The Cambria Daily Leader

I I j 5.30 Iditi on, i

L FRESH PROOFS OF GERMAN BARBARITY. Wounded Prisoners Tortured and Executed- Brave Belgian Officer's I Cruel Death. V" • j '■ Huns Misuse Red Cross and Hospitals. The British Press Bureau issued the following this morning: The Commission of Inquiry on the Violation of the Rules of International |*w and Customs of War has issued its Sth report to the Belgian Minister of Justice. Section 1 deals with the use of explo- five or expanding bullets, and says in its Ind report the Commission of Inquiry re- ported that expanding ballets had been left behind by the German troops on the battlefield at Werchter, and that medical foperts established the fact that Belgian soldiets had been wounded by balls of this kind. The German army operating in Belgium has continued tx) use these prohibited balls. The Commisekm of Inquiry repro- duces documents proving this fact. Section 2, on the maltreatment of prisoners and wounded, says the Com- mission in earlier reports ha§ already eited the cases of two Belgian soldiers .ho were east into a burning house between Impde and Wolverthem, and of fI6 Belgian wounded .and prisoners who ftrtnrf shot at Aersehot on August 18th. Hanged in a Hedge. Incidents of this kind, it is added, have been frequent. Quartermaster Bandoin Iran da Kercfcove, 3rd Lancers, deposed J:bat after be had been wounded by two iBerman bullets, the Germans maltreated itÜn. One took his carbine from his band, whirled it round his bead, and indicted a violent blow on his ribs with it. A second German, seeing he was still alive. ired on him from a distance of six 'eet. Luckily, for him, the bullet only ,nflictoo a grazing wound on his abdomen. A cyclist rifleman who fell into the bands of the Germans in the same combat with the quartermaster previously mentioned, was found hanged in a hedge. I fA priest of the village buried the corpse of the rifleman. On August 1Hth. French soldiers wounded p.n the previous night at the Battle of pinant were found with their skulls battered in by blows with clubbed rifles. At Namur on August 23rd, German sol- there moved their own wounded from the private hospital of Dr. Bribosia,, which (ras used as a dressing station, but killed two Belgians and two French wounded who had been tended there. They then set the hospital on fire. Beyorrot Thrusts in Face. I On August 25th at Hofstaede, near Wfclanee, a Belgian rifleman left slightly woundd.J was finished off with blows fnmi the butts of rifles which smashed it). his skuH. Twenty-two soldiers of Jthe same corps were tou?d dead in a t?me wood ?iog to thE right of the road ? rom Malin to TcrDeuz? afar B?ar- f $eclc. Eighteen of them had been killed 4»y bayonet-thrusts in the face. They tarl bullet wounds, but these were not 'Jkangeroup, only sufficient to prevent t them escaping. But the four remaining f drians who had fatal bullet wounds bore no traces of the bayonet. On August 25, at the combat in the f^ghbourhood of Semp&t a soldier of the 3 J.h Regiment of the L1De. who was ?an?Fed to aid the ambulance ataS in f) ? carrying of wounded, found two evi-ISian corpses bound to a tree. These f Idiere were still wearing their full ieuipment- Their coats were torn open, b id it was clear they had been bayo- in the stomach. The colonel commanding the 2nd Ohas- 1.'ttn at Cbeval states in his report of Sep- "fcmber 17th that Trooper Richard Baeche- randt is entered ae having been killed. by bermans during reconnaissance. Evidence showed be had been found with his hands fashed together with a leather strap. He d evidently been first wounded, then tap hi red and finished off with a bayonet ihrnst in the stomach. Hands Plunged Into Boiling Water. I On September 11th, Joseph Louis Burin, private in the 24th of the Line, stated fee was captured by Germans idear Aers- fchot and that the captors, to compel him to answer questions, plunged his hands tnto a saucepan of boiling water. The regimental surgeon bears witness that Burin's hands showed traces of liaving Veen scalded. The .soIdier states two others of his com- ¡ were also tortured. One of them 4rho had offered resistance was seized ind held by the arms and legs, while iil' head was twisted round till death fallowed. The second had one of his jjfcgwrs chopped off. Abbe Van Crombruggen makes on October 27th the following deposition:— Oatober 30th, after the German at- t8.clr on the bridge of Dixmude, at about liree o'elock. I, the undersigned, along (rith other witnesses, whose names are appended to this paper, made the fol- lowing discovery:— The body of Sub-Lieutenant Camil de Ponein, of