when conducted to a place of shelter, invited the young officer to dine with him that evening. The acquaintance thus formed speedily became a close friendship, towards which the warm, generous disposition of the young Irish officer contributed not a little. A few months afterwards the old gentleman, whose name was Kenny, died, and on his will being opened it was fID42ad that he had bequeathed property vVth several Ueomrd pounds a year to y7th "veral t who had Msisted' <? *Wif» xoumr oiHcar who had aesisted i  d?-HM Uk» 3<M? mm* L

I TWO MILLION CASUALTIES THE ENORMOUS FiUHlING LOSSES OF BEMNY. The German casualty lists numbered 1101 to 108 contain the names of 35,883 killed, wounded, and missing officers and men. bringing the total Prussian losses to 753;02. There are to be added 80 Saxon, 82 Wurtemberg, 125 Bavarian, and 13 Navy lists. The Bavarian losses are so heavy that it. may be calculated that nearly half their army is ot of action. The German losses up to date, includ- ing thosft not yet pubh?hed. may be set down a1 &bout ZW,WO de?d, 400,000 missing, and 850,000 wounded, bringing the iotalto about one and-a-half million. With the Saxon, Wurtemberg, Bavarian, and Navy losses, the German losses must be together about two millions. About 25,000 officers have been killed and 35,000 officers wounded, but only 4,000 ofifcers are missing. According to information from Vienna, I the Austro-Hungarian casualties are cal- culated at about one and a half million lofHcer3 and men killed, wounded, and missing. The 212th Reserve Infantry Regiment lost more than 2,000 oiffcers and iluen killed or wounded in the fighting Itilirizig OLI-tober at Dbucude. The German insurance journal "Globus" states that the losses of the Wurtemberg army in France up to October 15th wore 3,727 killed, 16,617 wounded, 3,734 missing, and 234 sick. In the war of 1870 the total losses in the army of 30,000 were 2,672 men and 117 oiffcers. In the first two months of the present war the total losses of the 13th Army Corps are already fifteen times those during the whole of the war of 1870.

I EXPECTING THE WORST — — TURKS FOSTifnlsG tiL,AUtS ON GERMAN J. Auviut. I Sofia, Friday.—The Constantinople Press observes a significant silence with reference to the declaration of a British Protectorate in Egypt. The fact of the matter is that the governing clique in Stamboul has not yet decided what to say, notwithstanding the lead recently given by the" leuna "Fremdenbiatt," I which has published some of the most feeble and insensate remarks ever made about Great Britain's alleged violation of treaty rights. According to the latest news from Con- stantinople, the Tur&s, acting on German advice, are fortitying and placing artil- lery at the villages of ban Stetano, Mak- rjitaui, atili (Jheiimedjeh, and for this pur- pose a number of guns have been taken from Adrianople during tho, last few days. No traveller is allowed to proceed beyond San Stetano, lest anything should leak out with regard to. the fortifications and works in the course of construction. The Turks are also fortifying the Island of Prinkipo and Moda Point, on the Sea of Marmora. The latter appears to in- aioat^s that the Turks are expecting an early visit from the allied squadrons be- jicre Consiantuicjjie, and it is even re- ported that the Treasury is being re- moved to Koniuh. Greeks are experiencing great difficulty I in leaving Constantinople. In each case jnqniries are made by the military authorities; and if the replies are satis- factory a special permit is issued autho- r'"51" ilie departure of tie person in queRion. According to advices from tho now Bulgarian port o? Dedeagatch the Italian lliner Torino was stopped on the high seas on the 22nd inst. by French cruisers, and twelve Turkish pasa?nger& were taken off. SiDca the closing of the Dardanoller,? extraordinary activity has prevailed at I Dedeagatch. Ten steamers were in the port there on the 22nd inst., and more were expected to arrive on the following day. Great Britain, France, and Russia I have now all appointed regular Consular officials there. The latest appointment is that of) Mr. C. E. Heathcote Smith, I who was formerly British Vice-Consul at SmyrnaKputer. I Turkish Troons- Routed. Petrograd, bat-tirday.The Turkish I troops which attacked the Russians; in the district of Van were composed of i 20,000 infantry, besides numerous de- taehmrubl of qava 1 ry. The Kurds at- tacked with fanatical ardour in torrents of rain. The Russians, who were well informed by clever reconnoitring, re- pulsed the enemy and delivered a vigorous counter-attack, which put .him to rout.—Reuter.

