Herald of Wales and Monmouthshire Recorder

BIRTHS, MARRIAGES. AND DEATHS. MARRIAGES. fX) LliDrGSEDG-E—J RNKIIhS.—On December 20th. at Westminster Cathedral, Ixnwlon, i^raaitk U. CoUmgri-dge (-IL-F-A-), younger*, son of Mr. and Jtrs. Ooliingridge, 4, Lang- hem-plaoe, -Nortliamptoo, to Peggy, youngest daughter of ilr. Lewis Jenkms, The Urais, Brit-onferry, South Wales. IffKiKA K.r>S—XA PH.—On Tuesday, December 26th, at Argyle Chapel, by the Rev. %Ynne Thomuus, Corporal liom Ki<clk&rcfcs to Miss Winifred Vaaiefc 8a;ph. 69, Areylfe- Bbreet. Swansea. DEATHS. EtWARDS.—On December 23rd, Private koger U. Edwards, Canaxiian Horse, ex re- turning clerk of the fontardawe Guar- dians. £ UUL»ER.—On tile 23rd iriot.. at the Insti- tute, Brunswick-place, Swansea, W. li. Fuller, suddenly. fiWYNNE—On December 22nd, at 25, Bruns- wick-street, David Gwynne, beloved hus- band of Catherine (iwynne; aged 67. HhAJI.—December 17th, at J, Warring ton road. Harrow, of pneumonia, Edith Muriel, elder daughter df James and Edith jbean. Aged 15 yeu.ni. PARKER.-On the lird, William Parker. Pilot's Assistant, aged 78 years. BOtt'lJiU.—At iiienooe, lliite Crosses. 25th December. Suaan Porter, aged 83 years. BE!-D.-On the 22IHi inst., at the Knoll, Swansea. Edith Reid, aged 79 years TIIO,"S.-At Parc-yr-hedin. Sketty. Henry j Thomas, aged 81 yearg? 5EKOMAS.—On the 20th inst., at Post 0<3ce House, Pontardawe, John Thomas (65). the lielovpd husband of Mary Elisabeth | Thomas. Vri TALIA AS. -on December 18ti, ftt ao, I Ting Edwarlls-mad, Swansea, Tboiotae Crai Williams, aged 32 years.

MONEY. THE SWANSEA MERCANTILE CO. CLtd.) J8, PARK STREET, SWANSEA, Make Cash Advances Daily, Iron £10 to ;&I.DOO. No Charge unless Business done. Strictly Private and Casfidentud. Ufa* further particulars apply H. B. JONES, Manager. SAILINGS. UVIfttl South & East Africa UaHtH" ROYAL MAIL ROUTE. CASTLE The Cape, Natal. Transvaal, Rhodeala, LIIE east African Porta, "m'*t*c Uauritiiig, lie. lor Sftjlingfl and Other Iniormatian arpfiy to the Head Office, 3. Pcaachurch Stiet,. Lomion, or in Swansea to T. R. W. Mason and Co., or Bertie Perkins and Co. WHITE STAR LINE. Liverpool to Australia. PeAes.- To Australia, £ 21 to =; to Cape Town* J&5 15a. to AM 3s. Thaw steamers are twin screw, fitted with bilge keels, and have been specially constructed for the Colonial trade. The aeoaratoadatksi comprises Smoking, Read- ing, and Diaiag-foome. Surgeon aDd Stewardesses carried. For further particulars apply to the Local Agants: WHITE STAB LINE, Liverpool; 1. Cookspur-etreet, S.W.; and 38, Leadenltall-etrefei, B.C., London. BUY YOiJR APPLES DIRECT, AND SATE XOI-TRY. CMifomi?Ln, N,!??wn Pippins, Jmathans. Winegaw, Spiizborgs. 