The Cambria Daily Leader

C'ysur Cc.rirc?ui '.rymru, Pan yn Llundaiv- BINGHAM HOTEL, 5. Southampton Buddings, HolLorr, London, W.C. (Opposite Chancery Lane Tube Station.) Most conveniently situated for Yis- tors, for Business, or Ploasnxa. Voider the Personal Supervision of Mr. and Mrs. J. N. LEWIS. Homely, Quiet, and Comfortable. Tarms Strictly Moderate Nigiit Porttr. Telegrams. "Aioovea. Loadon" PbI" ne- 522 Central -J

RUSSIAN VICTORY NEAR. I Bid BATTLE PENDING. ) !RETIREMENT A PRELIMINARY TO CREA T OFFENSIVE MOYtMtNT. NEAR RUMANIAN FRONTIER. The Enssian retirement ha? been com-j jdeted with great success and with com-j paratively trifling loss. It is pointed i 10 by a writer in a position to speak j i"with authority that Russian retirements, j with the one exception of Soldau, have ( always meant. imminent Rusrsiai^ vic-i torics. This has been the rule for thei past ?ix months, both on the European nd on the Asiatic, fronts. Thai, Iul", wlll shortly receive further dCIDOlli-tra-: bnn. t Thcap who know naturally do not ma?p ,puMic the factors of tha problem, which constitute Russia's miiitary secrets. But prh'ai?. ijuormation p-I ahiee one to penetrate SOIXIO little DIS-J tanee into military secrets which makoi I the fog of war. and personally, after srm- months of war rather like to! hear of a Russian retirement. t In North Poland. I Lo the north the Germans have now practically a.ba ndoned the movement to-1 wards the Niemen and are sharply 6fi- I (raged in battles both iu the moor land: norr.h of Augustovo Forest and on the! Osaowiec road. Throughout this eastern! region the Germans are believed To have only five or six corps, willen are operating separately in raids upon points -lif,re they hope to harass their ad- versarifts. This position is now muc.h lass serious; than the new developments in North; Poland- Here the Germans have moved! VEry great forces from Sicrpce southward) iinri irow --k eastward along the road towards Plonsk, where their head column is in lighting contact with! Russian cavalry moving north of Novo—j Georgiovsk. The enemy is graspir^g stubbornly at this position. pvidellhv; VI-itb. the aim (if seeking a base for an at-! tack north-west of Warsaw similar to their old entrenchments on the west i around the Bzura aDd the Lavka Their j fcfTort in the is impeded cnor- niously by the Narew River and the ia,-j Passable swamps on its right bank, butj fighting in the. bare country beyond! tl. roatens t. develop into great battles j engaging soma hundreds of thousands of | men. i'he energy of the new operations from Sierpcy is intensifying now that the Oormaii« have abaudoned their attempt at threatening Warsaw from the Niemen I Lines. Precautionary Measure. I Th Ramian retrczt behind the River 1'r'ith. ju BoJ?o?ica, was undertaken as' a measure of precaution, in \iew of tb8! expectation that in a few days the frostE; ?iti break, the ice on the rivers and i ftuirshofc will be melted, and the Pruthj and its neighbouring swamps will place1 a n almost impregnable barrier in thi-I vay of any further Austro-German ad-' Vance—or retreat. Watching a Battle. Writing from ilarmornitza (Rumanian frontier) on Thursday to the "Daily Mail," Mr. Baedl Clarke says a battalioni °t Austrian iiifautry arriyed (hw.-ar) i We at: two o'clock to- day. I I e-Arli-ei- in the morning a strong Ru.s=ian i fürce marching westwards. The Rus- f,jans are on the road skirting the Rumanian frontier by the side of the River I'ruth. An Austrian officer has bfl-maLly declared the occupation of CV.eijicYjtz Later: The Russian and Austrian! trcops are facing each other on the banks; oi the River I'ruth. I am now watching the opening of a battle from a bill at Marmornitea. The- Cossack cavalry wj exchanging shots with Austrian imant- on the Caernovitz road. The artillery is getting into jiosition. 1 cau see more troop- advancing. Young Russians are Replacing older reserve*. There are evidences that the linp. of the Pruth ifrver constitutes the new Russian front. The troops are knee deep in snow. Not Too Sure Yet. Amsterdam, Thursday.—An official warning has been issued in Berlin against1 tb- too hasty return of East Prussian! refugees to their hoanes. A now situation, the warning says, has been created by the, victorious battles in East Prussia, but; this does not warrant general return to all i paJ-ts of the province, as housing and) food supplies are not. yet sufficiently guaranteed. All municipal and Statel officials are urgently asked to return to I their former residences, but without their families. Russian Denial. Petrograd. Friday.—The General Staff 3riakm the following announcement:—The Austrian communiqp.es. falsely assert that during the last day? they bok 2f),?W pn50neTS. How far tht< invention is ?r?)w the truth may he ?ua?pd from tb I fad that the Al1strian announce that in our recent retreat in the Bukovina we lost 12,000 prisoners, whereas the totajj number of our effectives operating in the Bukovina were less than that number. I