I I MEMBER FOR ATTERCUFFE DIVISION. I Mr. W. G. Anderson, of the National Labour Party, was to-day elected for the Attercliffe Division of Sheffield in suc- cession to the late Mr. John Pointer, M.P. I--

I SCENES IN VIENNA. 1 Rotterdam, Sunday.—In Vienna, says the correspondent of the Nieuwe Rotterdamselie Courant, prices have gone up tremendously, and the number of wounded in the streets is so great that the people no longer take any notice of them. Round the city ramparts are being thrown, up to prevent the possi- bility of Cossacksentering when on a raid. Rich rpolish families have come into the Austrian capital and are living in the hotels, where, at five o'clock tea, one can see the flower of the Polish aristo- cracy. Many of their castles have been ¡ plundered. The correspondent describes the censorship as being worse in Austria, than in Germnay. He adds, sarcastic-' ally. If secrecy is the price of success, then Austria is sure to win. The papers contain nothing." )

WAR LEVY WITHDRAWN. I Paris, December 25th.-The "Journal* states that the German proclamation in Brussels announcing the levy of a war indemnity of < £ 20,000,000 has been posted over with plain paper. A report is current that the measure hit, been withdrawn. owing to the action of the U.S.A. Minister at Brussels, who pointed out that the levy constituted a violation of the Hague Con- vention. f i is, however, announced that the Gov- erndr. in order to make up for the loss of the levy, has decided to impose a tax of in a head on all unmarried persona • over the age of 27.—Reuter. U.S.A. Declaration. Washington, December 26th.—Mr Bryan, the Secretary of State, -declared that any action taken :by Mr. Brand Whitlock, the U.S. Minister at Brussels. for the reduction of the indemnity levied on the city of Brussels by the Germans was unofifcial, and was not taken under, the direction of the United States Gov. J' ernment.—Beater. .û:

On Sunday evening, at the Ebenezer! Church, Dunvant, presentations were made to Messrs. T. Jenkins, E. Jone Glyn Jenkins, on the occasion of their de?. parture from the district. The presenta-1 tions took the form of Bibles. The Peking correspondent of the IAM- cet" say, that British drag manu- i factarers have now a gr?at opportunity in the Far East, especially sinc? the fall ed Tsin?taQ and the expulsion of every German trader from Hong wjiieli is tke uoaori capital of CJuosse trade. f

MIDNIGHT CHARGE OF PRUSSIAN CUARD. I WHISTLES, TIN TRUMPETS AND "UNEAKTHLY" YELLS PONTARDAWE SOLDIER'S STORY Private W. Milne, Ponfardawe, of the 2nd Battalion Highland Light Infantry, writes a breezy letter from the front to Mr. Frank Phillips, of the Pontardawe Inn. He says:- I know you will be interested to know I am still above the earth and not under it, the same as so many of my pals. My brother, who is- in the same regiment, got wounded early in September. We were driving the sausages out of a hill, and had jiist about eleai-ed them, when a piece of shell struck him in the head. Later in the day a shrapnel bullet went through his leg. It was hard lines for me, for 11 was next to him. I have had. a few near goes: I was one. of a party "of twelve draw-* ng ration* one afternoon, and a shell flattened eight of us. Truly I have had thp d- own lack! We have lost over 1,200 betweer j killed a.nd wounded, but don't worry, we have had our own back. I Charge of the Guards. "We ran up against tha Prussian Guard—what a lot of giarktsl The.. charged us with the bayonet about 12 one night. They came with A rush, blowing whistles and tin trumpets and yelling something unearthly; perhaps they thought they were going to upset our nerves, but they backed a loser. We kept as quiet as mice dn the trejiclies. atid lei them come up quite close, and then you should halve heard the rattk) of rifles They stopped a perfect stream of lead Thet soon cleared, a a many of them as were able, and that was very few. i We are going to enjoy ourselves on Christ- mas Day—if we arp alive—and Heaven help the Germans who disturb us that day] In a postscript he adds: u f hear they have dropped A few egg-shells in England Roll on, Berlin I" I "A Surprise in Store." driver Jack Hobbs, a Swansea- Devonian, now serving with Heavy Bat. tery 114, R.G.A., at' the front, writes as follows to Detective A. Newell, Swansea- Just at the present moment I can only describe the place around he as Hell! It is properly illuminated. Our heavy guns are blasting away for their lines; it is one continual bang. We are under cover in a farmyard, and it is raining and cold, but that does not stop us. A f small party of the boys in kilts passed along with a batch wearing helmets. I expect they are glad they are captured "We made an attack last night, and if we do as well to-night it will be all right. I believe there is a surprise in store for the Old Country for Christmas We have been in action all the time excepting a ten days1 rest, so w. have had it very constant. We have only lost a lieutonant and sergeant-major out of our battery; they were killed by a hhrapnel shell. We were under very hoary German fire that day. They shelled us out, but they got it the next day I would like to be home ast Christmas, but I am afraid it is too far gone. Let's hope for Easter. I hope we are not called out to-night in this rotten weatherl