'Olt??.s? Beauties and Winter Bananas (all paper wrapped), 158.. per casp of 40/42, 42 Lbe. net. American Eating Pears in nice condition, lie. 6d. per Case of 48 lbs net. Prompt Dispatch. Caeh with order. R. MACPH ERSON, Fruit Merchant, 26-30, Beacto-street, Swansea. CULISTS & HOSPITAL KPreseriptions receive our careful ■ Lion, accurate grinding of ft B Leases being guaranteed. Our n H ices are moderate. consistent vtik I racy and Beet Workmanship. M flj We have our own plant and caa sup. 9j flniy the majority of Special Trfuwca B U within a few hours. E C. F. WALTERS, H F.S.M.O. Oxford Street, Swansea. j H Nearly opposite National Schoofa). I Two Qualified OpUciam Me in attmd. B l9 aoca. &M their skilled gwview are at | Your CÜ8pœaL I PUBLIC NOTICES. rr ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN. It haviner come to my knowledge that a rumottr is abroad in liandorery and Dis- trict, that I was summoned at the laet Petty Sessions for Selling Batter adulter- ated with Margarine, I HEREBY OFFER A REWARD of MO to any person whose testi- mony will be the means of disclosing the person who originally circulated this an founded and serious allegation against me. or information of any person repeating such false statements so that TrftTJarty re- sponsible therefor may be prosecuted for uttering and circulating: such a baseless and malicious statement which is absolutely without foundation. .MORGAN GRIFFITHS. Brynderw, Llandovery. = IB MISCELLANEOUS. SOME beginners axe getting 5 eggs from kY each bird every weak by using- Kara- wood Poultry Spioe, containing ground ineewtB. Packets 2d., 6d., Is.-WilUame and Son, 46, Windeor-poad, Neath. J82A1-6 Ii oat h trAl-6 /??JTOK Sa?s depend on merit. KanmOOd ?? Poultry gpi, oontaming ground iMwtfl, is best by t?t; 160,000 poultry uae it. Packets 2d.. 6d., ?.. fjom Hu-lohms, 3, Queen-stroo, SeaIth. 1&A12-JD WHiL BOOLET (famous poetry expert) .T V. says Karswood Poultry Bpiœ, oon- taining ground ineecta, is harmless to livet and increases egg output. Customers eay eo. Wo.-Robbs, Oonl Merchant, High-street Neaith. Al-6 1 f\ HENS are paying one poultry-keeper's -L? rent since uaing Karswood Meal (Sussex Ground), from Ball, 34. Windsor, road. Neath. 170A.11.JO SOME begrnnere are getting 5 eggs from U each bird eTery w-eek by using Kara- wood Poultry Spioe containing ground in- sects; .3d., 6d., In.—Llewellyn and Son, Dtd., 5, Wind-street, Neath. ffl15 i /? HENS paid on? user's rant after 16 adoptu? Kaiswood Meal (Sœsex Ground), 341b. bag I 10d.. and Karswood Spice (oontainireg ground insects); 2d,. 6d.. la.- Levi James, Hong Kong Stores, Neath IgSAL-ao KILL THAT INSECT, TOMMY Send year pala "out yonder" some tioa of HARRISON'S NURSERY POMADE —they'll be very acceptable. When you haven't time to wash there's a biff ohanoe have "companioms." A little HAR- RISON'S POMADE KILLS EVERY INSECT on hair and body. Insist on having HAR- BISON'S POMADE. "Tina of Oomfort," at 4Jd. and 9d. Sold by all Ghemiete—or by post trom HARRISON, Chemist; Beading. SEASONABLE PRESENTS. i GOLD FITTED SPECTACLES AND EYEGLASSES OF THE BEST QUALITY, EYES TESTED FREE OF CHARGE. PRICES FROM Ss. 6d. IVOR L. dONES, Chemist and Optician, Windsor Road, NEATH. HOPKINS, Tobacconist, Can Supply all SMOKERS' WANTS for XMAS and NEW YEAR. TOBACCOS, CIGARETTES, CIGARS, PIPES, POUCHES, CIGAR AND CIGARETTE CASES, etc. "OUR BOYS, The Square, NEATH. Also at 11, Bridge Street.