i A SUPREME DISTINCTION. ] Paris, Fridav.—The French Govern- Eaent has decided to confer a military medal or Field-Marshal Sir John French. General LacroLx., formerly vire-jr,resi- dent of the Superior Council of War, has been designated to hand the insignia of I tins supreme distinction to Sir John. I

1 TIN HELD UP. I I Welsh tinplate manufacturers hare greatly inconvenienced through lack (X,. delivery of tin from London. This to a ,.rf-at extent is due to the congestion of traffic at the London Docks. However, there are indications that the pressure at the lAudon Docks is c«.dng, and tinplate manufacturers have better prospects of eecuiicg: dcliveriee.

MEAT FOR THE GOVERNMENT. I Wellington, February 19.—The New Zear land Government will comply with the Imperial Authorities' request tha-t all New Zealand's surplus of beef, mutton, and lamb bo reserved tor them. Every possible assistance is promised, but there is a «soarcity of ships with freez- ing aecomm odat ion.— Re a ter.

MYSTERIOUS FIND ON LINE. I Men repairing the road beneath Axwatcr Bridge on the main line of the South- W¡;(¡,n :Fail way: yesterday, found a metal box about, two inches square, appar- ent1y washed up hy the tlcod. The box contained poxvder which had a 1, f strong acid i;n(i at one end a fuse was attached. On the top of the box were the words, Nuraberg, Germany." The box, whwh W:b hork?n when found. was taken to the polico at Chard, who for- warded it to the War Ofnce.

flaCBAFT iN BRITISH COLOMBIA. I Victoria (B.C.), Fi\blry :?rl¡ch 'Œ I' eitemem and varied ?p?c?Iat.ion has been occasioned by the reporte<l flight of two aeroplanes oVar th. Kamiccps and nagan districts of British Columbia. The presence of the two lixachines was first re- ported to Lieutenant-Colonol Vicars, of the 102nd Regiment, and Major Wilson, of the 31st British Ooluailria Horse, by E. D. Galletly, from Galletly's Landing, Oka- nagan Lake. Corroborative reports were subsequently received from x other points within a radius of 1eo miles. The mysterious aeroplanes are allied to have been equipped with search-lights.—Router.

GERMAN lAtW MINES FAIl. I Capetown, Fridy.-SeN-pral mines ex- ploded at Swakopmund when the Union forces landed three weeks ago. They were fired by a. German who hid in a packing- case buried on the beach. The rase con- tamed a mat.trf? winc4 food, a telephone line communicating with tb?, twn, also a switch communicating witb the mines. When the first mine exploded a liorso I threw a trooper, who fell on the wire, i which he instantly cut, thereby saving the lives of a large number of Union tr00pS ,ho were formed up over the mines. The German escaped up a dry watercourse.

REGIMENT OF LANCERS CAPTURED. Petrograd, Friday.—A telegram from Vilna, a provinoe ??-.t of E;wt Prussia, reports rbat an pnnn" regiment of Ger- man Lancers, including the C(ID1ItHw<1pr I and his officers, which h3s h?'n M?ptui-fd has passed tJyough there on its way to the interior. This regiment, was recently re-formed n fter having suffered very severely from the Russian machine-gun fire when it. at- tacked in close formation. The prisoners say that, before, the fight they were ad- dressed by the Kaiser, who expressed the hope that the young In.ops would uphold the ancient traditions of the regiment.— Renter. I