SAILOR'S FATE AT- PORT TALBOT. On Monday morning, at Port Talbot Docks Mortuary, Mr. Howell Cuthbertsou (District Coroner) held an inquiry into the circumstances attending the death of Carl.tFeterson (37), a Danish seaman, be- longing to the s.s. Headlands, now lying at Port Talbot Docks, whose body was discovered in the Now Dock, Port Talbot, on Christmas morning. A verdict of Found Drowned was returned. —— —:—1 t

OLYNCCRRWG ASSAULT. At the Aberavon County Police Court on Monday, Albert Childs and Arthur Cbilds (€ymiaer)v were cnaiged with as- saulting Charles Sidoli, sweet and ohip potato vendor, of 1, Dunraven-etreet, Glyncorrwg. Mr. Lewis M. Thomas prosecuted, and explained that defendants had visited complainant's shop, and were supplied with two pennyworth of fish and chips, for which Albert Childs declined to pay uiore than a half-penny.. Complainant closed the door. and demanded his proper payment, upon which hp was at- tacked and struck by defendants, Arthur Childs striking him with a poker on the shins, and the other defendant striking him on the face, badly damaging his left cheek. These facts were borne out by complainant and P.S. Tarr. Defendants explained that th were having a jollification over the return of an old schoolmate from India.—Defendant Albert, who had a reoord, was fined 40s. and costs, and Arthur 20s. and costs.

DISSOLUTION OF DIET. Tokyo, December 26th.-The dissolution of the Diet followed on the action of the Lower House in rejecting by 213 votes to 148 a Government Bill for the increase of the army by two divisions. The Budget Committee had already re- ported adversely on the proposed expendi- ture for this purpose, and at Thursday's sitting Count Okuma announced that unless the committee's decision were re- versed he would be obliged to exercise his prerogative and ask the Crown for a dissolution. The debate wont on throughout Friday and continued through the evening. At 11 o'clock tne chairman read an Imperial Rescript, dissolving the House. Twenty members of the Seiynkaf party, one of the groups of the Opposition, sub- sequently announced their intention of leaving the party on the. ground that its action had been unpatriotic. December 27th. Elections for the Diet have been ordered to be held an March 2ath-— Reuter. j

