The Cambria Daily Leader

THE LATEST RUSSIAN I PUZZLE. The British correspondents who still remain at Petrcgrad confess themselves t-o be as men groping in in the dark. The maze of Russian revolutionary politics is too dense to be pierced, it has too many dead ends for explorers to be sanguine about reaching the heart of- 't. f Bussia, to-day, says cue, is ao.j man's land. It it? no longer a state. Dr. Harold Williams gives us a i glimpse at the tension under whien t British writers labour in the city j when he laconic all v rernarks that i,s just as well not to have nerves in [ Petrograd now. and that a vivid imagination might see gf inning imp? and gibbering ghouls at every corner. Paris in the days before the Terror broke must have been as Petrograd to-day. And where the correspondents | differ so radically in their estimates of the eituat-iou we cannot afford to be positive in this country. Tho German!?, says one. are now secur- ing for the t-' long future an easy j walk-over in the more lasting; and deadly conquests of economic pressure. Germany, says another, 1. has cause to fear peace with Russia more than war. And now we hear the v.,)ice of Trotsky- accused by some of being a paid German agent—denouncing ill scathing terms the German hypo- critical peace." It may be but ap.1 astute move in the great game of make-belief; but a theory advanced by still another of the correspon dents in the Russian capital seems more reasonable. Mr. Arthur Ransome puts for- ward a view that upsets a good many other expositions of the situa- tion, If the Central Powers were honest in professing the formula of "no annexations" and admitting the doctrine of self-determina- tion," they would have to with- draw their troops from the pro- vinces of Courland and Lithuania, and to permit the population to de- cide their destinv without the pres- sure of an armed occupation. Cor- respondingly, if the Bolshevists were honest in standing on these formulas, they would have to de mand and accept nothing less than the evacuation of these provinces as well as the similar treatment of Poland. Any shirking of this i$t¡¡u, any disposition to accept a pre- tended compromifio which would leave these territories in the occu- pation of the enemy, would raise a strong presumption that the Bol- shevists were either the dupes or the agents of the Central Powers. And Mr. Ransome declares that the Russians are standing firmly tll their position and have suspended the negotiations rather than con I sent to the evasioa proposed by the enemy. They jeered at the Ger mans and asked them what they proposed to do. Tliey asked whether I they proposed to take Petrograd feed three million starving people, and disarm a revolutionary country where every workman had a rifle. They asked also what they pro- posed to say to their own demo- cracy, whieh. protested a couple of months ago against the proposed annexation of Poland and Lithu- aui a, This bold inversion of the accet) ted military tests, this attempt to Lorn the weakness of Russia into Iller strength, is, in the words of the Westminster Gazette," stunning and mystifying to all Real-poli ticians. With one accord they pro nounce it to be either increaibb folly or black treachery. We may nevertheless make a very serious mistake declares our contemporary, if we dismiss it as unworthy of credence or understanding. After all that has happened, Lenin and Trotsky are still, it appears, con- vinced that Russia is the intangibla, as M. Jules Cambon said in August 1914, and they believe in their final ability to blanket their enemy b) the same masterly inactivity as baffled Napoleon in 18J2. Let him I come on if he will, let him see what he can do in the vast entanglement I of a great country in revolution, with starving towns and millions of desperate men with rifles in their hands. Let him see if he can get what he wants, the separate peace, the trade, the food supplies, which alone make any negotiations worth while. It is just the situation which the professional militarist most dis lities, and fears. I-le. uladerstanis organised armies, battles according, to plan, even trench warfare, but to advance lvto a vast unorganised country with a million ambushes and no point of attack or settled ob jeetive, is against all the rules and instincts of warfare as understood in Berlin. Trotsky, therefore, has only to keep asking What do you propose to do?" to win his point. and to win it, in his opinion, far more effectively than if he had au inferior army which could be met and beaten in the field. This is Mr. Ransome's theory, and he as- sumes that the sequel will estab lish beyond doubt the honesty of the purpose of the Bolshevists."