I THE SOMME AND OUR HOPES. When an English publicist, prob- ably overworked and rundown, de- clared six or seven weeks ago that the Somme campaign was over, the Naval Division promptly showed us that it was far from concluded. In the week when we were instructed that our greatest effort in the West had finished, we took the Beaumont Hamel salient, and planted our- selves strongly north of the Ancre. We have no great hope that the same thing is going to happen, with similar promptitude, to con- fute the latest Bocfae statement about the ccmchjsicai of the battles in this area—the chalk is too greasy, and the soil too water-logged for our heavies to moye far, and the extension of our front requires a great deal 01. orgaei&atioii—b ut the insistence of the German press, from time to time that the Allied II campaign is over (this time the papers are being instructed to de- clare that it is really over ") re- veals how nervous the people feel about the possibilities in this short sector of the line. The German public is being com- forted by official assurances that the new positions taken up are stronger, than those broken in July, and that behind these new positions are more than a dozen very strong lines ci defence. A fine confession to be made by a nation that vaunts it's conquests! It is as though the word had gone out to the British press to expand itself upon the subject of the strength of our front around Ypres, and the elaborate prepara- tions foe resistance, should that front be pierced, between Pope- ringhe and St. Omer! What would the readers of our journals think and say were it deemed necessary by the Government to issue such an assurance? Would they not say our hold upon the Ypres salient- must be very precarious that such measures of precaution with the public should be considered neces- sary? In some such manner un- doubtedly the German mind is work- ing to-day. It must be reading of those dozen very strong lines with a sense of calamity to come. As Colonel Repington insisted yesterday, we must not allow our. selves to be misled by the enemy's attempt to throw a veil over the Somme and to minimise its conse- quences. These consequences have not been all that, the public im- agined they would be. They have have not been what many of our military leaders hoped them to be. But they have been very great. Whether the Battle of the Somme is over or not, our achievements, and those of the French, have been sufficiently great already to make the battle a landmark in history. It has been decisive, not in the popu- lar sense, but in changing the direc- tion of the war. We would not have heard of the Chancellor's peace proposal without it. It placed the crown upon the feat of the French at Verdun. It revealed the great and all-important fact that no fortifications the Germans can make are able to withstand our at- tack. Some of the dug-outs upon the old line have to be seen and ex- plored before one can realise how confident the enemy was that he was not going to be moved. What we did upon the Scxmme is m-ade the more glorious by the knowledge we now have that the offensive here was made before the time fixed upon our programme. It was rushed because it was impera- tive to give relief to the heroes who were holding Verdun. We were compelled by the situation of our Allies to begin our 1916 offensive when we did, but on July 1 we did net possess the heavy guns and the shells for more than an attack on a contracted front, and this fact enabled the Germans to weaken the rest of their line and to mass against our contracted front of at- tack an extremely powerful for- Our offensive on the Somme acted like a magnet and drew to itself all the German reserves in the West. But, as Col. Repington says in a re- view of the battle, we could not take full advantage of the weaken- ing of the enemy's line elsewhere be- cause we had not the armament necessary for the purpose, and con- sequently several of our Armies, as Armies, remained to a large extent unemployed. We did not break through. No one of us knows whether it was ever the purpose of the higher command to effect such a break-through, but the unskilled onlooker can say that bad we gone on through the gap we had made between the Albert-Bapaume rnad and Combles it would have been a perilous business. The open- ing was too small. No, the plainest explanation of our offensive between the Ancre and the Somme, and the most obvious, is that we com- menced it with the deliberate inten- tion of massing before us the cream of the German armies. No read- ing, no prescience, no experience can have equipped anyone, soldier or civilian, with the stock of know- ledge or intuition requisite for domi nating this war in advance by in- tellect, says a military expert by way of apology. No prescience, no experience, could have equipped our Staff with the stock of knowledge necessary to say what might hap- pen on the Ancre. We were facing the unknown. But, not once car twice, but thrice, we know that ffee German was in a critical position. A few days before the present writer left the line the air was electrical with expectation. The events we expected did not come to pass, but the hope of 1916 passes on undiminished to 1917. We know now what we can accomplish under given conditions. In July it was mere speculation. When the spring oomes, and if the Government and the munition workers do not fail us, we shall have far larger,, numbezo of men and heavy guns. And, as the critic we have already quoted pynts out, we shall no longer be restricted to battle on a narrow front. The troops will be be&er trained,: the shells will be piled up, and all the experience of 1916 will be used with profit. The strain, almost to breaking point, which our Armies imposed on the enemy this year will be immensely increased in 1917, and with tactics perfected in this stern school we shall constantly have greater results with less loss. Pessimism is