1 1 KILLED BY GERMANS" FALSE STORY OF NURSE'S DEATH AT THE FRONT. SISTER CHARCED In the High Court, Edinburgh, to-day, before Lord Strathclyde, Kate Hume, aged IS, a clerk, of Dumfries, was in- dicted for having concocted a letter with intent, to alarming and annoying the public, and in particular her father and her step-mother, who reside at Dumfries. The allegation was that accused foiged a letter sux^iosed to have been written by her sister, Grace Hume, from Vilvorde, near Brussels, to the effect that she had been murdered by German soldiers. The sister was alleged to have Í'm a niirse at the front, and to have died from her injuries. She was, in fact, at Huddersfield at the time. Owing to the sensational nature of the charges made by the accused, the case had aroused widespread interest, and, the Court was packed when she took her seat in the dock. Prisoner, who has been in custody for about three months, is a tall I good-looking girl, and of much .mu^fcil talent. She wore a fur mfle and a serge ?oak. She was perfectly! cool and self-possessed. She pleaded not guilty. She also pleaded specially and as an alternative that, when the alleged offence was said to have been committed, her mind was so unbalanced that she could not, and did not, understand what she was doing, Or the effect of it, and was not responsible thereof. I Two Letters. Evidence was given by Andrew Hume, father of the accused. He stated that d Ile stated that there had been slight differences between the accused and her stepmother, but they were only of a domestic character. He first heard of the supposed murder of his daughter Grace in September in a letter which read:- "Dear Kate,—This is to say goodbye. Have not long to live. Hospital has been set on fire. Germans cruel; my breast I taken away. Goodbye.—Grace." There was also a letter from a Nurse Mullard, who was supposed to be at the front. to the accused, in which it was stated that Grace had died, and adding "Grace requested me to tell you that her last thoughts were of you, and you were; not to worry over her, as she would be Ii going to meet her Jock. One of our sol- diers caught two German soldiers cutting off her left breast, her right one having, been already cut off. Your sister was a heroin-VI I Witnes ssaid he did not believe the story? of his daughter's death, but he wrote to the War Office on the subject. Prisoner left home and took lodgings in Dumfries I because of a disagreement with her step- mother. Leader of Titanic Band. I In the cross-examination, witness said! his son John went down in the Titanic.! He was leader of the ship's band which played "Nearer My God To Thee." Wit- ness speaking with some emotion, stated' that John and the prisoner ere very [ much bound up in each other, whereupon! the Accused put her handkerchief to her I eyes and silently wept. Mr. Hume furthor said that the girl i took the death of her brother very much; to heart, and she had not been the earner girl since. I Witness explained that there was no veyr! serious difference between accueed and her step-mother, and hib daughter had no feeling agains him. The reason she left home was because she resented having her- full Liberty somewhat cur- i I Evidence was also given by the step- mother, who said accused was head- strong, rather excitable and childish. The testimony of the. landlady and her daughter, where prisoner lodged, wa sto the effect that accused was intelligent, and did not seem to be mentally affected. (Proceeding).

I PONTHENRY WATER SUPPLY j I CORONER AND MYSTERY OF CHILD'S DEATH. • In a. letter which he has addressed to the Llajaelly Rural Council, Mr. W. W. Brodie, the Llanelly Coroner, states that he has adjourned the inquest on a seven' yeare old child, named Annie Maude I Davies, who di-,d at the residence of her father, Cartref. Merthyr Hill, Ponthenry. In consequence of the doctor's report, Mj-. Brodie states he ordered a post- mortem examination, and subsequently sent the stomach and intestines for II allaly sis "for a probability of poisoning by phosphorus." The analysis was i negative, and the doctor, in his evidence at the inquest, stated that in his opinicn the cause of death was foxsemic jaundice, due to a microbe, probably water borne, because another child, a sister of de- ceased, died a few days previously in the same house, exhibiting the same symptoms. The doctor stated further; that the water supply was in a deplor- able condition, being more often than not unfit to drink, and the inflow of the tank is open to contamination from _the public road. 5* In his letter, the Coroner adds that he considers It his duty to I notify the Council of the adjournment of the inquest in order that they may take I such stejs as they think proper.

I RIVAL LOVERS I UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL CAUSES A FATAL I 1 FREE flfiHT. I The death of a young man named! Alfred Wood, at Chelsea, on Boxing Night, resulted in the appearance at Westminster Police Court to-day of a soldier who arrived from India on Christmas moruing. The charge on the sheet was that of occasioning grievous bodily harm, but Wood, a few hours afterwards expired in St. George's Hospital.. The police stated that at ell.,ven o'clock on Boxing Night, outside some cottages in Manor-street. Chelsea, a serious fight: took place, some sixteen or seventeen I persons, including prisoner and deceased, being engaged. Several were arrested for being drunk, etc., and this charge was prei'en ect against prisoner, who was alleged to have severely punished Wood and knocked him down. When arrested and told the result of the encounter with Wood, accused said. I am sorry, but what I doue I did in self-defence. We had a fair fight," Answering the magistrate, a police officer said it appeared that the soldier had been corresponding with a young lady whom he knew before he went to l^dia. It was alleged that during the lu-t few months she accepted the atton- tion of the deceased. Dickinson unex- pectedly turned up at the girl's home for the Christmas festivities and re- newed his old love. The new lover, hearing of the soldier's arrival, appeared on the scene, and a general fight re- sultsd. Accused was remanded, the magistrate stating he would consider the Question of i bail, after the i