ALLOTMENT LAW. I I I Position of Trespassers and Thieves. Some allotment-holders are drastically protected against trespassers; others, who belong to the pre-war cultivators. arc not. Steps have been taken to remedy thif very serious defect. A Press representa- tive learned on Thursdav night that the Regulation under the Defence of the Realm Act which makes it an offence, in the case of allotments under that Act, to trespass on or damage the holding, waj on Thursday amended The regulation will now apply to all allotments and field gardens," as they are termed in Scotland, whether they were provided under the Defence of the Realm Act or prior to its enactment. Every allotment-holder and cultivator of a field garden should therefore be care- ful to poet up conspicuously a notice that:- This land is an allotment or field garden on which there are growing crops. and any person who, without lawful authority, enters or remains on this land. nr damages any growing crops or hedges or fences, will he guilty of an offence against the Defence of the Realm Act. and will be liable to a fine of £100. with or without imprisonment." It will be seen that the amended Regu lation protects every allotment made prior to the war. VALLEY PLOTS. I At Pontardawe Council on Thursday, Mr. W. T. Jones, J.P., presiding, Mr. Herbert Gibbon (vice-chairman) reported that as the result. of an interview with Supt. Letheren, it had been agreed to lave street lamp;, lit in .tumi»er •f dangerous parts at Clydach, Cwmtwreh, i»nd Yt-taly Mr. L. W. Francis thought they as a Council should adopt a more aggressive policy in regard to securing land for allot- j mente. Mr. Dd. Jenkins said that Clydach had c1 tie well in regard to allotments during 1917, whilst even at present there were 45 applications for allotmeiit6 there. The Clerk (Mr. Wyndham Lewis) said that when there were genuine applications for allotments they were corooelled find the land i.-I the D«iorde.

?Pi S T1 1'4 L I 8[lO¡ILl StHSATIJAL DISCLOSURES IN hEPOBT Pitris.-There are sensational disclosures 1 in the report of Captain Bouchardon, the examining military ma?istrate? concern- ) ing the Bolo affair. Included in the re- port are 4,000 documents. A hundred wit- nesses were heard during the inquiq". but only twenty will be called before the Court Martial which will try Bolo and I Porchere next mouth. The report is (divided into three parts The first concerns Bolo's dealings with 'Jermauy through the ex-Khedive of lgypt, whom he first met in Paris in 1914 In the following year Bolo saw Saddik Pasha, a Minister of the ex-Khedive's --ii-iil list, at Rome and, it is alleged, pro- posed that if the Khedive could obtain Ji2.000.000 from Germany he would pre- pare public opinion in France for a franco-German accord through the help of the French Press. There were further interviews at Geneva and Zurich, where "n March 15. 1915. the ex-Kheclive, Bolo, Caval'iiii. and Erzbcrger, the Reichstag Deputy, are alleged to have conferred. It is said that the negotiations were momentarily broken off in consequence of trouble over sharing the diverge com- missions from the first bujus received frum Germany. The second part concerns Bolo and the "Journal" newspaper and transactions in America. thanks to which, it is stated, Bolo obtained £ 400.000 from the Deutsche Bank. The third part deals with the employ- ment of Sums received by Bola-in Swit- zerland and America and the amount which he is said to have reserved for him- self by way of commission.