HOT MADE IN GERMANY. I In the Chancery Division yesterday Mr. I "Homer, K.C., on bphalf of Sanrlow's j Cocoa and Chocolate (Jo., Ltd., moved to restrain Mr. F. Mo.se]ey, a Brighton grocer, from stating that plaintiff- goods wpre manufactured in Germany. Counsel stated that a very gross and cruel slander had been perpetrated on the plaintiffs. The defendant had told I plaintiffs' traveller they need no longer call upon him, as he would not stock their goo(b because they were made in Germany. The plaintiffs wrote inform- ing defendant that the goods ircre manu- factured at their factory nt Hayes, and by British labour, but notwithstanding this he had since refused to supply a1 customer. Mr. Chubb said defendant admitted that he was Tiiistaknn. apologised, and ex-! pressed regret, and was willing to submit, to a perpetual injunction and to pay the costs. This wps accepted by the plaintiffs. Mr. Jus' Sargant said that in the! present stare of public feeling a state- ment of this kind was a very serious I trade libel, and calculated to inflict the greatest hardship on nnvone with regard to r?bf>se business that statement was j, false!j- made*

JUMPED THE RAILS. I An accident occurred last. night on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. On the outskirts of Liverpool the rear carriage of a-a electric train jumped the points, and before the driver was able to pull up the permanent way wafy dam- agM for omç, distance, and the cables were twisted. Many p0rSDn8 in the carri- agB wore ?hrowc from their seats and badly shaken. Fortunately the other coaches kept the raIl s. rip main line, to South port was blocked, but it is expected traffic will be ] ^resumed to-day.*

GERMANS CAPTURE RUSSIAN TREASURY j Amsterdam, Saturday.—A Berlin tele-. gram to 3LIaasbaio suites the Germans have captured in East Prussia a military tieasurv of 250,000 roubles ( £ 25,000) from I the Russians.

ITALIAN'S SOCIALIST'S ATTITUDE. I Rome, Friday.—The Socialist Parlia- mentary Party has declared against inter- vention in the war.. M.?nor Modigliam said a reaction was Dotwable in the ranks I of the German Socialists.

RAID G» ZEBRUCGE. I Amsterdam, Friday.—The Sluis corre- spondent of the Tyd states that during the last British air raid one of the sub- marines in the harbour at Zeebrugge was I badly damagpi.-F-.euter.

I MAIN RAILWAY LIiE BLOCKED. I Important overnight expresses between Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Carlisle and London were delayed three hours this morning in consequence ?'f an accident to a goods train at Hincaster Junction, near Oxenholme. Several wagons left the rails, blocking both main lines, which were not put in i order for traffic again for some three' hours. The up-line expresses were kept i at Carlisle until the line was clcared. I

KAISER MAY GET JEALOUS. f Amsterdam, Friday.—Competent/ Gcr. man military critics expect that tfcej Kaiser, fearing General von Hindenburg's: increasing popularity alter repeated sue- ) cesses against the Russians, will shortly j send him to the western front. I Von Ilindeabnrg' r; popularity far ex- j :-eeds that of either the Kaiser or the Crown Prince, and the German people i regard him as their saviour.—Exchange! Special.

LANCASHIRE BOS SMASH. Forty passengers in an omnibus at Altringlnmi, near Accrington, Lancashire, had an alarming experience yesterday morning when the v<-bifle failed to take a curve and dashed into a wall with a .errific impact. I Passengers on top were shot over the wall into a field, and those inside were pinned by the stuashed woodwork. About 20 passengers, mostly colliers, were found to be suffering from injuries! which varied from fractured arms to minor bruises. All, however, suffered I from shock and were taken to the Accrington Hospital in milk carts. The driver of the omnibus was of the opinion that steering-gear snapped.

HUNS WANT TO GET DRY. I Amsterdam, Friday.— Hie Handels- blad learns from a Belgian source that on Wednesday night, in spite of bad weather, tho Germans again attacked Lombaertzyde. Embittered by the continual raids of British airmen, the Germans attempted to capture the place at all costs. At 11.30 a fierce bombardment was opened by the heavy German field artillery. Yesterday morning strong counter-at- ¡ tacks by the Allies' infantry silenced the German guns ftfr some hours, I-)u-I at noon the latter again opened fire. South of Ypres near Mes6ines, Neuve Eglise, Armentieres, and Fleurhain a fierce offensive was opened by the Britisn troops. Continued rains and the overflowing of the Yser and canals make it almost impossible to stay in the German j trenches, and this, the correspondent' ;.dYB, is the reason for the numerous at- i tacks by the Germans, who want to get I out of these water holes.