SWANS WIN WELL FREE GOALS GALORE. SWANS AND PLYMOUTH ARGYLE EXCHANGE GIFTS. SIX COALS TO TWO In oonsêquenca of accidents to pl&yers during the previous week, Swansea Town: had to re-construct the side for this afternoon's friendly" with Plymouth Argyle at the Vetch Field. Room was, touud for Webber in the forward line, and wliiig Ball occupied the centre posi- tion, Gilboy came in instead of Read. The bright weather of the morning was succeeded by rain. There was aa attendance of 3,000 when play com- menced, Swansea opening from the West end. The teams were:- SWANSEA TOWN.—Hurst; Hewitt and Bulcock; Heath, Locke, Anderson; Gilboy, Gimbl^t, Ball, Webber, Lloyd. PLYMOUTH ARGYLE-Craig; Butler and Lowry; Forbes, Ruseel and Baker; Pike, Gallogley, Birch, Kirkpatrick, Dixon. The Game. The first score of the match wa6 gained as the result of a mix-up in the goal mouth. BULCOCK tried to clear, but instead of doing 80 he put the ball into his own net. By an extraordinary co- incidence, ANDERSON enabled the Ar- i gyle to score during the next few minutes in similar fashion. This was distinctly hard linos, on Swansea, who, in other re- spects, had been playing very well. The VISITORS HAD HAD TWO GOALS presented to them inside a quarter of an hour, but Swansea played up with un- daunted pluck, andl after Gilboy had forced a corner, Lloyd booted the ball over the net. Good work by Webber and Lloyd was neutralised by Butler, and after good mid-field play by Lock and Anderson, Ball sent along to Lloyd, who 6hot right across the net. More good play by Anderson led up to Ball shooting at long range, only to see his kick inter- cepted by Lowry- The ball was being given plenty of air. Very soon Hurst was tested again. He cleared, and a minute later LLOYD JUST FAILED to find the net with a well judged shot from the left. Plymouth had to defend for all they were worth at this point, first Gimblott and then Ball shooting. A corner to Swansea led up to some excite- ment. The ball went back to Bulcock, who placed it nicely for Gimblett, the in- side man driving it hard just over the top of the net. Lloyd made another at- tempt, after which Lock, taking a free kick, sent up to Ball, who put behind. Russoll robbed Ball in ensuing play, and though Hewitt checked the threatened attack, Heath could not pull up his mau. Swansea came again through bright com- bination between Bimblett and Gilbol In the end the latter centred for BALL, who headed a lovely goal. Hewitt, Heath and Gimblett passed well, and a melee in front of the goal very nearly ended with Ball heading through againi ANOTHER GREAT EFFORT BY BALL made the 'goalkeeper run out to divert the shot. A corner was forced, and when Ball, who bad fallen, resumed, be was limping. Pike came away on the right for Plymouth, but when he tried, to centre Hewitt was able to spoil the effort by getting his bE-ad. to the ball. Heath, -Gilboy, and Gimblett afterwards | got going to such effect that Rufsel had i to kick back to Craig in order to pull them up. Half-time Score: PLYMOUTH ARGYTiE—2 goals. SWANSEA TOWN—1 goal. Second Half. Rain was falling in torrents, and it was therefore decided to resume playing without taking-the customary interval. Anderson (ingineered a Swansea attack, and play at close quarters, in which Ball and Lloyd were prominent, led to RUSSELL putting through his own goal. this being the third score of th's kind re- corded during the afternoon. The team3 w^re now on level terms. The Swans were now shaping like a winning side, but when they came again Craig saved in miraculous fashion from Ball. Right on top of this BALL, who seemed always to he in the picture, scored his second goal. Very soon Swansea forced another corner, but nothing came of it. When j the Swansea came again they would prob- ably have increased their lead had not. Lloyd mis-kicked. Another Swansea goal came from th boot of Gilboy. He sent along from the extreme right, and found the corner after the flight of the ball had deceived the goalkeeper. Anderson was hurt over the left eye, and had to go off. This compelled Swansea to resort to the one back game. Anderson re- turned to play just in time to pull up an attack, and the next moment Gimblett banged the ball into the net in great style, onyl to have the goal disallowed for offside The next Swansea scorer was BUL- COCK, who broke right through, then close to the end GILBOY found the net at long range, following a kick ^across by I Lloyd. The scorer was injured in t(t; effort and had to go off. Ball was also absent during the last quarter of an hour. Final Score: I SW ANSEA TOWN—6 goals PLYMOUTH ARGYLE2 goals. NOTES BY "PENDRAGON." j Although the conditions militated I against good football, the play right I through was astoniehingly bright. The result supplies the selected ocwn- committee with food for reflection. It was a re-organised side, but not- withstanding I tiiis, th-fe men. shaped as though they had been playing together without interruption for weeks. A problem which- now presents itself is as to whether Ball is not the best pivot the directors have at their disposal. The two gaols he got this afternoon were fine opportunistic efforts, the first of them being a particularly good one. As had been the case in Welsh League games, Gimblett and Gilboy combbpd I splendidly, while Webber, although a stranger to the inside forward position, did well enough to justify a further trial.