sinful. Long-drawn faces over the Somme results, and mysterious whisperings of I could an' I would,. are a cruel injustice to x the world's greatest heroes. There are people who imagine a kind of pantomime-transformation victory. They think a wave of the magician's wand Hey! Presto! will suffice. Victory is a matter of slow, patient and thorough preparation. Let us trust that when the spring comes, the hour will have dawned when we shall be ready for that thunder of guns, right along the line, from the marshy stretches where the Belgians hold guard, along the salient guard- ing ruined Ypres, past the La Bassee trenches, and those in front of Arras and Albert, to the unde- I fined point to which our front has now been extended, that will sound to the enemy like the crack of doom. We shall finish in 1917 that which we only began in earnest in 1916. An officer just home from the line tells an inspiring story in this con- nection. He was visiting a post in the front line trenches at 6 in the morning. The sun was due to rise just before 8 o'clock. A mist was doing its best to clear off the last traces of snow. Trenches were muddy, conditions very bad, every- thing uncomfortable. One man acted as sentry and three others were near him, so to speak, resting, waiting their next turn of duty. As he mounted the fire-step alongside the sentry and looked out into the dark the hasty thought passed his mind that externally viewed these men in such conditions appeared to have nothing to live for. "Well, how are things here?" he asked. "Oh, rather cold, sir, but all right." Do you get all the latest bits cf news along here?" Yeg, sir, I think so. We have heard about the peace." And what do you think of it?" Well, sir -and the officer felt instinctively as he. spoke that the subject had been do- bated during the night, and the, vote was unanimous-" we don't think it right. We must finish beating the Boches first." That is the èssence of the soldiers' politics. We must finish beating the Boches first." That is the answer to the neutral countries who are inviting us to talk of peace. It is the answer conveyed in the Czar's message to his soldiers which we publish to-day. A correspondent forwards to the Times a pregnant passage from Ruskin's The Two Paths." There- in the great writer said: You may either win your peace or buy it; win it., by resistance to evil; buy it, by compromise with evil. You may buy your peace, with silenced con- sciences you may buy it with broken vows—buy it, with lying words; buy it, with base conniv- ances buy it, with the blood of the slain and the cry of the captive and the silence of lost souls—over hemi- spheres of the earth, while you sit smiling at your serene hearths, lisp- ing comfortable prayers, evening and morning and so mutter con- tinually to yourselves, Peace, peace,' when there is no peace, but only captivity and death, for you as I well as for those you leave unsaved: —and yours darker than theirs." We will win our peace—not buy it. "We must finish beating the Boches- first.

I RAILWAY MYSTERY. I The coroner's inquiry into the mys- terious death on the Brighton Railway oa Saturday night of Eleanor Gladys Pur- vey, aged 21, a shorthand-typist, of Archi- bald-street, Bow, was opened at Croydon o- Wednesday. Mrs. Purvey, the young lady's mother, who was very distressed, said her daughter left home on Saturday to spend Christmas with her uncle at Croydon. 1 She was in good health and spirits, and with her music case. She was not an excitable girl, but quiet and reserved. Her daughter had corresponded with a young man who is now in Mesopo- tamia. On leaving the witness chair, Mrs Purvey excitedly exclaimed, She would never have thrown herself out of the train for nothing; something must have hap- pened, as she would not have thrown her- self out for nothing." Dr. Gouge, police surgeon, after describ- ing deceased's injuries, said she had an aspect of great terror. Her mouth and eyer, were widely open and the pupils were dilated. Witness added thet death was instan- taneous, and was consistent with falling from a moving train. Witness 6poke to examining John Percy Batty, a clerk, of Tadworth. Surrey, who was detained by the police in connection with the affair, and subsequently re- leased. Witness carefully examined his hands, two little knives, and a pair of scissors, which were in hie possession, but found no signs of blood. He had no scratches or abrasions of any sort, and was certainly not excited. The man's clothing was not in any way disturbed, and there were no signs of a struggle; nothing what- ever to create suspicion. The Coroner: If this man had thrown this poor girl out of the window, you would have expected to find some trace of the struggle? Witness: Certainly, if she were con- scious at the time. I The jury returned a verdict of death through accidentally falling from a train.

HAIR GETTING LONG. Mr. Abe Freedman presided at a meet- ing of the Tawe Lodgtt Visiting Commit- tee held at the institution. Mount Plea- sant, Swansea, on Wednesday afternoon. The Clerk reported that the inmates all enjoyed, themselves at Christmaetide, thanks t* the efforts of a willing band of helpers. Various guerdians and gentle-, men of the town were thanked for gifts. etc., and Councillor Win. Owen for the Christmas tea. The Master asked that the gu-ardian-6 engage a barber, great inoonvenience having been caused at the institution since the illness of the lodge barber. Councillor Owen moved that the Clerk I should write to the Hairdressers* Associa- tion with a view to getting a suitable man I at a moderate price. It was then suggested that the man's duties should be similar to the last-in- eluding the bathing of infaates. Mr. Ball stated he tWttight the subject should receive careful consideration, if .only from the point of view of hygiene.. A lengthy discussion followed, and it was eventually decided to write to the liairdresserk" Association for prices.