GENEVA FAVOURS ALLIES. I Geneva, and thai: means French Switzer- land, is strongly with tho Allies, for this city sets the fashion." By special permission of the Berne and Geneva military authorities, the opera Fille du I-Zegimenf was given on February 18th. with the famous French tenor, Fraiieoll, in the leading role. As it was a question of Swiss neutrality, he had to modify his songs and change the words of the historic versas. He did his best, b it when he sang tbp French fighting song of Sambre et Meuse" he was recalled six times, the a house seaming to have lost its head, j It was known that Francell had t;) leave for the front next day as an ordinary pioupiou. j He received as many Sobers 't) thl! stage as a prima donna, but. in the of the enthusiasm Pn!!I1 looked Ré:d. Perhaps he will never sing again.

Petitions praying to be heard hêfore i the Committee have been lodged in the Private 13ill Office of the House of Lords against tS)<% following local Bill:—Eastern Valleys (Mon.) Joint Sewerage Bnav.l Bill. I opposed by Edward Steer, Sir Clifford i .Cory, and Matilda Ford, l

NEUTRAL VESSEL TORPEDOED. SHIP SAVED. GERMAN ADMIRAL WARNS HIS PEOPLE NOT TO EXPECT TOO MiiSH. NOT A REAL BLOCKADE. The German pirartes L ^ve eede-1 ">n torpedoing two ireioiianl siips—one a captured vessel, flying the French flag, the other belonging to a neutral nation. In neither case did hey achieve their real object, that of sinking the ships, botii being brought safely into port. The neutral vessel was the Norwegian oil-tajxk steamship Beiridge, a vessel of 7,000 tons owned by 31t~ers. Wilholnjeen, of Ton--b,-rg. which was paaaing up th Channel | on a voyage from New Orleans tb Amsterdam with petrol, when it was struck either by a torpedo or n rpiiic at about I.la on Friday morning. ? loud explosion shoop the ve.^ei, and a huge volume of water was thrown up, while a ruetal splinter was found on the deck. The vessel began to hl.1 10 the fore part where she had been stiml, find to oinkj by the head. Fearing that si e mi;;b.. founder, the pilot, oiffcers, and crew took to the boats. The pilot and seventeen ■ cxt the men were in the lifeboat. They < were caught by the wind. whi<*h wis blowing strongly from the west, and the bockt drifted towards the Downs. Brought their Ship In. The captain, mate, a.nd the remainder of the crew, who were in the other two boats, stood by the Beiridge <t.nd, on a^c-Ar- taming that she was not likely to sink, j tner returned to the vessel, which made for the Downs at Deal, which -were reached at about seven o'clock. Later on the boat containing: the pilot a,nd seventeen uf the crew also rea/died the I)own<s, and the occupa.n*?-, were rescued by an Amrrican tank Jifceamor anchored there. They eventually reached their own ship. On examination it was found that the Beiridge had her fore peak full of wafer. but all the tanks which contained petrol were tight. Temporary repairs were made, and ?hc \el will be tahu to Thames- ha-en. Captin Olsen is in charge oi?he h,a,vn. 01-n i, .iii charg(, )i,the carrias -? crenr of A Captured Steamer. ibe steamer Dinora h, which tor- pedoed twenty runes off Orioiv dur- • mg the night of the 17th-13th. entered, the port of Dieppe yesterday afternoon. The Dinorah was the iargo steamer ca ptured it tbe outbreak of hostilities, and ..ms pl-. illJ uudol- the Trench £ a.<j for Govern-' rcent purposes. She was: prfoMifhas Dunkirk, when --he wa.s struck below tbe, water line, the torpedo u.ta.king a hO]f1 about ten feot in extent. She had a slight list, but did not sink own? to her water- tight compartments bfmg cl.'jse^L A French destroyer a^-sred the steamer to DiepiK-. Extensive repairs are needed. Not a Real Blockade. All the firman pn?rs p-int ?g ar-?ks on the ?hm.u-me blockade/' but Adnaral Yon Tnppel, writing in D?r Tag," clearly warns his countrymen that no real blockade, according -to sea law, been set up. Hp adds d isanpoijitedly: 1 looked upon the possibility that neufcra's would in time so suffer tinder the British; supremacy at sea that they would at Last, j in their own interests, help the blockade directly or indirectly. This hope of a world's blockade of England has not been realised. England's feeling of insular unreach- a blen&ss must be shaken in every possihle way. She must be made to feel our in- i fiuence in her mud banks and on her high waterways. If the insular kingdom is cut off from imports and exports, then as .?ivp r?-.?ts wH! have teen ;¡Uained as );- an invasion or the Srir-? of LoDd<n' dr?ke and City bv Zeppelins~projects that mu?t not be stopped by the new plan."