SCROLL OF FAME. t Casualty Lists of Welsh I Regiments. The regiments of Wales had two officers and 331 men in Thursday's official cas- ualty lists. Fortunately, however, the cumber of killed and died of wounds is eniy 21, the majority being reported wounded. MANSEl. TON OFFICER HONOURED. I At an Investiture held at Buckingham Palaoe on Wednesday, gee.-lieut. Joseph Dunn, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, eon oi Mr. and Mn. Dunn, £ Igin-«treet, Manselton, Swansea, wo3 presented with the Military Cioss by his Majesty the King. Lieut, Dun is a, popular Swansea boy. having been actively connected with several local musnical organisations. GUNSHOT IN HEAD* I Mrs. Walter Chappell, 29, Cecil-?troet, Manselton, has reooivod official notifica- tion that her husband, Riflema-* W. L. Chappell, of the Queen's Westminster Rifles, was wounded on December 8th. in Palestine. He is differing from a gun- shot wound in the head. Previous to en- tiftmept he was employed at Port Talbot. SHELL SHOCK. I Mr. and Mrs. Daniel John. Windsor- te-irace, Fforestfach, have been apprised of the fact that their second on, Pte. DI. Ivor John is lying in Chester Hospital in consequence of shell shock. PONTARDULAtS MAN'S SACRIFICE. Deftailc, are now to hand concerning the fata of Mr. Joseph Harrop Griffiths, Bron- deg, Pontardulais, end grandson of the lata Mr. Joseph Harrop. the well-known West Wales iron founder. Mr. Griffiths wa« serving ag second engineer-his first voyage in that capacity—on a ship which vas torpedoed 40 miles froty. laid. He and others had got off in a boat, when he raw hie chief struggling in the water. The boat was brought to, and was im- mediately ptruck by anot-Iter torpedo. Clriffiths and his friends lost their lives. but the "chief" lives to tell the tale. CASUALTY. I Wounded: I Owen, Lieut. A. G. J., Welsh Regt.

FORESEEING FUTURE. I Clairvoyant's Story at the I Quarter Sessions. At the Qaartey Sessions on Friday, Kato Harward (28), pleaded not guilty to a. charge of stealing one lady's coney seal co«t, the property of Mrs. Georgina "literoft, at High-street, Swansea, on De- cember 15th, 191.7. Mr. IL Samuel (in- structed by Mr. Rupert Lewis) appeared t,) prosecute aucl Mr. Clem E-dwards, M.P. f:t t the remiest of the Reeorrler* defended. FORESEEING THE FUTURE. I Prosecutrix, who is the wife of a dentist, -aid she missed the coat from her hus- band's surgery.—Mrs. Ellen Davios, 21, Brook-street, said that prisoner came to hor wearing the coat, and asked permis- sion to leave it there but witness refused In replv to Mr. Clem Edwards, witness said she had been given the power of fore- sight. Mr. Edwards: As a matter of fact, a good many people believe in your power of foresight ?-Ye5, sir. And a good many go to consult you on the subject?--Now and again. It was known to Mrs Hayward that yo, were what you call a clairvoyant, but a hat <>r;finary people call a fortune teller? -It ie known this twenty years through J the town. Mr. Edwards pre-,sed for an answer. Witness denied that she had invented her evidence as a result of Mrs. Hay- ward's threat to tell the police about her fortune-telling. Mr. Ed wards: Is this gift of your such that you ,can exercise it at any time on any day?—No, tir. I' Witness proceeded to explain her method of clairvoyancy. She had to hold the subject by the left hand, and when ebe did that she was able to foresee any trouble that might come to that subject in the future. Mr. Edwards: When you are in this itage you are not oonscious of what is ffoing on around you?—Partly When you come back from this great state of mental and spiritual absorption to the every day kind of life, are you fully aware of precisely what you have seen in your CIUirV*FanCY, Oh, yes. Defendant, in the witness box. said she lived at Ystradgynlais, and was the wife I of it soldier in the R.G.A. now on active service. The coat, she said, was bought by her in the etreet from a strange woman. I After half an hour's deliberation in pri- vate the jury returned a verdict of not I guilty of stealing, but guilty of receiving. Town Clerk: Well knowing it to have been stolen? I Foreman: No. The Recorder: Then it i« a verdict of not guilty. The Recorder, in discharging prisoner, said: It is my duty to tell you-I don't often take thi* course—!but you know vhat took place tit Ys-itrad^lais Police Court. You are » very fortunate and itlcky woman and I Warn you that you may not be so lucky again. You are the wife of a soldier and the mother of five cl-ildren, and I tell lou that you arc run- ning a considerable risk. Now you can go"