the 2nd Company, 3rd Battalion, 12th of the line, was found in a position indicating by every evid- ence that he had been executed by shooting. He had been put in bonds by means of a coil of iron wire wound ten times round his legs from the level i of the ankles. This operation com- pleted, the victim had been shot. whether in a standing or a kneeling! position. His body, with the heaidl thrown far backward, was lying on its back. The knees were soiled with mud, and the heels were underneath the body. The unhappy officer must have sunk on his knees when falling backward, unless he was made to kneel before the volley was fired. In his breast were the marks of many *biill.ets, very evident. (Signed) F. Van Crombruggen (Chaplain of the 12th of the Line). The names of the witnesses, four sol- diers, follow. Cruelty to Wounded Prisoners. Wounded and prisoners on their way to Germany he been frequently deprived of food and the most elementary assist- j ance during the journey. English prisoners have been subjected, to specially bad treatment. The Red Crofs Branch at VervieTs has organised a system for supplying food to wounded and prisoners passing through the town. On September 18th a train with several carriages full of English prisoners passed through the Eastern Railway Station. The Germans prevented the ambulance men from giving them food. Another train contained both French aid English prisoners. The sentries per- mitted the ambulance attendant to help the French, but prevented him from assisting the English. Witnesses report that this kind of inci- dent occurred repeatedly. Section 3 is devoted to the maltreat- ment of hospitals staffs and the mis-use of the Red Cross. It states there are numerous disposi- tioes concerning attacks by Germans on ambulance trains, as also on the arrest of medical staff who have often been sent to Germany. Ambulance Men Fired On. At Aer-schot on August 19th. ambu- lance men in clerical dress, wearing the Red Cross armlet, were fired upon while they were gathering up the wounded. al- though they pointed to the emblem they were wearing. At Lonvenjone on August 19th, the Germans tore away the armlets of three ambulance men 9,nrl knocked [them down. They were arrested, beaten and abused. At last they were released, and while carrying off a wounded man had to drop him seven times because the Germans turned the fire of machine guns upon them. A Belgian ambulance Column was attacked on August 23rd while leaving Bioul. It was fired on with violence. The ambulance men were scattered, and of A column of about 500 persons, hardly 100 succeeded in escap- ing. When entering Nainur on August 19th, the Germans riddled the hospital with bullets. Witnesses attest that the Ger- man assaulting column? in the combat of Schiplaeken, were preceded by the white fleg, and on other occasions hoisted the Red Cross flag on houses occupied by their troops and on barracks where they had put their artillery. Civilians Shield Troops- Section four deals with tho maltreat- ment of the civil population. It states that depositions made both by civilians and military men proving that the (-let. mans have compelled them to serve as guides, or havcv forced them to carry out military works?, are numerous They also forced both Belgian soldiers and part of non-military population to march in front of, their troops. Detail? of seventeen instances are given by the rr-jK-rt. anwrs being the fol- lowing: 1 their cotapany |.«* \r$bs"« iuf.i ;jr :?oners, they were taken on by Germans with I their liands bound behind their backs. At Laive they came into contact with a COUl pany of Belgian troops. Germans placed them in front, and at a certain moment ordered them to cry, Belgians, do not: fire; you are shooting at Belgians." Two of the prisoners fell, shot down by their comrades. Hospital Shelled by* Airship. At the Bridge of Lives, the Germans placed women and children at the head of their attacking column. Both the women and children were brought down by the Belgian fi re. At Hereat. the Germane forced 500 women and children, preceded by the priests of Wygmael and Wesemael, to march in front of their forces. About a thousand inhabitants of Wygmael, men, women and children, were compelled to follow German troops for ten days while fighting was in progress. Section five deals with the bombard- ment of oWn tpaces under circumstances which oonstitufce a violation of the laws of war. At Deynxe three bombs struck the convent of Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul occupied by sick orphans and refugees numbering about 200. Panic pro- voked waa in&mribable.