CYMMER FEUD ENDED. At the Aberavon County Police Court on Monday, Arthur Osborne, 86, Margin- street, Cvmnsk,, was charged with as- saulting Leonard Browning, on the 18th i.ilt- Defendant: We have become friends over the Christmas holidays. Complainant: I should like to with- draw the case, as we have become friends over Christmas. Complainant, in evid. ence. said he and defendant had an old grievance. They met in the 'Cymmer Hotel and had a few words, and defen- dant struck him in the face. Abraham Beach corroborated. There was a further charge brought by defendant against Albert Osbornu. In this case also both complainant and de- fendant said that they hatl become friends over Christmas, and added that there had been an old family feud, but, they had agreed to bury the hatchet for! the New Year. The Chairman expressed the wish that! the parties would adhere to the New Year resolution, and ordered the defend- i ants in each case to pay the costs. u-

coon GUNNERY PRACTICE. An officer at the front writes:— > We are 100 yards back in a wood and the Germans have a trench practically on the edge of it. Teh wood is very thiek; we send out snipers almost to the edge of it and they wait for a forgetful Gerboy who exposes himself for a mo- ment. We have been here about three weeks now and have put from 50 to 60 out of action by sniping. Our own casualties have perhaps amounted to 20. They fire into the wood pretty frequently perhaps a couple of rounds a minute, but, usually, the shots all go high; oc- casionally, of course, a man does get hit. I saw our gunners shell a cottage that we wanted down. The gunner observer was in our trench. lie gave the range, by telephone, then the telephone operator would say, "Ready"; gunner. "Fire"; you would hear the bang and the shell come hurtling through the air. The cot- tage was just on the edge of the wood and it was very dimcult for him toget it. The guns were five miles back and he drew it in Rve milee at a time till he act it I

 EM?T HiE AT THE FOOT OF i I SAND DUNES. Allies Advance. Ù) —.— Remarkable Progress Made in Flanders. I PARIS, Monday. The following was officially communi- cated this afternoon: in Belgium we have continued to advance I to the west of Lombartzyde. We are now actually at the bottom of thil dunes on which the enemy has estab- lished his line of resistance. I To the south of Ypres we have lost a, i part of the trenches near Hotlebeke, In the region of Lens, near Carency, the enemy has ceded, before our attaek, <M metres of first-line trenches. In the valley of the Aisne, and in Cham- I pagne, intermittent cannonading has been particularly intense in the region of Rheims and in Perthes, where tha enemy has especially attacked the posi- I tions which were captured to the west of that locality. On the heights of the Meuse, slight pro- gress has been made by our troops aiong the whole front. In the Vosges the enemy has bombarded- the railway station of St. Oil. The railway service has not, however, bang ¡ interrupted. In Upper Alsace, to the north of Stein* bach, the German counter-attack hasr been repulsed.