COMMERCE OF THE DAY. I TsTTTTEB MARKET. Cork. Friday.—No officii! prices. UPTON'S T/rn ?,' 'í'turim dividend warrants have! »

OUR PROGRESS. OUR PR.OGRESS.¡ Lines Slightly Advanced I SOUTH OF LENS, I TO-DAY'S BRITISH OFFICIAL. 1, France, 10.85 a.m. Local fighting took place yesterday evening on the Cambrai front in .the neighbourhood of the Cannl Du Nord, without producing any material change in the situation. We have advanced our lines slightly during the night south of Lens. There has been some hostile acti vity during the night in the Bullecourt sector, and also in the Ypres sector. CAMBRAI REPORT. I The report of the inquiry conducted by I Sir Douglas Haig and Lord Derby into the causes of the reverse at Cambrai j which aJmôst neutralised the hriHiant victory of Sir Julian Byng has been com- pleted. This regrettable incident has already involved the retirement of several I officers who occupied responsible posi- tions.—" Daily Chronicle." BRITISH NIGHT REPORT. I Enemy Raids Defeated on Thursday. I Early on Thursday morning the enemy f attempted to raid one of our posic, east of Epohy, but was driven off by maclune-gun fire before reaching our positions. Hostile artillery has shown increased activity during the day south-west and west of Cambrai, and has also been active at a number of points alorg our front from ecoth of Leas to Armentieres and in the I neighbourhood of Zonnebeke fast of Ypm). A thick mist yesterday greatly hin- dered the work of our aeroplanes, but during the night a few bombs were dropped by as or Carvin (north-east of Lens) in spite of very bad weather. One hostile machine was brought down in air fighting. FRENCH NIGHT REPORT. I rs,vening.-Interm.ittent artillery acti- vity t some points most lively in the region of Fosse Wood, Thiaumont and Louvenjont (north of Verdun). This morning, north-east of the fort of La Pom- jelle (north-west of Rheim6) we made a raid which enabled us to bring back some prirvonam. FRATERNISERS REPELLED. I How British Received German Overtores. j Oq the morning of New Year's Day further attempts were made to fraternise, I all of which were sternly repulsed- In one portion of the line, where the trench systems are very close, several Germans I appeared,, their vague grstures suggesting that they were very (truul4 and shouted New Y -mros greetings. At another place there were shouts of. Hello, Australia 1 Happy New Year!, and in a Flanders sector voices called n English, Going to make peace, Tommy?" About a week ago some Bavarians put up a plaJiird in their trench which read: H We give Russia peace. Do you want peace? Merry Christmas! It was shot to pieces in a few minutes. AMERICAN RESOLVE. I President Wilson, writing to Mr. Lloyd I George, says:— I am sure that I am expressing the feeling and purpose of the people of the United States aa well as my own in sending I you and through you to the Government I and people of Great Britain a message Of goodwill and of resolution to continue to pnt every man and resource of the United States into the imperative task and duty of winning for the world an honourable and stable peace based upon justiee and honour and securing to the people of the wo "Id, great and small alike, the blessings of security and opportunity aaid friendly and helpful intercourse. Your own message on behalf of the Britsih War Cabinet is deeply appre- ciated and our spirits respond to its frbondly challenge." ALWAYS READY. I A special Paris telegram on Friday says Marcel Hutin in the Echo de Paris says: I The formidable work which neither cold nor snow can stop in the course I execution on the entire Western Front gene-rally. We must be ready for all eventualities, and one may be certain I that neither on the British front nor on ours, noi upon the Italian front, can the raeiuy, despite the secrecy of his prepara- tions, and the mystery of his concentra- tion, surprise our vigilance." ————— jjjs