At th? Queen s Hotel, Masborough, noar Botherham, Mrs. Laura Athey, the land- ls in&med daughter, w" found lying dead wrom the fiJreplaœm ]Wx, bwxoom

THE WAR IN 1916. -— —————————————————— I A REVIEW OF THE YEAR. I By the Right Hon. Ellis Griffith, K.C., M.P. THE end of 1916 finds the Allies more, firmly determined than ever to prosecute the war to a successful termination. On land the past year hps seen many momentous achievements, but it will be most memorable for the defence of Verdun by our gallant French Ally. The Germans 4concentrated enormous forces against the city, and the. attack began in February and was carried on with varying fortunes till Optober, when the French, who fought with unexampled bravery—neither depressed by losses nor elated by victory—began an offensive which finally broke down the German at- tack. Verdun, though battered and blood-stained, stood firm, and her name had to be added to that, of Paris and Calais as objectives which the enemy, after incredible .exertions and enormous losses, had í'aito attain. The Crown lPri?c4B has had to retire, leaving the, French flag proudly &ating over the city. In the east in the beginning of June, the immense forces of Russia were con- centrated under General Brusiloif. on an attack in Volhynia and Galicia, which ex- tended over a 200-mile front. The Aus- trian Staff completely underrated the Rus- sian strength, and General Brusiloff, skilfully concentrating superior artillery at decisive points, burst through the I enemy line, and succeeded in captuTing l'siic,li points of strategical importance as Lutsk and Czernowitz. the capital of? Bukovina. Rumania declared war and I joined the Allies on August 27tli. She im- lil-tp-diataly passed into Transylvania, ad- vancing some distance, and taking Cron- stadt and Orsova on the Danube, a point Of considerable strategic valne. Mackensen with a mixed horde of Germans, Turks, and Bulgarians, made a dash from the: south through the Dobrudja, taking: Constanza, Rumania's Black Sea port, and cutting the railway line to Cernavoda on the Danube. Since he had crushed Serbia he had remained perdu, and the suddenness of the attack was certainly a surprise to Rumania, who, reinforced by Russia, tried to push him back. In the meantime Falkenhayn attacked from the north, retaking Orsova and' gradually driving the Rumanians back.j Bucharest was abandoned, the remnant, of the Orsova. army, said to number 10,0I>0, strrendered, and Rumania was cut across, by the enemy. The main arftiv retired in good order, fighting a rearguard action. Experts estimate the original Rumanian Army at 600,000. Of these it is computed 50,000 at most have been put out of action by death, wounds, or as prisoners. The Germans make no claims to the capture of any heavy guns. The Allies have made. And are making, every effort to relieve the pressure upon their latest ally. "THE GREAT PUSH." I The month of July is by many con- sidered to be the turning-point of the war. The great Allied offensive on the battle front in the West, which had been carefully and methodically prepared for some months, began at 7.30 a.m. on July 1st. after a devastating artillery prepara- tion along the whole front. It seems as though the Germans were not prepared for the French portion of the attack, be- lieving that the defence of Verdun would I occupy the entire attention of our Ally. General Foch, however, made a brilliant onslaught along a front of five miles, almost reaching Peronne. The British attack was made simultaneously akmg al 20 mile front on either side of the Ancre and the north of the Somme. The direc- tion 4 this attack was towards Bayi?-u. penetrating the German line in .the direc- tion of Montauban, Mametz, and Fricourt to a distance of 14,000 yards. At the end of July the Allies had taken 26,000 prisoners, 140 guns, and recovered 80 6quare kilometres of French soil. During the months of August and September the push" wa(s continued, and in October further progress was made (the French taking Douaumont by a brilliant attack), which resulted in the abandonment by the enemy of their attempt to take Verdun. On June 5th, Lord Kitchener and his staff were proceeding to Russia on board the Hampshire, when the boat was either torpedoed. or mined north-west of the Orkneys, and foundered with the loss of all the passengers and most of the crew. England suffered an irreparable loss in the death of this great, organiser and single- minded patriot- His post as War Secre- tary was taken by the Right Ron. Lloyd George, who resigned his position a<s Minister of Munitions. Tho Allied forces in Salonika found themselves in a difficult and precarious position after the enemy advance into Rumania, owing to the treachery of King Constantine, of which they had long had more than a suspicion. M. Venizelos, the patriotic Premier of Greece, had in vain endeavoured to persuade the King to take sidles with the Allies, in accordance with the wishes of the great majority of the people. Having first betrayed Serbia, the King proceeded to betray the Allies. M. Venizelos at last, losing patience, formed his own Government. A considerable pro- portion of the army and a great majority of the populace flocked to his support, while the King and the Court remained determined to side with Germany and the Central Powers. The Allied diplomacy has shown much long-suffering in nego- tiating