The Cambria Daily Leader

i 5.30 Edition.

[ CALL TO YOUIC FRENCHMEN. The French Consul at Nottingham publicly notified last night the receipt of a request from the French Government requiring all young Frenchmen of the Clasti 1916 to report to him their Dames L and Otctresme at cam < I

CAUGHT BY A CABLE.! \CAUCHTu 8 CABLE. 1 IEXCITING" STORY OF A FRENCH SUBMARINE'S PERIL. I ) t A NARROW ESCAPE. Paris, Monday.—A graphic story of the hairbreadth escape of a French sub- marine has been forwarded the rv Petite Gironde by one of the crew who was aboard at the time. He saye:—" On Sun- day morning we. were approaching one of I the, enemy's ports when we caught sight lof jevejai batlieijhips, but could not torpedo them owing to the protecting dam. The next moment these and several destroyers passed within a short distance of our cratt. In order to make our aim more accurate we drew nearer them. Suddenly our submarine caught. We oould go neither forward nor astern. The rudder was held tightly, by the steel cable. We were drawn upwards almost to the surface. Then the enemy's tor- pedoes came speeding towards us, and seemed to shave our hull. We weightened our vessel, and all pressed together on the steering wheel. I Abruptly tho cable gave way, and e dived to a depth of 16 metres. We then I attempted to get away. After two hours we were) completely free of the pursuers. 1 We only rose to the surface in the even- I ing, after being submerged for 12 hours. -Exchange.

I AMNESTY GRANTED. I Rome, Sunday.—The newspapers state that in honour of the birth of the Prin- cess Maria an amnesty will be granted to political offenders and to a certai n ber of prisoners jwho were guilty of offences against the common I aw. I Reuter.

I RECRUITING REVIVAL. T here was an after-Christmas revival in recruiting at Swansea yesterday, ten men being passed and attested. Of these, three were for the Glamorgan Bantam Battalion, and two far the Welsh RF,A. at Fortheawl, but none for the local battalion, to complete which a good many men are still needed. About another ten men were medically I' passed, but as they do not wish to leave af once, they were not attested.

MOTHER CHANCE FOR ENGLAND. Practically all the overalls imported into South Africa have been supplied by Germany and the United States. Three shIes a're stocked bv vholesale mer- chants and rptai?r?, viz., boiler suits, in one garment; two-piece suits, jacket with pockets and trousers; and ordinarT ov?r- alls, trousers with pockets, bib and shoulder strap. There seems to be an opening in South Africa for British manufacturers of these articles, to be i supplied retail at from 5s. to 9s. 6d. •

I A CHARMED LIFE. Pt,e. Leaske, of the 1st Battalion of the T/ondon Scottish, who has been invalided home with a severe flesh wound in the thigh, has, it would Sf>(\ffi, a charm«i life- When the Germans bombarded Antwerp I'fN Leaske was engaged in business there. A German F-lip.11 wrecked the Jiwuse in which he was living, and he a* once returned to England and rejoined the London Scottish, to which prerrionsly he had belonged. He was to France with the 1st Battalion, and during an engagement three bullets pierced his overcoat without: injuring him. But a fourth bullet wounded him in the thigh. He was taken off to hospital, and had been there only a day? when the Ger- mans commenced shelling the building. He was removed to another hospital, which the Germans also shelled. Leaske was again moved, but this time the Ger- mans allowed him to rest peacefully. Eventually he was moved to England, and sent to a hospital in Hartlepool. But he had not been there 24 hours before this building was shelled by the raiding German cruisers! He then came to the conclusion that hospitals were not safe places for him, and he returned to Lon- don. We are able to record that he is now I' making good progress.