TORPEDOED. .——— do- < AUSTRIA'S FIRST DREADHOUCHT SERIOUSLY DAMAGED. FRENCH SUBMARINE'S SUCCESS Venice, Monday.—News was received in I Trieste yesterday to the effect that Austria-Hungary's first Dreadnought, the Viribus Unitis, was attacked by a French submarine during the recent raid at Pola. A hole was pierced in her hull by the tor- pedo, but owing to the strength of her construction and the nearness to harbour at the vuom,*n»- of the attack she waa able to reach dock. The Viribus TTnitis wae built at the Stabilimente Tecnico at Trieste, where a message was sent for the immediate dis- patch of certain machinery for the repair of the ship in Pola dry dock. According to a telegram from our Rome correspondent, the French submarine is reported to have penetrated into Pola har- bour and to have there delivered her attack upon the Viribus Unitis. JJ:(:,

I UNHAPPY RHEIMS. \J. Paris, Tuesday.—The "Matin" states that during the last few days Rheims has again been bombarded by the Germans. On December 22 twenty-five people, mostly women and children, were killed, and the next day, which was the ninety- ninth day of the bombardment, some more shells were hurled on the city, but did very little damage.-Exchange.

I BRITISH n AVIATORS RESCUED. Copenhagen, Wednesday.—According to a message from Christiania. the Nor- wegian steamer Eagle, on her way to Rotterdam, saved in the Channel two English Army aviators, who had fallen into the water. They had stayed seven hours in the ice-cold water, and were more dead than alive. They were taken to Hook of Holland.

CERMAN CHANCELLOR'S SON. Petrograd. Wednesday.—At the iD.i¡ stance of the Spanish Embassy here the I Rusian Red Cross Society has instituted a gp?rch for the German Chancellor's eldest son, who, according to statements 'published in Berlin, was wounded and ?. taken prisoner in East Prussia. A comprehensive inquiry has, however'i ?hown that he is among neither the wounded nor HJe umvounded prisoners captured by Russia. It is supposed that he must either have been killed out- I right or died of wounds on the battle- field and been buried in a common grave with, others of the slain. I

WAR RATE REDUCED. The Government rate for the insurance of cargo against enemy risks has been re- j dueed from H guineas to one guinea per cent., as hom to--day. ( The reduction may be attributed to the rounding up of the German cruisers, and to the fact that only one British steamer of importance—the Charc?s—M reported to have been captured within the -ll? month. When the State OSt<? opned its doors on August 5 the rate quoted 'Wa five gftinca?; on August S the rate wa? reduced to fo?r gniD?as, on August 18 to three guineas, on September 1 to two guineas, and oft December 11 to It glxineaq. The new rate of one guinc-a per cent. is the minimum proposed by the Com- mittee which prepared the State Scheme of War Insurance

NEW CAMPS CONDEMNED. i. By Lord Kitchener's orders, the condi- tion of the new camps throughout the Kingdom is being carefully inspected and reported upon by qualified medical and other officers. As a result, certain of them, it is Said, have been condemned. and the soldiers therein are to be billeted in the nearest, towns until such time as fitter ground can be found and substantial hutments erected. Further camps are being established almost every week as the new army grows, and there are now about 700 in all, some containing as many as 15 and 20 thousand men. More attention is now being given to the nature of the ground selected and to water supply and sanitation, than was at first possible, since it is probable that several of the larger camps will be maintained even after the conclusion of the war.

DUTCH STEAMER STRIKES MINE. The captain and 17 other survivors of the steamer Leersum, of Amsterdam, arrived at Hull yesterday and reported that their vessel had been blown up by a mine, with the loss of two lives. The Leersum was on a voyage with a general cargo from Rotterdam to New- castle. Early on Saturday night they saw aheiad of them another steamer strike a mine and begin to sink. The Leersum was stopped, and the captain sent a boat to rescue the crew, but before the' boat could reach the sinking steamer she foun- dered. Directly afterwards the Leersum struck a mine. The fore part of the steamer was shattered. The Leersum's crew, except two, succeeded in getting into a lifeboat, but a Belgian refugee, who has signed on at Rotterdam as a fireman, was terrified and refused to leave the ship. A Dutch sailor was also drowned.