with the King's party, and the, lack of decision which has prt-vailed is responsible for much of the humiliation which the pro-German Greeks have in- flicted upon this soldiers and sailors of Britain and France. The repeated attempts of King Constan- tine to obtain time indicate only too plainly his reluctance and unwillingness to side with the Allied cause. I i THE WAR IN THE AIR. I It would perha.ps be too sanguine to take the view that London will continue to enjoy the same imm-unity from Zeppeiin attacks as Paris. The past year, hoiwever, has seen an immense improvement in air defences, both aa regards those of London and of the, south and east coasts. The advaftice has been great, whether in the matter of guns or aeroplanes, in I dealing with the invaders. One result of this improvement-particularly in the air service—is to be seen in the fact that within two months six Zeppelins have been accounted for-fom- of them between September 3rd and October 1st, and two during November. One feU in flames on the night of September 23rd-24th at Cuffley; another suffered the some fate in Essex, while a third descended in that county, the crew surrendering to a solitary a special." A fourth was brought down at Potter's Bar. Two more fell in flames ia the North Sea off the coast of Durham and ,the coast of Norfolk respectively. These satisfactory results are partly due to the accuracy and improved calibre of the guns u in defence, but chiefly to the splendid work of the Flying Corps, I v-hom neither danger nor difficulty can daunt. Germany was at one time supreme in the air simply through superior machinery, but all this is changed. At the, front the British and French air scouts are supreme; they pass with com- parative immunity over the enemy lines, returning with valuabdie information as  to the movements of troops, the disposi- ) tion of heavy artillerv, and the positions I' of trenches. Sometimes—greatly daring- they descend so low as to be able to bom- bard the Roelle in his trench with their ir.achine-gun6. Should German airships ris; and attempt to cross the Allies' lines [ they are immdiately attacked that their numbers may be superior makes little dif- feience to the British and French flying men, who have inspired the enemy with wholesome fear and rM-pect. The Allies in France are making increa?- ing use of their aerial service to attack strategical points Mich as Zeebrngge, Friedrichshaven, and even Knipps, at all ot which places bombs have been dropped with devastating effect. No day passes at the front, when the weather is suitable, without an attack by the Allies' airmen upon railway stations, barracks, camps, or Zeppelin sheds. Germany seems almost to acquiesce in the Allies' superiority in aerial matters "in the- field," though she periodically makes a hiurricd attack by airship or seaplane on our open coast towns. It has seemed to many that, while th«3 contending armies are land-logged and se,-t- l ogge. d in the w sea-logged in the western sphere of opera- tions, the real chance of practical pro- gress must depend on 'air-supremacy. The inter-Departmental rivalries of the Arm. and Navy in the Air Department have flourished without hindrance. The air, like land and water," must be recog- njsed as a separate element in warfare, with a. Department of its own responsible to Parliament. THE SEA AFFAIR. At sea the gTeatest achievement during 1916 was the Battle of Jutland, fought on May 31st. It might have been a Trafalgar had not the elements intervened and per- mitted the enemy to escape under cover of gathering twilight and a thick fog. At 2.35 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31st, .Admiral Beatty. with six battle-cruisers, supported by Admiral Evan Thomas in command ,of four battleships, sighed five German battle-cruisers more than sixty miles from the Danish coast. He imme- diately attacked, and when they turned J in the direction of Heligoland he kne-w that they were retiring to- the protection of their battleships, which, however, were not then visibl. For half an hour at a distance of twelve miles he pounded the I enemy cruisers, doing as much damage as possible before the battleships could come up to protect them and overwhelm him with an immensely superior force. As Beatty expected, the German Battle Fleet of twenty to twenty-three ships hove in sight, but he continued pounding the cruisers, and attempted to lead them and the Battle Fleet towards the British main fleet, which was fast, coming up under Admiral Jelliooe. The German object was to keep him engaged till their battle- ships could come up an annihilate him. It was now that Admiral Evan Thomas dashed in with his four battleships and engaged the enemy's main fleet, saving Beatty from their attack, by which he wai, being ,hard pressed. Then began a stern chase, the German cruisers and hattle- ships after Beatty and Evan Thomas, whose object was to draw them into the jaws of the British Grand Fleet rushing up from the north. For more than an hour t'h running fight continued, and at about 6 p.m. Jellieoe and his fleet were seen approaching. Beatty's work was over. Jelliooe with his eighteen battleships and Evan Thomas's four was more than a .match for the enemy, who turned and fled when attacked. The battle between the two main fleets lasted for about two hours—from 6.45 to 8.30—the British battleships making every