I THIS DAY'S RACING j I WOLVERHAMPTON. v 1 g—PUySTA.LTi JUVENILE HUBDU9 -L' ? RACK of 80 e&?.—?oi. KING IOH 1, SIBERIAN 2, -LAN?LET 3,' ALao ran: Knight of the Haatb?r. Sunlight,* I III., PerenniaJ, Crystal Mirror, Mrs- Coombs, Ga.rv«, I, Off at 1.5.. Trained by Berzac. Betting: 2 to 1 Siberian, KING PlNOH," 14 t.') 1 Lanfdey, 6 to 1 Crystal Mirror, Sun- ¡ light IIL, 10 to 1 others. Won by half a Leiignii; five lengtas betweev, a&oond- and third. /1 35-sr.ù!'NAL SELI?XG 6TEEP'" ±1 .0t3 OHASE of 70 ?o?-Two mile& BEAUMANOR 1, COMPOET 2, KOL0 4. Off at 1.35. Trained by Ootterill. Betting: 5 ilo 4 Comfort, 15 to 8 BISAXT* MANOR, 7 to 2 Kolo. Won by five lengths; a bad third. 2 5-BmiEWRBURY mlOAP STR&< ?<:) .0 PLWRASE of IW eive—Three m £ ks. MATT MoGKATH 1., THRALDOM 2, MERMAID IV. 3. 12 3 HOLIDAY 8LTNG •Ot> .HANDICAP of 70 eova.-Two mgem FLYWHEEL 1. VARIETY LAD 2, ADDIS STO WN'S PRIZE 5. ADDITIONAL ARRIVAIfl. Knight of ReaIlilwr. Buzzy, Hate's Map, • Tittleby, Garve, BeftumanOr, PeremnjaU Crystal Mirror. Oomfort, Bell Toll. Variety Lad, Common Seoiee, Howth Park, Oriado,] Flywheel, Vellum, Roman." Piwtadeau. Romany Chief, Thika. B. and S., Doeter Rreak. Fashion, Feakle, C-g-ft Sky.. light, Johnson, Prairie Fire, Frank, &MIPOF Good Bxaawple, and Miee Gr-udou.

LOSS OF THE YORCK. Copenhagen, Sunday.—The Ham- burger Echo states, on th authority of the Ncrddeutsches Volksblatt," that a Court-martial was held at Wilhelmshaven on December 23rd on the sinking by a mine of the cruiser orek, with a. loss of ox-er 300 men. Captain Pieper, for did- obediellco to an order and negligence occasioning iho loss of r the ship and iiomicide through negligenct) (fahrl&ssige Xofcung), was stuipaced to two .years' retention in a fortress, and Commander Cleve to one year's imprisonment. [The armoured cruiser Yorck (9,350 tons) was sunk at the beginning of Nov- ember by striking a mine at the entrancs to Jahde Bay.]

VALOHA OCCUPIED. Athens. Sunday.—The Italian Minister has notified the Greek Government of an Italian occupation of Valona. He added that the occupational* provisional, and has'?acn carrie d o?t?ith the consent of the Entente PowerM; Rome. Saturday.—With regard to the landing of Italian bluejackets at Valona yesterday, tho" Giornale d'ltalia states that they landed as the result of riotous disorders and threats of fresh bwiwling. The landing actually took-place a.t the request of thp Italian Consnl. that an end might be put to the state of anarchy which prevailed in the town owing to the fighting which followed upon the order for the expulsion of refugees. Order was completely restored, adds the journal, to the gratjfication of the popu- lation, which is joyful in its gratitude to the Italians for their intervention.. No further material incident has occurred.— Reuter ■! 11

MEATH CLOSING HOURS. I I On behalf of the Neath and District I Licensed Victuallers' Association, Mr. A. I' Jestyn Jeffries made application to the, local justices to-day to vary the hours of closing. I The Bench, after a long consultation, J intimated that they were unable to grant j the application. Mr. John Morris, Mr. j Ivor Church, and Mr. John Thomas sup- jported the application. 1

I LOCAL SOLDIER SHOT I ————— .———— EVIDENCE AT TO-OAVS IHIJOEST AT SWANSEA. CASE ADJOURNED At Alexandra-road Schoolroom, Swan- sea on Monday afternoon, Mr. J. C. Morns (borough coroner) opened an inquest into the circumstances attending the death of Pte. Enoch Daniel Dudley, of 14, Wellington-terrace, Gorseinon. and Mr. W. P. Smith watched the proceedings for the police, Mr. Edward Harris for the widow of the deceased, end Mr. W. H. Jones, Oxford-street, was foreman of the jury. Sergeant William Hopper, who is on remand charged with causing the death, was present. The Coroner: This is an inquiry into the circumstances attending the death of Enock Daniel Dudley, a private of the 6th Welsh, who met his death in the un- fortunate shooting matter in Wind-street I in Christmas night. The inquiries have not yet been fully completed, and it is my intention to take only evidence of identification to-day, and to adjourn the inquiry until two o'clock on Thursday afternoon, when I hope to be able to complete it. David John Williams, 13, Upper Lime- street, Gorseinon, collier, a brother-in-law of the deceased, said Dudley was a private in the 6th Welsh, at present stationed at Swansea, and he 35 j eara of age. He know nothing of the circumstances of the death. He gave evidence of identification. By Mr. Harris: He joined the Ter- ritorials only at the commencement of the war. Mr. Haris said under certain contin- gencies he might wish to call this, wit- ness, and ho asked that he should attend again on Thursday.—The Coroner agreed. The Coroner (to Sergt. Hopper): Does anyone represent you?—My lieutenant, sir. The Coroner (to Lieut. D. Harold Wil- liams, solicitor, Gorseinon): You do not wish to ask any questions at this £ ta#e? Lieut. Williams: No. The enquiry was then adjourned to Thursday at 2 o'clock.