WOUNDED THREE TIMES. Sergeant Singer, of the Royal Fusiliers. who had previously been wounded on two occasions, now lies in hospital for the i t.hird time in Leicester. Sergeant ')in-er is a Carmarthen man, his family livin" fat 15, Carn brian-pla.ce. I

RUSSIA'S n?PERAWE ZEAL. Pertrogi-ad, Friday.—'Hie Ministry of Finance is organising T) competition, with prizes tanging up to i'3.000, for methods of rendering methv- • spirits and similar harmful liquors absolutely undrinkable. A second com- petition is being arranged with p rjzfl", value up to = £ 7,500 for ue^ or improved methods of utilising spirit for com- buslible or other purposes. The tofal awards will amount to noarly RGS,ooo,

n I BLOCKADERS AGAIN OUTWITTED. i Captain Propert and the crew of the Laertes, who escaped from a German sub- marine recently on a voyage to Yimtiden, have again made the Carman b/VK^s look fool ti. They brought the T^erte,, act- •v.tcvw the North Sea on Thursday, tbe b rsr day oj the blockade," reached the 1 neighbourhood of Southend on Thumiay evening, and later left for another destin?- tion

FOR PUBliC SERVICES. It is estimated that a. vote on acroujt nm<>untiiig to £ 23,^3,iX)0 will be required 1!4!f;. the civil services, which, with f-, tor Customs and Excise, £ iW,<Kirt for: Inland Revenue, and £ 11..>00,000 for Post Office, gives a total of £ 36.SD3.ftrtO wanted for the C'vil Services and l.'evr-nue J)cp. ni"nts. The sum taken, it if ,wph.ined in n note in t jie White gi\ing 'hesr- figures, represents a prr.vi'iiuu tor bevween [ M,,000,000 and

WAGE EARNERS' CLAIMS. 0. i SWANSEA DOCKERS 19 MCtOE UPON A! I POLICY. i I I SHIPBUILDING DISPUTE OVER. I The Port of London A uthority's offer of ¡ 3s. per week advance in wages as a war bonus for all dock labourers was an- nounced in yesterday's Cambria Daiiy Leader." The offer haD been considered I by the officials of the Dockere Union, but no statement as to the result their deliberations was issued. While in ofii' ial re union farmed • i l. a news azeucv that !nt,. offer is .nel meanest thai has ever yet been made by any port authority," the same agency j s.,iys that apparently tic offer is proving j satÜlactoQo to the men. j Swsa^a Claims. The position at Swansea will be fully j discussed at a private meeting of the dockers at their hall to-morrow. The whole qiiestion of increa^s tws beea j engaging the attention of several oom. 1 cnittws appointed by the Exe.-iji.ive,, 3.nd « compiled. About 1,800 dock wor kers, it said, will ask for ah>>ut. -V) per ezut. increase, W9 Corporation employes in-1 cruises of .)5. per week, viz., from 26s. and 2Ss. ror week to Cls. and 3:J, ;nd. 400! hauliers 5t;i. per week, vis., from 27s. to 32s. Tbe total increases asked by the Swansea members of the Union j would a-raonnt to about ^1,500 per week adneti ro the wage, bill. There are reasons for beiienring these claims will be j rt. This is only part: of a general movement by the Dockers' rniOI1 for an advance ill wag-f\ to members on account the war- On the whole, t.he employers have met the men's representatives in 8 very g'jnfv. tons manner, it being realised that the, higher of food and the necessaries j of life justified the, claims put forward, I Railwaymsn's Advancf. The agiBtion by the c-hepmen cf the various railways for consideratitai has. resulted in an all-round advance of wages, as distinct from botlTI, At Swan- -ea this represents a weekly increase of Js. for shopmen, for toys and apprentices, and 5 per cent, for pioce worker At a conference representative of all the unions of skilled labourers employed in, British railway shops, held at. Newcastle yesterday, it was decided to ask all the railway companies for an imIùooiat; advance of o*. per w.y>k. Shipbuilding Dispute Over. i he Shipbuilding and Engineering! Trades Federation at Newcastle yeat«;• day received a report from the Emer- gency Committee regarding the eojiier- ence iu Lcudon between tiip representa- the" of the Shipyards Standing Coin- mittee aud the Government Committee to consider Admiralty work. The confer- ence's recommendations were agrer-d to. j and it W:;5 r^oh-ed that ail facilities be given to the Government for hurrying Admiralty work, compatible with the in-1 terests cf the Trade TTr.ions.