effort to close in and annihilate the enemy. There was terrible danger of the British damaging their own -bips -n the apparent confusion of fighting and damaged ships which Ad- miral JeiJicoe found on his arrival on the scene. In his report he insists on this danger as a very grave one. The day- light faded, the enemy drew off; that they were not destroyed was due to "adverse weather conditions." The German battle squadron escaped—heavily damaged—but they escaped, and there was no Trafalgar. The British loss was six cruisers and eight destroyers, and several ships crippled though able to reach port. Of the German losses the whole truth is not definitely known. They admit the loss of one battle-cruiser, some light, cruisers and eight destroyers; but the number of d'>stroyers sunk is estimated by men who took part in the battle as fifteen, besides one, if not two battleships. In proportion to their total strength their loss is much heavier than that of tho British, both in ships, men, and guns. We can, there- fore, console ourselves with the know- ledge that, in proportion to the relative size of the fleets, the enemy suffered con siderably more than ourselves. SUBMARINE WARFARE. During the past year an element in naval warf are has become disagreeably and increasingly evident. This is the sub- marine, of which the enemy is making ruthless and illegal use. Germany's war on unarmed merchant- men, belonging to both neutrals and bel- ligerents, has come as on unpleasant, though not entirely unexpected factor in the war. After the war began England took the lead in building submarines hitherto held by France. Fto-m the point of view of attacks upon the Navy the German submarine was defeated in six months, though the method by which this has been achieved has rightly been a jealously guarded secret. Then, how- ever, the attention of the enemy was turned to comme rot-raid ing, in defianee of every code of civilised warfare. Up to April 6th of this year the loss of ton- nage is estimated at 2,201,823. The Navy is doing all that a Navy can do to cope with the danger, but we must expect the continuance of the enemy's piracy. Ger- many has evidently didoo to sink at sight, without warning, any vessel which is, or may be, carrying feupplies to Eng- land. The neutral flag is no protection, and most of the ships .recently eunk have been torpedoed without warning. « The general naval situation has been the subject of drastic changes in high places. Mr. Balfour, when First Lord ot the Admiralty, called to his assistance men with experience of modern condi- tions of sea-warfare, and Admiral Sir John Jellicoe was appointed First Sea Lord, with Admiral Sir Cecil Burney as Second Sea Lord. This infusion of new blood at the Admiralty may be expected I to have far-reaching effect in the develop- ment of naval strategy and construction. NATION AND THE WAR. In contemplating the war situation it is important not merely to keep in mind the result of warfare on land and sea and in air, but. also the morale of the people at home. Twenty-nine months of war, with a daily toll of valuable lives and a daily expenditure of vast wealth, have pressed hard upon the conditions of rich and poor alike. The Coalition Govern- ment was described as indispensable, and the unity of the people as reflected in the stability of the Administration was pro- claimed as the one thing needful. But gradually the complaint of delay and pro- crastination in carrying out vital policies gathered strength, and culminated in the resignation of the Asquith Administra- tion. It is now common knowledge that the munition problem and the man- power question were allowed to drift i fa-c-o to face wi;th a until the country was face to face with a perilous eituatv>n. The establishment of a Ministry of Munitions was an urgent necessity from the first day of the war, but for some cause or another our mili- tary authorities abroad and our riders at home were content to go on without giv- ing our men in the field a full and pro- per fighting equipment. This serious situation was taken in hand not a moment too soon. The building of nev* i fadores, the taking over of existing factories as controlled works, the mobih- sation of men and women for the provi- sion of war material, represent an indus- trial revolution of the first magnitude: and as Britain must providellot only her own necessities, but must al-so provide to a great extent for the requirements of the Allies, her task in this direction repre- sents a stupendous undertaking. From the early months of the war there were a few men in the House of Cotmmons who advocated Compulsory National Service as a necessary war nu*usure. They based their views ou ,military necessity as well as upon the principle of equal sacrifice in so far as such equaJity is capable of realisation, For a long while their appeals fell on deaf ears, but early in 1316 it became clear that the voluntary system of re- cruiting could no longer be relied on to supply the men necessary to carry on the war. Upon this question the Coali- tion was notoriously divided. This divi- sion of opinon led to delay at a critical time in the history of the war. and re- sulted in a compromise hill on compul- sory military service. A Compulsion Bill for single men up to the age of forty-one became law on January 26th. On May 2nd a. further Bill was introduced, and by May 28th