ONE ZEPPELIN HIT. CRUISERS' SHOOTING. C'JXHAVEN PARSEVAL SHrt AND AIRSHiP BELIEVED DESTROYED. I CONFLICT IN THE CLOUDS 1 -A I It is now possible to supplement the official account of the British raid on Cuxhaven with some particulars of the conditions in which that historic combat was fought. Christinas morning broke beautifully fine and clear in the Bight of Heligoland. There was, practically no wind, and the surface of the sea was hardly ruffled. Our daring airmen, hoAvever, soon ran into fog. It was dense off the mouth of the bHw. but lay only in shallow patches over the harbour and town of Cuxhaven. Flying very high while out at sea, tho seaplanes came as low as was consistent with safety while dropping their bombs. In spite of German denials, there is ex- cellent reason to believe that considerable damage A-at. done by them. and that a Parsevai shed and airship were destroyed, and a number of Xeppelin sheds and their contents badly knocked about. I One Zeppelin Hit. While our men were busy the Germans discovered the presence of the escorting cruisers and destroyers, and two Zeppe- lins with some seaplanes and subrme¡; set off to attack them. The Zlin8 were the first to get to work, but they did not make goo'd practice. For some moments they dropped bombs incessantly without striking any of our ships. The high-angle fire from our cruisers fcoon drove them off, and one was undoubtedly hit, and hit badly. Both the Arethusa land the Undaunted managed to get in successful shots. A far greater danger to our squadron | was the enemy's submarines. They made constant attempts to reach our cruisers, but were bafHed by the masterly seaman-I | ship shown in the handling of our de- stroyers. which mari<etivred at high round the larger vessels and suc- I eoesfully repelled every attempt to tor- pedo them. 1 Meanwhile our airmen were returning to their ships and were soon engaged in a conflict with the enemy aircraft, which had been groping for them in the fog off the coast. Particulars of the fight are inc,t m'ai'ab? but the fact thm six out of seven of our pilots, have been .safely accounted for speaks for itself. I The Missing Aviator.  Hope is still expressed that Flight-Corn- mander Hewlett may have been rescued by an enemy's vessel. I "ll KE A FOOTBALL MATCH." I" (S Eye-Witness Relates the Story of the Raid I A Tynesider, one of the crew of a vessel engaged in the Cuxhaven air raid, has written home as follows: H TCe arrived in port to-day, having spent Christmas Day off the (verman coast. We were very lucky once out there. On Christmas morning the flotillas were attacked by airships and aeroplanes, but nothing at all did they accomplish. It was a funny thing that the first bombs that were dropped were at the The fellow flew over one and followed us up. Two of their bombs came pretty near. Our' fellows treated it like a football match, and kept banging awny at him with rifles, but he was far too. high to hit.. The Zeppelins are practically useless against our ships. Two followed us, but kept well away out of gun-fire, and Nt-hen we had done what he had set n- to do, which I expect you will see in to-night's paper, the -— and turned to chase them, but could not catch them. We never saw one German warship. Ou", of the incidents on Christmas Day was one of our submarines paving three of our waterplanes' crews." AMERICAN OPINION. I Comparisons Do Not Favour the Germans.1 Comparisons Do Not? Favou r the Germans. 11 New Tork, Monday.—The raid of the British airships on Cuxhaven is looked upon here as an answer by the British Navy to the German bombardment of the [Yorkshire ooaft towns, but all the news- papers which mention it in this connec- tion do not fail to draw the distinction between the German shelling of unforti- fied towns and the military importance of tho British raid in attacking the enemy's warships and a naval base, The newspapers generally rogatd it M a more daring attack than that of the Germans, not only because the British Fleet accompanying the waterplanes were obliged to make their way through the thickly-mined waters of the German f-oast, but especially on account of tho skill with which they avoided the, German submar- ines.