I MELSHCRYTHAN FIRE. A fire broke out. last night at Salter"f j Yard, Molincrythan, near Neath, result-; ing in the destruction of a motor car and a stock of mouldings. Sergt. Michael: and a few volunteers succ^^eded in ex- tinguishing the lfames before they could t"pj'('ad rllrt P:. Mr. aud Mrs. Salter were away fron: home at the time, and they only heard J of the outbreak upon thfir rotura thk morning. j

¡ m?ES IN FLOOD. Following fifteen rainfall on j Wednesday and Thursday, and another j heavy fall yesu.rday, many stretches of! the Thames i.e Thc-isands | of acres of land in the valley are sub- j merged, and pome roads a/e impae&xblie.' j There was a rise of nearly th ree iuchi« > yesterday at Chert*??, where the rtvef ie 5ft. loin. ahoTf the summer kwel, and within seven inches or the. highest tigurej; recorded in -Tanuarv. The nveiv Mrde «nd i Avev have overflowed their bunks, the Wfr. creating a big lake at OW Woking.

f SALARY OF BANKRUPT M.F. i At the Bankruptcy Court, Dublin, yesterday Mr. Justice Itoyd delivered judg- ment on the motion nixie by the pe&tico.- in creditors to appropriate £ 4dQ per annum received by Mr. Kichard H'azeltoui i •if a menitx i' of the Hou-e of Couunon* fix! Judge -said that be of rpititoll lb sit the salary to which the bankrupt was | entitled was salary or income witlua t.h" | p? T-ision^ of the Dish Bankruptcy acd j Insolvent ACT, 1S57, ajM? tb? Bankruptcy j Irda:Jd (.Amendment.! Act, 1872. and that he was bound to make "an order of ojvprjv pritstioo for the benefit of bankrupti crc^litors. Tie would make au order thoi .£200 a yea r of the ^L' tOO should be pi id to Cue official assignee bo applied by hiu; in dischargft of d elv due by bankrupt.

PLASMARL CHILD'S FATAL SCALDS. I The Borough Coroner. Mr. J- C. Morrie. held an mquost at Swansea on Saturday nvrrning the body of John Avoxy rf'ignes. the ;)1 yeais old child of Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Hughes, of Za., Jdris-tenaoe, Plasmarl, who already reported in the H Leader ") died on Wednesday evening at Swansea Hospital. Mjr? 1-i??hfs At?t?d that t?p httL& tx>r TO reat t?6 f?re, c? ?--bj-h a saucepan of water wa? b?UT)?- There vas a lireg'xard before tbe lire. Wifnesfs turned, and -ras • just in time to see deceased pull the sauco- i pan or ever himself. He t;,jcer to tb", Swansea Hospital soon after, in the naotoi' am buJADee, Dr. Gabe '-tatvd that the little boy wa,.Ll sufferiiig from scalds on the neck, chest, abdomen nnd right thigh. He died nt, p.m. th, same evening. In witness's | opinion death was due to shock con so- j r oent. upon scalds. Th-i jury rctnrufd a verdict a^ord-1 ingly, and expressed sympathy with the [ deccaaed's parents. i