MR. BLEWITT JENKINS. — ——— Leading Swansea Business I Man's Death. j It is wth sincere regret that we have to record the death of an esteemed Swansea gentleman in the person of Mr. J. Blewitt Jenkins, of Glenthorn. Sketty-road. Swan- The deceased gentleman parsed away 04 Thursdav at Ten by. where he had "irent some months in the hones that the chansre would be beneficial to him. He will be verv mtich miv by his many friends at Swansea. He leaves a widow and three sons—Mr. C. Herbert Blewitt Jenkins, district vainer. Inland Revenue; Lieut. Harold J Blewitt Jenkins. R.E.: and Mr. Reginald A, Blewitt Jenkins. Sixtv-one years ago Mr. Jenkins war> born at STcettv. He -vas a verv familiar figure in Swansea shipping circles, beiriz at one time a shipowner. He was also in- terested in the mineral business of the port. He also acted for many years in the interests of the Richardson family, as I their agent for their Carmarthen and Swansea estates, which included the Pan- tysrwydr cetate. whic.h was developed for buildins purposes under his direction. He rae senior partner in the firm of Messrs J Blewitt Jenkins and Sons. estate aent6. etc.: a local director of the Gen- eral Accident Insurance Corporation, and managing director of Messrs. J. A. Pri- c'bard and Co.. Ltd oxalic acid manufac- turers. Swansea. He was a prominent, number of the Weslevan Methodist Con- nexion. where he had filled many offices. The funeral will take place on Monday next. leaving High-street Station (Swan, 6ea) on arrival of the 1.55 train, proceed- ing to St. Alban's-rond Weslevan Chapel, where a memorial service will be held and afterwards to Skeity Welsh Congrcga tional burial grcrand. where the interment will take place. The arrangements are hi the hands of Messrs. D. C. Jones and Son, Castle-square. MUMBLES CONCERT. There was a crowded audience at the Promenade Pavilion. Mumbles, on Thurs- day. when a concert was given by the Oisteriitouth J"HM'Ch(')ir. under the baton of Madame Bpn Thomas. Solos v'ere contributed by the following:—Mrs. C Squires, Misses Hilda Tucker, DoJJv Tii?ker. Iris Edwards, 01g-a Llnyd, M Lloyd, Nellie Aee. Lily Tasker. Mildred Bowen, Nancy Evans. May Brayley, Georsrina Cowling Edith Cowling, Messrs. D. Squires, H. Baglow and Ben Thomas. Violin solos were provided by Miss Cein- wen Thomas. 'Ihe accompanist was Mr Barlow and the chairman Mr. J. Aeron TJlOmas, Tho proceeds are in aid of the Mumbles Sailors and Soldiers Children's Comforts Fund.

TOWN TALK. Kliondda, Rationing, RUsia-" the three it's !I, Girl as skipper." But haven't girls always been good at ''skipping "f The Breet-Litovsk conference is "&it. ting," but no definite agreement Has been laid down! "Tpe Food Situation in Pictures" i« A heading. The food situation in fact ee^a* to be even worse! "If a woman can cut a wedding cake, she can cut a cheese."—Mr. Frank Charies, at Porta-rdawe Tribunal. Goud-by-ee" has become the catch. word. Even staid individuals can be heard wishing each other good-by-ea." The price of playing cards in Russia haA been fixed at 30 roubles a paclc (normally £ 3). How's that, Swan-sea whist-ites? Little Nancy Davies, who entertained at the Albert Hall on Tuesday, though fl) tiny, proved a perfect little artste who is likely to make way. It is quite a "strange sight" to walli down High-street in the morning without seeing queues. Evidently the p's and q'a have been looked after! Winter sales begin in Swansea to-day. Nothing short of an earthquake or a universal conflagration could upset the career of the bargain sale. A Swansea lady has received as a Christ. mas gift the munificent present of a tin match-box advertising the donor's busi. neise. The lady has decided upon re. pi lea Is. Air. J. Vaughan Edwards has undoubt- cdly made good as chairman of the Alunitions iribunat. The law was never administered with more justice, judg, ment, and tact. Scarcity of matches waa the excuse of a Brynmill man who burnt the gas all night to make sure of a light in th(i morning. But things are not so bad aa that yet, surely. An applicant at the Borough Tribunal said he wanted three months' exomp- tion." But in the words of that iittla ballad, the Tribunal had only COllie down for thd day." One sergeant, five uniformed constables, and a special were this morning ta be seen outside a local firm's premises where a sale is taking piaoe, to keep ia order the bargain-hunters. An optimistic and well-known business gentleman of the town says he has had new halyards attached to his flag-staff in anticipation of a glorious and enduring pea,t,-e-on the Allies' terms. 