PRISONERS PUT TO DEATH. I The following general order by General Joffre was issued to the French armies in the field on December 17:- The Commander-in-Chief of the armies brings to the notice of t troop the following fact:— We have proof that the lieutenant commanding the 7th Company of the 112th Bavarian Infantry Regiment has communicated to hie men the following order by the General Commanding the Brigade (5Sth Brigade of the 14th Bavarian Corps):- From to-day no more prisoners will be made. All prisoners will be put to death. The wounded, with or without arms, will be put to death. Prisoners, even if taken in large bodies, will be put to death. No living men must be left behind This order has been carried out. In- terrogation of German prisoners proves that numbers of French prisoners have I been shot dead. At General Headquarters, 1 Deo. 17, 1914. The General Commanding-in-Chieif (Sigmed) kWre

ROUNDING UP THE REBELS. Capetown, December 28th.-The rebel, Martin Slabbert, who was a lieutenant in I the Defence Force, was captured on the 26th inst. by a motor force about. 50 miles north-west of Blomfeinteirf after a I pursuit on CJjristmas Eve and Christmfs Day across the Free State Province from Sinithfield. His men had surrendered a few hours previously. The remnants of both Mouton's and Prinsloo's commandoes surrendered to- day with horses and arms at Heilbron, I which district is now clear of rebels.— Reuter.

SPY SCARES IN FRANCE. Some indication of the trouble and annoyance caused by spy scares among our forces in France is conveyed by the following extracts from a letter written recently by an officer. We are still in this place and shall pro- bably remain here for some time. Since! the war started the Germane have pitched I some 600 shells into it and done very little damage. They have not shelled it lately. I think they are too far off. I am still having spy scftres. Last night -sent me post-haste up to the watch tower in the middle of the town, because he saw signallIng. The tower is very high, and I climbed up, barking my shins, 1 scratching my hands, and bumping my J head, only to find a watcher had been there twenty-four year! To-night my clerk, who speaks French, was arrested as a spy. It is rather amusing seeing how! different people take it. Some are furious and sulk and won't answer questions; others become hysterical and keep on pointing out how absurd it is that they should be taken for spies. A German prisoner was brought in yes terday, a nice cheery, plump person wit; a beautiful complexion! All the prisoner we get are jolly well fed, and their un form is always good. We are a long svii. from the end of the war yet, and what yo.; see in the papers about starving ami naked German soldiers is rot; the Ger- man nation lw\n't been preparing for this war in such a slipshod way as that. (

c- 1 Swansea Inquests. Three inquests were held at. Swansea to-day. In the case of Louisa Murch (33), 4, Wellington-street, evidence Gho-Avd deceased was weik from birth. Dr. LloyTl Edwards, who said it was a wouder f-ho had been alive for the past twenty years, expressed th-j opinion that tkat]. was due iii ccrchro] homorr- j hasjo. Verdict accordingly.—Frederick | Win. Manncring, three weeks, if S2. Colborne-terrace, was found have died from natural causes.—John joi-idyn (Gl). painter, a native of Wigan, dropped dead in the passage of j the Church Army Home on Christiana l1iht. Death fro, mbeart failure was the N-erdict.-In an inquest at Landoro to-day, it was found that Napper '1 I Hunt (81), died from heart failure at- tributed to senile dec^v. Alien Hairdresser's Cameras. To-day a German named Karl Her- mann Hempel, hairdresser, was sen- fenced to one months imprisonment in f the second division, and recommended for internment at the expiration of sentence for that he being an alien t iemy, had in his possession fwo otiler photographic ap- paratus without written permission. Prisoner plosded negligence in not de- claring possession. ) I r<- I I  0 L Of ESS EXTFTA r. 'rl(3NS:' 0- M? s O"X" <