THE HODEIDA INCIDENT. Milan. December 30th.—Unlike the Le.timbro incident at Malta, which, was quickly settled in most amicable manner by the BritTsh and Italian Governments, that of Hodeida stiU hangs over in dangerous suspense. Turkish Government telegrams from Constantinople ordering the release of the.British Consul, and his delivery to the Italian authorities at Hodeida were transmitted by indirect route through the good offices of Italy, because Ottoman oommunications had broken down. The telegrams arrived at Hodeida five days ago; hut the official to whom they were addressed ieactuall-w at Sana, six dtiys* journey inland from Hodeida, hence aibout another week must elapse before the courier can arrive back at Hodeida, and the Sultan's mandate be executed- Should there be any further dilatori-, ness, however, Italy is reeolved to take stern meamrol j

,SOLDIER'S DEATH. I CORONER'S INQUIRY ADJOURNED. WAR OFFICE SANCTION WANTED FOR COUNSEL'S APPEARANCE. 1, ,I TO-DAY'S PROCEEDINGS. The inquiry was resumed h- Mr. J. C. Morris (Borough Coroner) a¡' the Guild- hall, Swansea, this afternoon, into the the of Enoch Daniel Dudley, a private in the 6th Welsh Regt., who resided at 14, Wellington-terrace, Gorseinon, the victim of the shooting affair iu Wind-street, Swansea, on Christmas Night. Mr. W. P. Smith watched the case for the police, Mr. Edward Harris for the widow of deceased, and Mr. W. H. Jones (Oxford-street) was foreman of the jury. Lieut. D. Harold Williams"und Sscond- Lieut. Strick, of the 6th Welsh Regt., were present, and a large number of wit- nesses, most of them Territorials, attended. Evidence of identification h/id previously been given by a brother-in-law, David John Williams, 13, Upper >iuie-street, who said deceased was 35 years of age and joined the Territorials at the outbreak of war. I Application for Adjournment. Second-Lieutenant Strick: I appear on behalf of the military authorities, and I am instruct ed i-) make application for an adjournment of this inquest, for a fort- night. The reason of my application is that before Sergeant H opper, who is in custody in connection with this matter, can bo legally represented, the leave of the War Office has to be obtained. The leave has been applied for, bnt has not yet en. obtamed. and it may be some days before it arrives. You will realise we are working under pressure, and as Sergeant Hopper might yjos^ibly be prejudiced hy any evidence that is given to-day it seem!; only fair th;:t he should be legally represented. I The Coroner: That is the replication. Usually, I object to adjournments unless they are absolutely necessary because that puts a number of jurymen who have business to attend to to great inconvenience, but we must rut up with that inoonvenienc*P~rt-{>;> ot giving a person who stands in a reryl serious position, an opportune- of taking every possible advantage f< defending himself again-! any charge oat might be brought. Personally, I think the ap- plication is a reasonable one, and ehould be granted. Mr. Smith, on behalf of the police, I offered no objection, neither did Mr. Ij Harris (for deceased's wife). I A Reasonable Adjournment. I The Coroner reiterated rhat in his opinion it was reasonable; Hopper stood I in a very serious position, and it was only fair he should have an opportunity of being represented. He understood that being on active service he had no right to engage a solicitor or counsel, neither could any or.e else do ro for him. Leave must; be given by the War Office, which named the representative to appear for him. He felt sure the jury would have no objection to the adjournment, al- though personally be had hoped to have been able to proceed with the inquiry on the following Monday. Eventually the inquiry was adjourned I until Thursday, January 14th, and the time was fixed for 1.30.

I THE JASON TOYS. DISTRIBUTION OF TOYS FROM U.S.A. TO SWANSEA CHILDREN. The distribution of toys brought over from America by the Jieon will take plam in the various wards as undti Alexandra. Ward, to-day (Thursday), at 3 o'clock, at the Public Library. ,I Brynmelin Ward, St. Mark's Schoolroom, at 11.30 on Thursday. Caatle and Ffynone Warde, St. James's Hall, Friday, at 3 o'clock. East Ward, Fabian's Bay Schoolroom, Friday, at 11.30 a.m. St. John's Ward, St. John's Parish Hall, Friday, at 11 o'clock. liandore Ward. Old Siloh Schoolroom, Friday, at 3 o'clock. Victoria Ward, Wycliffe. Clarence-street, Friday, at three o'clock. A committee of ladies will in each case attend to the distributions.