A LONG WALK. I Two Frenchmen who lived in 'the Canadian North-West have sailad from New York (says Router) to join the French Army, after having walked 1.300 miles to the nearest railway station. 1 1 .1

FAMINE IN MEXICO. Washington, Dec. 2f>The American Consul-General at Monterey and other Americans in Mexico appeal to the American Red Cross Society for help for 1 Mexicans, as a state of famine exists in i Mexico as the results of four years' war- j fare.—Reuter. .v

WILD WEA THEft. following on the heavy rain overnight, Liverpool was this morning enveloped in one of the densest fogs ever known, and the traffic on the Mersey was suspended with the exception of the ferry sendees. A blizzard blew in the Peak of Derby- shire to-day, theije being snow two feet deep in the highland. The telephone ser- vice has broken down. Mild weather prevailed at Matlock, but there was snow at Buxton. Snow fell to a considerable depth in North Wales to-day.

BEER FOR THE BABY. At Neath to-day Gwen Davies and Han- nah Perkins, married women, of Resol- ven, were fined 5s. and costs each for giving a. bltby beer on the 19th December. Detective W. H. Morris (G.W.R.), Swansea, said, that he was on duty on Neath railway station. The two women entered the bar of a third class refresh- ment room, and a man ordered three glasses 0 beer. He saw the women give a baby in arms two sips of beer, which, he added, "the baby drank, and became quite lively."

THE FUTURE OF SAKHALIN. I I Washington, December 24th.—The Jap- anese Embassy has received official ad- vices that Russia has ceded to Japan the Russian half of the island of Sak- halin in return for heavy guns sent for I use with the Russian Army in the pre- sent war. Petrograd, December 27th.—With re- gard to the statement emanating from Washington that Russia has ceded to Japan the Russian half of the island of Sakhalin in return for heavy guns, the Petrograd official Telegraph Agency is authorised to declare in tMe most catc- gorical manner that this report ^s abso- lutelv unfounded and. doeS- not eon a semblance of truth.—Reuter.

I MABOAM FARMER'S LAPSE I ASSAULTS POLICE WHlLE DRUNK AT I T AlBACH. t At the Aberavon County Police Courti on Monday—before Mr. S. H. Byass (chair- man), Alderman J. M. Smith, and Mr. Robert Gibb-Jenkin Lewis Jones, a Margam farmer, was charged with being drunk and assaulting P.C. Bint. Mr. Lewis M. Thomas defended.. P.C. Bin* said that at 8,25 p.m. on Wednesday ha found defendant in Talbot-road, Taibach. in a drunken and muddy condition. De- fendant said that he had been run into by a motor 'bus. He told defendant he was too drunk to look after the fiorso and trap. Defendant thereupon struck witness in the mouth, exclaiming, Qafll out of the way. I'm going to Neath to see a horse." Inspector W. Bees corroborated as to defendant's drunken condition, and said that he had two flagons in his pocket. The defence was a total denial of being drank and striking the officer. Defendant said that he had been run into by the motor 'bus whilst driving a pony and trap'' along Talbot-road. n. was thrown out of the trap, and was dazed, the two shafts of the trap were broken. Defendant was fined lOiR. and costs for being drunk, and 20s. and costs 101" assaulting the police

TSAR AT THE FRONT. Petrograd, Sunday.—The Tsar has arrived at the front.-R-eiiter. ■ m'*

MARRIAGES. CHAPPLE—>JONES—At, St. Mary's Chur. on the 27th inet., Herbert, n. ChappW R.N.D., fourth eon cf Inspector William Chappie, too Matr^-aa-et J. C\£e,y\, eWeafc daughter of C=apt«in &n :M.N. Jones, Brynauil.

rA pO LET, Stable and Shed. to suit, ponr arcd trap will let cheap for suitable —Apply T. O. Jones, 20, Kinjr Edwarda-roed. XKA14