L IN A MAZE OF -'k Pi TRENCHES. HAND-TO-HAND FIGHTING IN FLANDERS How the Allies Closed the Gap in the Ranks. Desperate Struggle Illuminated I By Searchlights. » — „ < Told By "The Eye-witness." PRESS BFnU. Monday Night. < The following descriptive account hich has been communicated by an pEve-Witness present with the General headquarters, continues and supplements the narrative published on the 21st inst., ¡Ot the movements of the British force (fcnci French armies in immediate touch twith it;— 124th December, 1914. [ As regards our right, where heavy anting took place on Sunday, it will be einembered that in this quarter the reater part of our 'line? had been rC& tored by the early morning" of Monday, he 21st. On that day the action was ontinued with determination by both ides. Our efforts were chiefly directed o lessening a small gap which still ex- liste(I in the centre of this section of war ront, and as reinforcements were thrown into the fight the Germans were gradually .rfT'cn from the trenches they were hold- ing. During the afternoon they made a fresh effort, endeavouring to work round the flanks of the troops holding a village. Here a most gallant and stnb- born defence was made by our men under a very severe fire directed OIl them from three sides at once, but their position finally became so pre- carious that a retirement ivas, ordered. The enemy's success WitS. however, fcliort-lived. Reinforcements arrived, stormed the village, and established k themselve6 firmly in the trenches round i, In this action the French co- [ operated, and gave us the most valn- H able assistance. r The fighting on this afternoon, and dur- ing 'the night took place in a perfect hur- ricane of driving; rain and sleet. Night brought no cessation of the desperate druggie, and the enemy'«> searchlights /ftud fLares lit up the darkness. Friend 'ftnd foe were now fighting at close quar- ters in tauch a maze of trenches, running iti all directions, that it was difficult to, distinguish the position of the one from the other. Heavily Shelled. On the rest of our front nothing of ^importance took place. Oar trenches in (tiie centre and left were more heavily 1'*helied thau they have been for some ?a.vs. whikt on the right centre the area Behind our tronL Line was Marched by ??the hostile artHIpry, wbirh ap??rs to ?arp been reinforced to some extent. ?n the cntre we continued to consoli- date th? positior won on the 19th. At | "M point our guns replied with consicit-r- .%I,le -effect; against some German working [parties. The French continued their pre?-? ?Urc to the north and south of us, and "rhipverl substantial gains. On Tuesday. the 22nd, all interest Continued to be centred on the right. In |he early morning the troops in the vil- lage which had bpen recovered the night before, who had been fighting all night, Advanced and seized a line of trenches bold hy the Germans. This position, however, was found to be too exposed, V;d a retirement to the original line was Carried out. and our hold on the village ittill more firmly secured. The fighting in this 'quarter took place over ground which was literally a quagmire, the trenches being fall of water. A fresh attack in strength was developed by the Germans against two villages in the centre of this section, and from one onr troops were driven back. During the night the line was re-established. Force of Attack Spent. By Wednesday, the 23rd, it was evident tlto force of the attack against our right l>ad spent itself, for no further advance ^"as made by the enemy, who must have Sliffered severe loss during the previous reft days. A long the rest of our line also there <t5 no activity. A thick mist militated Against air reconnaissance and artillery Action. On Thursday, the 24th, nothing of im. portance occurred along our front. On the right both sides confined themselves to bombardment with mortars and hand fcrenades. The Belgians and French between the British Army and the sea made pro- fcrc-ss at several points. It would ap- pear from the evidence of prisoners that he strength of many of the German ts in our front is still much reduced. Ille companies muster only 150 men, t,t ri there is seldom more than one officer r company. I Encounters In the Air. '"hough the weather has generally been '^favourable to aviation several reconnais- sances have been made during the paert lk:. and there have been three en- untPT8 in the air between British and aeroplanes, as tho reault of which bostae machine in each n < been forced to go down in the German lines. On one occasion our machines chascd a Taube, and having obtained a favourable position for shooting, the ob- server emptied his automatic pistol at the enemy without any visible result at about 150 feet range. He then proceeded to take a photograph, and the appearance of the camera seems to have alarmed the Ger- man aviator, who at once lied. Upon another occasion a somewhat diffi- cult situation arose when a bomb which was being dropped caught in a string and remained suspended three or four feet below the aeroplane. There was no way of reaching the bomb, and it was impos- sible to land. Finally the observer kicked a bole in the floor of the fuselage, hooked the string with his foot and shook it un- ¡ til the bomb fell off. I Stories of the French. Two stories current concerning our neighbours, the French, illustrate the spirit that animates all ranks. One is that of a private who. when carrying a despatch inadvertently came upon a trench containing 50 German?;. With extraordinary presence of mind he sum- moned them to surrender. Thinking that he must be the leader of a considerable force following close behind him, the Ger- mans held up their hands. He then shouted to some of his comrades who were in a neighbouring trench at some distance to advance, and the Germans were all made prisoners. The second story is that of a certain famous French regiment which had been Sghling incessantly for soine days, gain- ip a little ground every day until it had worked its way close to the main trench held by the enemy on its front. It was then this regiment's turn to be relieved but its members sent a request on behalf of all the officers and men that they should be permitted to stay one day longer and thus gain the glory of driving t]1A enemy from his position. The country on our right, where the righting of the last few days has been proceeding, has already been described as it appeared during our first advance some weeks ago. Its natural drearv character is now intensified by the abom- inable weather and the ruin inflicted by the enemy. A great deal of this urea is flat, at all times marshy, and is now al- most impassable in places. Some of the villages round 13etlinne have suffered heavily from shell fire. I Deserted Factories. The factories and coalfic-?is arp. of I course, deserted, and it is ¡difficult to imagine anything except pbssih!y the 1 flooded area nearer the coast which more sunsets the abomination of desolation [h?o this whole (Ustrirt seen through fog ?a,n(i driving snow. The great pyramidal I slag heaps stand out amid the smoke- blackened ruins of mining villages and the swampen fields intersected by dvkos and fringed with rows of pollard uiiiows. There is no sitli of the ordinary lif. of the place save the few inhabit a. its who are living iu destitution and misery under incessant shell fire, Void tl.o wreckage of bricks and mortar which vas once their home. Everywhere as I u' the eye can see there is nothing tut trenches, ruins, and mud. The mrd of Poland is proverbial, but it is hn i to believe that the difficulties prvli:>d y it are greater than those at present being experienced by both sides in some parts of our front. This applies especially to any advance over !ov--ly nitr areas which, besides being cut up hy ditches, are water-logged and in some places pitted with shell craters full of water. Under such conditions nlso the construction of entrenclunents ir- no matter. The clay is s-. ■ •■>' i': ] ■ :>ot leave the to be scraped, while in tho wet if si places the soil is so liquid that parapets slidt- (lown into shapeless masses as soon as they are thrown up and the sides of an excava- tion continually cave in. It is reported that in one place the mud is so bad that in a recent action between the French and Germans neither side I could fire ili eir rifles and clubbed them or fought with shovels and pickaxes.