191S, though an even, is not a leap year. Leap years are those only that are divisible by four. This usually oecurs once in every four years, but there are exceptions, 19iq was a leap year, and 1920, if we reach it. will be. Who is the hero who fractured his arm in trying to catch an escaped turkey near St. Mary's Church, Swaneea, a wk of two ago? Evidently that turkey objected to forming part of somebody's Christjtoag clinner At some of the local failitary hospitals the soldiers are loth to take down tho Christinas decorations. From the street in the dim light, the pretty picture givtq an idea of what efforts were made to cheer our wounded heroos. Everybody in Swansea was glad to henr of the distinction bestowed upon Major Dyson Williams, but none more so than the boys of the Gramar School Cadet Corps, in which the gallant Major has been keenly interested since its incep- tion. A traveUar in a little village. (where food queues are unknown) met a youngr than ,b hari. just enlisted, and during a dis- cussion he asked, Are you going b join in tho queues? Oh. no," answered the new recruit, I'm going to join th-e Berkshiros." Those people who are complaining of the poor quality of the gas with which we are supplied nowadays, are reminded by a Tommy just home from Flanders that, compared with that supplied by 'the Germans to the British troops, the quality here is excellent. Dr. Fisher, whose striking speech on education at Swansea will be remembered, fells the following story:—A teacher ones remarked to him that he unfortunately taught in a Church school. When o5k1 wi-ty "unfort-un,,tt,-Iy," he replied, It ia because the rain comes through the roof." A local workmen's leader who was irt Swansea on Thursday was delighted. ith the sugar scheme of Lord Rhondda. I had been unable to get any sugar for several w?eks," he said, until this woek, when by means of the sugar card I hud Hlhs. of it for myself and wife and seven, children." Some folks are i-c-y fickle--it'e quite a fiickle age, And many things are done to-day which savour of the stage. But woo'd have thought a bearer of tha classic name of Jones. Would t'ou: tiiues slip his martial pais to save his precious bones. A subject of much tocal interest will ba dealt with at the Swansea Library Free Lecture on Saturday evening, when Mr. W. H. Jones will speak on Love Affairs ia Some Old Gower Families." Mr. Jones has a unique knowledge of local history, and his tales of the old Swansea and Gower families will certainly be worth listening to. Such was the crash of failing glass on Wednesday afternoon that tradesmen from quite a radius of the bottom of Temple-street ran to their doors to find the cause of it-an accident by workmen. removing a broken plate glass window from the premises of Messrs Boots. -One Goat-street trader said he thought the Zepps had arrived to wish us a happy New Year. Tho confirmed grumbler in a ewt&vn dN partment of a Landore •works was letting off hi a daily growl, and on this occasion it was the inorpnqpd price of the local evening papers. Look here." said a workmate, "the price of all materials has gone up; besides you have bad your extra weees and 'var bonus, and I snppo? those chaps havw had th? same You said when beer a. nhaving went np ton would do without them, yet you still art tbmn." Th. C. (1-" thc>n went on with his work. With reference to the statements that have been made as to the plentrtude of rabbits in the district, a MamMas cor- respondent writes:—"It is not necessary to go further than the Mumhles to amplify the opinions expressed. It is said by those likely to know that never have so many rabbits been seen about the cliffs and fields as at the present tfme. Some of tha reatest sufferers from the depredation* of bunny' are the holders of the allot- ments cn the Golf Links at Langland, who have long been complaining that their crops of winter greens have been abso- lutely ruined hv «^at they describe M these pests. If