I ADMMAL JELLICOE"S GREETINGS I At a meeting of the Sheernv ss branch of the Sailors' Wires' Friendly Union last evening, Lady J enoe read a telegram ¡ from Admiral Jellicoe conve ring Christ- mas greetings to the gathering, good wishes for a happy New Year, and ex- pressing the great hope he hthat their husbands would be honia by nestt Christ- mas.

I MARTIZ AGAIN LEADS REBELS. Cape Town, Wednesday Evening.—The traitor Maritz has again tak.m the field. A despatch from Pretoria states that at the. head of a commamio 01 800 rebels, with four field guns and four maxims, and with Kemp as second ii. command, he attacked a loyalist force 480 strong, with two maxims, at a waterhoie aear Schnit Drift, on Decettker 2?nd. A vigorous resistance Was offered by the bulk of the force, but it had eventually to retire for a few miles. Then rein- forcenuants came utp, and a rttnning fight i was maintained, the repeated attempts of the rebels to outrank the loyalists being defeated. At sundown the rebels toll back to the waterhole. The loyalists lost OneJnar, kiTled and two wounded, ninety taken prisoners, and a maxim, 80,000 rounds of ammunition, an ambulance, aad twentj-six empty wagons.—Reuter,

INTERCESSION DAY. if C. D. LEADER" WILL NOT BE .I PUBLISHED- Since the commencement of the war the policy of the "Cambria Daily Leader" has been to issue special Sunday editions only when the war news have been of sufficient importance to justify that call upon people of the dis- trict. Next Sunday is to be ob- served as a Day of Interces- sion in the various churches throughout the land, and His Majesty the King has ex- pressed a wish that on that day employers will do their utmost to reduce Sunday labour as far as practical." In no circumstances, there- fore, will the "Cambria Daily Leader" Pe published next Sunday.

I THE TRUTH UNPLEASANT ? I According to the Berlin Yorwaerts," three Socialist newspapers in Bohemia and one in the Voralberg (Tyrol) have been suppressed by the Austrian police.-— I Exchange.

I DALMATIA HOSTACES. Venice, December 28th (received Decem- ber 30th).-A telegram from Zara (Dal- matia) states that the military authorities have arrested a number of the principal inhabitants and are detaining them as hostages. An official notice has been published stating that in the event of attacks being made against military trains or against military or State property, the perpetra- tors of which escape detection, the hostages will be held responsible and may be shot instantly.—Reuter.

j GERMANY'S RESERVES. i I Amsterdam, Dec. SO.-The journal "Bet Volk" ha.s am estimate of the German reserves. At the beginning of IVecember, exclusive of the IjaiKli?t-urm, there were in readiness the following men under arms:- I- Berlm .Tao.tMO Met* 80 000 Hamburg 60.000 Heidelberg 15000 Bremen ———. 30,000 Karlsruhe 60,000 Hanover 40,000 Straasburg KOM IhiesseLdorf —. 30,000 Freiburg 25,000 Cologne 60,000 fiffcutt^ant 60^000 Ooblens SO,000 Ulm 70,000 Wiesbaden 15,000 Munich 60,000 Mayenee 25,000 SnraSIer bodies wecre assembled a.t other provincial towns, making, in all, about & million men. There is in addition the class of fresh recruit*?, who number another inillion.- Beurter.