I EXEMPLARY SENTENCE1 'f Melbourne, December 28tb.-A. dispatch from Suva (Fiji Islands) states that Mr. Gaudin, a member of the Auckland City Council, has been tried at Apia and sentenced to five years' hard labour for carrying communications between enemy subjects.-Reuter.

IF AIRCRAFT CAME. .The Official Press Bureau issues the following: The naval and military authorities call the attention of persons using the streets to the danger from fragments of shell and from bullets from the guns ueod against hostile aircraft attempting a raid on Lon- don. The civil population are warned to keep under cover, preferably in basements, upon hearing the eound of firing by guns or of explosives.

CURSED THE PRINCE. I The Prince of Wales is a very keen and skilful motorist, as everyone knows, and more often than not he drives himself the long torpedo-bodied car which he uses at the front. But the roati-s are jolty and greasy, and accidents will hap- pen. A day or two ago, says the Cri do Paris," the Prince's car, owing to an unfortunate side-slip, came into collision with a French motor lorry, and had naturally the worst of the encounter. That did not prevent the driver of the lorry, a Parisian with a fine flow of lan- guage, from telling the young man at the wheel, whose identity, of course, ho did not guees, exactly what he thought of him. I The Prince, whose stay in Paris has given him a complete mastery of collo- quial French, doubled up with amuse- ment beneath the lorry driver's flow of epithet. Nyhen the joke had gone on long enough the Prince's orderly told the eloquent lorry driver who the young man WM, d his Royal Highness presented a sovereign to- him in return—not for damage done. for there was none to the lorry—but for five minutes' hearty i laughter. Thus, the amusing ineidtnl wns closed to the satisfaction of all poftMa.