it had passed through all its stages. All men between the ages of eighteen and forty-one were subjected tn military service; but so many exemptions were introduced,and the. machinery of dp- ciding as to exemptions was so cumbrous, that the administration of this Act of Parliament has given rise to much dis- satisfaction. THE NEW PREMIER. The reply of Germany to this legislation was a Civilian Service Bill designed to enrol the entire'population for war work. The mass levy bill became law on Noveni- ber 30th, and a fortnight alter—on Deoem- her 18th—the new Prime Minister of Eng- land. Mr. Lloyd George, in his first official speech announced .that the Cabinet had decided in favour of universal national I service.. It was inevitable that the sphere of compulsion should extend. The regulation !of the food supply and the restriction of | food prices were inevitable, but after nearly two and a half years of war thp"o n?o?as?ry measures are still in their in i- tial stages. If the problem is to M i grappled in its full significance so as to secure that no one shall have too much fooa, and that everyone, as far a.s pos-ibi<\ shall have enough food, the Food Ccn- troUeI' must be endowed w.??h full power ?ov,p,r public rc?ttaurants and priva!& places. This is only one side of the proil- leni. To lesson consumption is not enough. It is also necessary to increase production, and the soil of the country should be sub- ject to coutrol a6 to cultivation in the public interest. Decision in this mat-ter is urgent. The time of sowing and reap- ing cannot wait, and the harvest of 1917 may be a vital factor in the prosecution of the war. le briefest survey of the year 1916 would be incomplete if no reference wera made to Ireland and the Irish rebellion. The Ea&ter rising was no doubt fostered by German agents and fed by German, gold, but it had its root in the old diL"1 loyalty that is a heritage of the centuries that have gono before. After almost a week of anarchy, murder, and pillage, the rebellion was put down, and the leaders paid for their treason with their lives. The Irish Question is always with us. It will be the crowning triumph of British statesmanship to bring together the con- flicting elements in Ireland so that the Government of the island may be in shu- stantial accord with the wishes of Irish- men. The quarrel is no longer between; Englishmen and Irishmen, but between Northern and Southern Ireland. It may ?wt-11 be that 1917 will 800 the settlement of the Irish Question and the reconcilia- tion of the Irish people. THE PEOPLE UNITED. In the beginning of December the Coali- tion Government came to an end. It was isuce-eedtx-l a National Government under the Premiership of Mr. Lloyd I George. The personnel of the former I Administration is largely retained, but a smaller inner War Cabinet is to have supreme control in respect of the prose- cution of the war. This concentration of authority and responsibility is the main feature of the new Government. Suppor- ting the Government we have a practi- cally united people. The discordant voices are few in number and negligible in importance. Theie are but two etc- j tions of public opinion—one the vast I majority of the British Empire, the other 'j 9, small minority. The former seek jus- j tice in the high adventure of an honour- able war; the latter seek shelter in tha ignoble ancbor?i?e of a discreditable peace. In truth, we shall gain neither 1 justice nor shelter until the Allies haye ?t brought the war to a victorious issue. December was marked by two other [ very notable events-the German Note to the Allies proposing peace negotiations, and Mr. Wilson's Note to all the belliger- j ents asking them to state their terms. The reply which both these communications met with is well known.

A SHAMEFUL EXAMPLE. II A new departure was made at the Swan- sea Police Court on Thursday, when Mary Ellen Smith, a soldier' wife, wad charged with being drunk and disorderly on Wednesday. Supt. Roberts, addressing the Bench, said that tho defendant was a soldier wife. and magistrates were urged by tha War Office to deal leniently with these persons, and they should be bound ovpr and put on probation, if it was in the .interests of tie country to do an, and if they do not then behave, the War Office < will take steps to stop their separation, allowances. Dr. Rawtings (to defendant): Have you any children ? Defendant: Yes. What a shameful example! you are I bound over in the suttv of Ri to be of good behaviour for t2 months. Have you been a teetotaller ?—- Yes, two years ago.. We put another comdTtion on this pro- J bation. You must abstain from all intoxi- > eating liquor. You must keep from the ( pnblic-house for I all time. The Court Probation Officer will keep his eye on you.

A MANTLE OF FOG. I The thick fog which enveloped London during the afternoon and evening of Boxing Day, set in again at mid-day on Wednesday with considerable density. Trains reaching the main termini wenre roughly speaking, about half to tL-roP quarters of an hour late, but trainwsg men and omnibus drivers got through their difficulties admirably. An unusual eight was the huge busi- ness establishments in the West End lighted without restriction from basement to roof. There was a dense fog in Birminghazu on Wednesday morning.

l A clergyman ?cted w deaf-ac??nat I I ? i*-rpjvt- at a Bethn*l Grvm inquest. I