FINAL • HEAVY LOS?E?. 7 -;nl- Paris, &Td:ly.-The Fr?Dch cSri?? -??T-cmci?e, i?ened 'hn; ait* rnrc: -? 'cd toll?'<?: Ir B?g?cra, 'L? ,?: ?ni- barded SitmpOTt..B(>i, and the due, Their battvries were effectv.Tly checiroc by OTirs. The Germans appear to havt- engaged important forces in the a" k directed yesterday agsmst tro-nchcs -o ihe OOort of Tpres. Aftei an Vimnardmea i jf inr positions, thej attacked with the baronc. b-r¡+ were repulsed, and our artilier., caugtt under nre the re&er.-as intended to supi»oi'i the German attars. The Corman 1 were very nigh. from the Lys to tii& Oíse, and on the Aisne, and in the region of .Berr:y-au-Ba,> thHe .t-reat activity on *he par: of tie artillery. It is ccnfirmed that 'he enei^r's G- in Champagne in the cc.-TJrs? of the few dsys have been ocnsiderjih'^ and according to stat»mep.tf. by prisoners, a battalion vas r.ri,i. in its entirety. On the heights of tho M,euse, 3.t the end of th<s drynrt e ye. terd.Ty, the eneary deliT ercd agsir.st tho trenches which w« ec;p*"ir?d t Lesv- carges a fourth -onr'ter- itt-afk. which was thwarted, like 'he three rreceding ones, by the fire if :IVLT -rfillery. In the VoEgpes, the ettiemy continue-d. with- out eucc^pfe, tie crranter-ai*<ic.k on rhs Hill 307, sonth of Luis-s. Half-tlm* Sotrrej v'" SWANSEA TOWN—Nil, SEADIXG—Nil. C I AttacK on fiai-dandilas. i Allied Wa.rShir6 YE3t C! day attacked tbs forts :f the Dardanelles, doing con- siderable damage. Attack renewed this morning. A L- (

THREAT OF FAMINE. I ————— ——-— GERMAN CITIES ECONOMISING FOOD I SUPPUES. I 1 I t AUSTRIA'S PARLOUS STRAITS I I I Washington, February 13th.—Confi- dential advices received by the Washing- ton Governmeut from American diplo- matic and Consular representatives in Germany and A us ria permit little room to doubt that the conditions in Germany and Austria are almost as bad as those in Poland and Belgium, according to a Washington dispatch to the \e"! York World." The state of affairs is worse in Austria than in Germany. Oui side of Vienna and Buda-Test. it is said, the drain on the local supplies of foodstuffs necessary to m ain t'lin i he armies has been so steady II for the la6t four months that starvation is reported to confront hundreds of thousands. In Germany, the conditions are better, owing to the precautions taken, by the l (xovwrnment to conserve food supplies, but even in districts of the German Empire remote from large cities there 15 i reported to be a steady and constant decrease of the necessities of life that cannot be replaced except from outside sources now closed." In the chief German cities local plans for economising foodstllffs have prevented actual privation, though compelling the most rigid economy, but, as in the case of Austria, the conditions in the rural communities ox Germany are described by I the authors of the reports sent here to be bordering close on starvation."