ANTWERP PREPARED. GERMAN GARRISON GETTING READY TO FIGHT. PLANS FOR RETREAT. Amsterdam, Dec. 28.—According to the Handelsblad," German offioeio state that there are now 200,000 German troops in Antwerp. If compelled to do so, the Germans propose to retire from Roulere to Ghent, which, if necessary, will also be evacuated. Antwerp, however, will be de- fended to the 14st.. The residents will be i .t V 4 0leave. given all opportunity to leave. The German garrisons of the forts are not allowed in the town. Three thousand men are working day and night streng- thening the forts, which have completely changed their appearance. Fort Wyne- ghem is now entirely underground, the guns only project about 18ins. above the surface. The Germans are doing nothing W Fort Waelhem, whi<?h is deserted. Work is being pushed forward, however, on Fort Wavre St. Catherine. The Nienwe Courant" announces that no more passes will be issued in Brussels for women to go to Antwerp.

j HELD BY THE RUSSIANS. p Petrograd, Monday.—In military circles it is pointed out that the important passes of the Carpathians are once more in Russian hands, and the residue held by the enemy do not afford him any advant- age.—" Times War Telegram.

FURHES AGAIN BOMBARDED. The town of Furnes was once again bombarded on Saturday night. For over an hour the town was the object of a largo number of shells. Beyond the death of one person no other casualties are re- ported.

EMBEFFS CAPTAIN IN. ENCLAND. Captain Von Muller, captain of the Emden, who was made a prisoner when H.M.A.S. Sydney sank the raiding cruiser, has arrived in England. V-hen his vessel was destroyed he was rescued by the Sydney and taken to Colombo. From there he was taken on a British cruiser to Port Said. Here Captain Von Muller was placed on board the Orient liner Orama, and brought to Tilbury.

CHARGERS FOR GENERAL BOTHA. The Transvaal Leader recently called for subscriptions, limited to one shilling, for the purpose of purchasing and presenting a charger to General Botha. The day following the appeal a turn of £ 234 had reached the offices of the news- paper, and with sum two chargers have been purchased and presented. One of the horses was the property of Sir Abe Bailey, and was originally specially selected for him by a well-known breeder and judge of horseflesh in the Cape Pro- vince.

AVIATOR'S ERROR OF JUDCEMENT. An error of judgment in alighting from a flight was given at the inquest yesterday as to the cause of the accident by which Bernard Osborne Ffield lost his life at Hendon. The aviator, who was sub-lieutenant in the Royal Naval Air Service, was flying a new type of biplane, and experts sug- gested that he misjudged his distance on coming to the ground. This caused the machine to strike the ground. Flight Sub-Lieutenant F. W. Strong, who witnessed the accident, said Ffield circled round the aerodrome and climbed straight up to about 2,000ft., returning to the aerodrome. He appeared not to have left himself sufficient distance in order to reach the ground without gliding too far. He dived the machine steeply, and had not time to plane it TIp. The^urv returned a verdict of death from poncussion of the brain.

SUCCESS AT ALL POINTS. Petrograd, Monday.—Isolated attacks by the Germans between the Lower Vis- tula and the Pilitza were everywhere re- pulsed. the enemy suffering grave losses. SoTrth-ea«t of Skierniewice our troops ear- ried by assault the village of Szipniki. From the 11th to the 25th we cajitured 15,000 Austrian prisoners and 40 maohine guns.—Reuter. Turks Repulsed. J etrograd. Mondav.-The following communique from the headquarters of tlie army in the Caucasus i6 published here to-day:— In the direction of Olti our troops, hav- ing crossed the river Laursin, checked the progress of large Turkish forces in the region of J argkamysch. Fighting is de- veloping. On the 26th inst., in the rggion of Dutah, our advance culminated in the occupation of the line Khartiour-Aganz. The Turks retired with heavy losses, eind many of their number were captured. On the other fronts there is no change. —Press Association.