A SANDY DESERTI FIGHTING IN SOUTH I AFRICA. I PEMBROKE MAN'S EXPERIENCE WITH NATAL LIGHT HORSE. I I SMASHlNCMARITZ'S FORCE „ Mr. W. G. Roch, of Main-street, Pem- broke, has received a very interesting letter from his son, Mr. Jack Roch, who is at present serving in the Natal Light Horse. Mr. Roch was for six years at the London and Provincial Bank at Fish- guard, and was afterwards transferred to the head office at London. He remained in London for some time, and then took up a post in the National Bank of South Africa, stationed at Johannesburg. At the commencement of the war he imme- diately joined the. Natal Light Horse. Mr. Roch writes as follows:- We have some wounded leaving here to-day for civilisation, so I have a chance of getting a letter through. For the past six or seven weeks we have been chasing the fighting rebels in Bechuanaland to-i wards the G.S.W.A. border. We startedi after Maritz and got him at Kainos and'. Kakeinos, and drove him over the border after practically smashing his force and j taking a lot of prisoners, and collaring, most of his convoy and stores. From Kakeinos we were hurried back to Dro-! hoondra and from thence sent on trek. again after Kemp's force, to stop them crossing the Orange River. I A Terrific Fight. We have had a tremendous lot of hard i days and nights treking, and have been spending as much as 22 hours out of the 24 in the saddle. We got to this place (I i think it is called Winslead) just a couple of hours before the rebels took up a posi- tion at the drift. There were 500 of, us, and about 4 o'clock in the afternoon we were attacked by 1.600 of the rebels. We had a terrific fight, lasting about four hours. but we finally drove them off. We lost about seven men, but the enemy's losses were much greater. By Jove, it's an experience being under fire. The ballets were whistling and purging all round. The man next to me was shot in the throat and killed, and I had a bullet through the puggaree i of my helmet. But, thank God, I came I through it without a scratch. A Sandy Desert. I This is a simply awful country. Nothing but a saud> desert with no signi of life for miles and miles, and hours I to trek between water holes. I am quite it and well, but dirty and unkempt, as i wo all are, and looking forward to the I time when I shall be clean again, and be able to get a good square meal, and sleep in a bed instead of rolled in a blanket with my head in my saddle. We have no tents now, and sometimes don't get our boots off for a fortnight on end. War is a cruel thing, and I think that tho poor horses suffer more than any- one. They go on till they drop and die, and sometimes have to struggle on through the sand when they have had no (ood for two or three days. My old fel- low is still going well, though there are not many left of those we started with. • We hear that things are going much better in Europe, and hope it is so. and that the Germa-ns will soon be wiped out. We, of course, hear practically no news of the outside world."

LEWIS LENI GOS ) EMHC) FtM)B ? M?e GREAT ANNUAL Winter SALE COMMENCES TO-MORROW, Friday. A great event at which un. paralleled sacrifices are being made in all Departments. We still hold the reputation for VALUE. A visit to our Establishment toaurchase any of our numero rgains will prove a most ^plpfitable investment. yk 27,28,29, High Street, SWANSEA. A FRENCH OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE. Paris, Thursday. The following official comi:: 11 nique was issued this atternOMi From th-i eoa to the Aisne it was a 1 irtlo calmer yesterday. Th?re was an r "fiery dud at £ ome points cf the front. >, In Cilarnpaine, to the OWt't of the farm of Alger (north of the Pillory sec- tion of Rheims) th6 enemy View xp in the night time two of our trenches and delivered an attack 8g?inst them, which ■was repulsed. To the aerth of Mesnit-les-Hurles we have taken some tnmcb on the second ] i ne of tir6 enemy's defence. In tM samd region, to the north of tho farm of we have also taken come tranches. The enemy delivered a counter attaek which was repulsed, and we, resuming the offensive in our turn, gained some further ground. In the .same district, and more to tTo,e eastward, some German forces which were advancing itt orde rto deliver a .counter-attack, were caught by the fire of our artillery and dispersed. In the Argonne we have mado some slight progress toward Fontaine Madam by exploding a mine and occu- pying the excavations made by the ex- plosion. Between the Meuse and the Moselle, in the region of the Wood of Montmare, about 150 metres of German trenches have fallen into our hands. In tJpper Alsace our forces have entered Steinbach, and carried half the village hoV-e by house. New Isolation Hospital. Swansea Health Committee clecidcd to apply to Local Government Board for sanction, for a. loan of £3,100 for the gitw of the propoeed Isolation Hoepital on Hendrefoilan site, Skfetty. ?. if' M A L INS S EF [)Y PEPAI P S' S  SIW-A 2 4 0. rIl f o- r c S 2 6 ?Vat e