ZEPPELINS ARE I USELESS. —————— < DANISH AVIATOR'S VIEW LOSS Of L4 OFFICIALLY' ADMITTED IN I GERMANY. BERlINS BAD "CAY." It now appears that the second German airship lost on the west coast of Denmark was L4, a Schut:te-Iy«n«, one of the most recently constructed. She was returning' south when the ran into bad weatiier, j first meeting with fog and then heavy j storms of sleet and enow. Two of her motors failed, and the great airship be- 1 coming unmanageable, the crew tlecide-d to abandon her. When near land and over the surf at! Boersmose, noar Blaavand, on the west coatit 01 Jutiajid, the men jumped from | the airship. Two othcere and nine petty officers and men landed safely, but one mall who delayed taking the plunge tell from a considerable heignt and broke both legs. There is no news so far of the other four men, who were either drowned or carried away m the airthip which, as soon as it was relieved of the weight of the crew ascended and disappeared seawards. I Those ox thr crew who landed safely made their way to the coastguard station, carrying their wounded comrade with them. Zeppelins Useless. I As far as I can ascertain (wires the Copenhagen correspondent of the Ex- change Telegraph Company) the Zeppe- lins in the North Sea had orders to inspect fhips. Berlin telegrams report; that such inspections took place in two instances, ono being near liaaks Light- house. In this case the Zeppelin came close down to the Dutch steamer Helena, but on seeing the Dutch flag it ascended again. Danish meteorologists are of opinion that Germany's operations are greatly j handicapped because the British weather j report;, are no longer availahle. I had an interview with a famous i Danish flying man named Alfred Nervoe, who was the first to fly over Copenhagen. He said: "Zeppelins are useless, and there is nothing surprising in the disaster. The German admiration for everything gigantic alone has permitted the building I of these airships to continued, although the best German airmen have for a long tim", rc-all ced that the a-croplane is the better. England has been wise in not wasting time and money on the Zeppelin type of airship, but, nevertheless, we are I all surprised at her great aerial work. Not Worth the Risk. I don't believe that any importance need be attached to s Zeppelin attack en England, because Zeppelinr* caunot go far enough from their sheds. An attempt will only be successful in one case out of a hundred. The results achieved are in no way commenp-u^wte with the risks run. Why," It- t on, these two Zopjte- i (ins which were lost, over the North Sea cost over 1.000.000 marks. Zeppelins have proved their value in outpost work, but over water and in misty weather the danger is exceedingly great. The fall of ono miFTnetrc of water alone would mean n-> additional wpight of 4.000 kilograms] flour tons), thus compelling the airslipi to land. ;?nd one shot from a modern British machine gun would, by piercing i the envelope, mako a safe return from such a lor j journey aD impossibility." Sighted at Sea. Christiania, Thursday.-Thc Norwegian rteamer Alonso. which arrived yesterday j from Christiansand after a vorv etormv 'jassage from Fahnonth. reports that when fifteen miles south of Oxoe Lighthouse she sighted a 1arg" airship apparently drifting northwards and evidently hadly damaged. as it was flying very low and at times skimmed the crest of the waves. While this may have been a third Zeppelin in distress, it is thought here that it was the airshit) T.4, which was driven down off Plaavand. A Norfolk Raider. I ('.open b Fr d-,ty.-Tbe L4 took part in the raid in Norfolk on January 19. The crew declare that +he airship was not damaged, hut that the snow weighed it down so ran eh that it was un navigable, I and to remain in it would have meant I ccrtain death.—Reuter. Berlin's Bad News. I .■Wording to a special telegram received) from Berlin, an official message has been I sent out. admitting the loss of two Zeppe- liu in Denmark. This message, being issued on Feh. lB, is creating a partieu-I larly hnd impression, as it is the first, news ?i<h r?ard to the anxiously awaited British, }}l(}(:k;dt\.H I Th? TA j" GPI"many's lat ZeppeJin. She was built lant. year, and is of 30.000: cubic metres capacity and 165 metres Ion; She has four Daimler motors, each of 2101 horse-power. Unlucky Dirigibles. I Amsterdam, Saturday.—Referring to the Berlin telegram confirming the destruc- vinu of the dirigibles L3 and L4, the Ni^uws Van Dor Da? says that the German Admiralty must now be deprived of all its dirigibles of the L class. LI, L2, and 1.3 were of the Zeppelin, and L4 of the ¡ Sc"btnette-I.anz type. LI met with com- plete disaster in the North Sea in 1913, and 1.? was cotrnle+elv burned at a height I of MO feet at Jo?annisthaL At i,be be?iDning of tbe war. tbf Ger- mans Dad. a? far R6 is known, 15 dirigibles I at her disposal.

STRUCK A mm. ANOTHa NORWEGIAN VESSEL LOST TO-DAY. I CREW SAVED. Another neutral vessel has been sunk by mines, Norway again suffering. A Reuter's message from Copenhagen this afternoon says that according to news received from Makstow tho Norwegian steamer Bjoevke, from Leith to Makstow, with coal, struck n mine this morning and foundered. All tb -rew y, h: e saved. This i; .,ae ,¡j Norwegian shir* lost in two days. ¡

BRITISH STEAMER ASHORE. I Lloyd's Tabang menage says the I British steamer Irish Monarch, froiu I! Vladivostock, went ashore yesterday1 evening. Dutch men-of-war are trying to! tow her off.