NO HOLY WAR. Reuter's Agency states that, according to advices received by the Indian mail, the Bodshah of Kumar, successor of the late Mullah of Ilada, has written to the ,-ch.ief religious leader of the Mamunds Afghan Mohammedans declaring in strong terms that the war with Turkey cannot he construed other than a secular war, and tl*t there can be no question of a religious war. The Indian papers also state that the Mari Buoti and Damki, chiefs of the Baluchistan and Sardars, and the tribes of Mekran have sent a message to the Governor-General's agent expressing re- gret at Turkey's action, their steadfast devotion to the British Throne, and grati- tude for assurances of the Government that Holy places will be respected by the allies. At a meeting of the Mohammedans held at Calcutta on the 26th ult., under the presidency of the son of the late King of Oudh, resolutions were adopted ex- pressing loyalty to the British Crown, and exhorting all to try and save the,1 public from entertaining false rumours to tho detriment of Islam.

AUSTRIAN SLAVS IN REVOLT. TWO MAYORS SHOT. I REPRESSIVE MEASURES FAIL TO CHECK 1 MOVEMENT. I REGIMENTS MUTINY. I Berne, Monday, Dec. 28.-It is stated on good authority that the Austrian Government is experiencing great diffi- culty in suppressing a movement of re- volt among the Slavs in the districts near the Serbian frontier. The recent crushing Serbian victory was the occasion for great manifestations on the part of the Austrian Slavs, and, in spite of the severe repressive measures adopted by the Government, the unrest is spreading. Two mayors and a professor suspected of revolutionary tendencies have been shot, and hundreds of men and women have been arrested. It is stated that sinco the opening of the war over 15,000 inhabitants of the Slav provinces h.ve been punished in one way or another by the Austro-ITungarian authorities.—Ex- change Speeial. A Revolt. I Paris, Monday, Dec. 28.—A message from Rome to the Matin says a revolt I has broken out among the men in the 'I artillery and some of the machine gun sections in the Austrian forts at Monte- brione and St. Nicolas, near Riva. The malcontents are natives of Croatia r and the Serbian provinces. Reinforce- ments have been caned in to assist in quelling the movement. — Exchange t Suecial. I Famine Increasing. Rflone, Dec. 27.—According to news which has reached here from the Aus- trian frontier, distress and famine, especially in the country districts, are increasing. Wheat flour has reached the j price of eightpence per kilogram. The authorities, wishing to obviate the j consequences of discontent, declare that pface will he concluded in January i through the mediation of America. In the meantime a serious mutiny in Bohe- mian regiments is reported.-Reuter.

HONOUR FOR JOFFRE. Paris, Monday, Dec. —It is stated ht the members of the French Acsdemy 'wil't o?er the sat r11dered vacant by the death of Count de Mun to General Joffre. -Exchange. -o--J

WHAT "JACK" GOES THROUGH. A young officer serving on one of our. light 'cruisers wrote to his mother on the 20th inst., a letter from which the por- tions given below are taken. They may help to bring home to many who think that the Navy is doing nothing, the risks i and privations which our sailors con- tinually face, in addition to the 6pecial dangers of warfare: The ship is in ——. being patched up. We had aiieli a gale last week that when we came in we were asked if we had been ia action. The fore bridge was carried away, and every boat, excepting the steam boat, was utterly smashed up. Wc went through one sea going at 15 knots, and we got every bit of it on board. The water poured down the hatch, outside my cabin, in a solid body, for three minutes en end. Of course,, my cabin was half full by the time I had got on sea-boots and a few dothe. We all thought the ship was going, and she cer- tainly would have if the quartermaster had not kept his head and recced speed, the communications from the bridge to him, at the wheel, being broken by the. sea. It is frightfully cold here, and to. make matters worse the deck over the wardroom is being put back into place; the pillars were bent like an S and the deck forced down three and a half inches by the weight of water we took over th<* forecastle. -They are giving seven days' leave to each watch, but, of course, I can- not got away, as I am overloaded witii work.