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(The Weeks War Story.[
(The Weeks War Story. [ t- ENEMY BROUGHT TO A STAND- STILL » A SERIES OF REMARKABLE I' xIHCIuEilTS I [Although we had an exciting story to kteU last week of the big things which -led up to the enemy being brought to a t standstill, the brief message which pwouglit us that aesurauco gave us the key to what we might expect during this rvook-comparative quiet, time for bring- >ing up reinforcements in the required and time to review the tremendous {events of the def3al attempt of the HUllS to break rhi'ou?h. t Messages received on Saturday and Sun- day confirmed the brief accounts which Shad come to us on Thursday and Friday. tin a statement issued by the Prime Minis- ter, it was explained that wbile the (struggle is still only in its opening stages, iund no prediction of its future course can t let be made," the nation could not, and rean not but feel that the early bulletins received from British and French Head- quarters were the most heartening which had reached us since the breaking of the etorm.. t TAKING UP THE THREADS. r Let us take the gist of the communica- tions, and so gather up and follow the thread of the story. Sir Douglas Haig's aversion was that of successful local coun- (ter-operations on the part of the British armies, and of the complete repulse of the jenemy's attempts to gain more ground in jthe direction of Amiens. South of the iSornme, two strong German attacks failed on Saturday, with heavy loss, and in '.those delivered just north of the river, four) successive waves of assault were repulsed at all pofints by our outpost 1 line," the losses of the attack being esti- i mated in thousands" oil thi's sector alone. -;The same day a strong counter-attack re- stored the British line in the Luce Valley, .where the enemy's direct drive westward at Amiens had gone nearest to that ob- jective, and the village of Demiuin is again in our hands. t WE TAKE PRISONERS. I I In the neighbourhood of St-rre, on the ;r,taunchly-held northern part of the front, I ,ia strong British thrust somewhat ad- jvanced our line, and resulted in the cap- 'ture of 230 prLsonera and forty machine guns; and it is noted that at other points our line has been carried for7mrd slightly and prisoners have been taken. THE FRENCH VERSION. I ? So far the actfv-ities and splendid de- fensive operations of the British formed a eatisfacto^ sequel to the worrying events o, the eaTly part of the week. Then the h'renh communique, a?ain, well suppor- ftedthe view focussed in that sequel, for it told us of yet more fierce and determined fighting. It indicated that the struggle ibetween Mondidior and Moreuil, at the apox of the great angle pushed out by the jaenemy from the Allied line, was un- doubtedly the most importantration 'of the day. The Germans flufrig troops (lincess-antly into the furnace th roughout ¡the day, trying desperately to snatch an important' success at. what is, at this moment,'the least stabilised part of the (front. Their constantly-renewed assaults ended in failure, with frightful losses, .against the steadily-increasr'ng strength of KFrenoh # reinforcements; Moreuil, taken I and retaken, and again lost, wais finally I;rewou by French and British troops, I" advancing side by side," and the tm-oods to the north of the town were stormed. "Many prisoners" were tiken in what was evidently a terrible and glo- ,gric,us day's work.' It bears bold outlining even in a neces- sarily brief story of the war for the week, for the work accomplished is an impor- tant part, as we sajid last week, cf a series of historic events which will, for ages, imark an epoch in the history of Europe and the civilised' world. I GERMANS REPULSED COMPLETELY Let us therefore add that elsewhere on the French' part of the front the Germans ,were repulsed completely, and a slight ndvanco was made by our Allies at one point on the southern face of the salient. 700 German prisoners remained in French ihands at the recapture of Le Plemont. The indications were undoubtedly clear of a more consolidated resistance, of a greater concentration of all elements of lAllied strength on the front of attack, and of a spirit of resolute valour in all the troops engaged rising to the supreme expression of heroism.. AMERICAN TROOPS PROMPT I RESPONSE. < On Tuesday, an announcement was I made that the United States Government would promptly send more men to take part in the great battles that may now be expected, and that such Amercan rogi- .aaents as cannot be used in divisions of their own shall be "brigaded with French efid British units GO long as the necessity lasts. T h e-ge trowp« will thu% fern part nf the more seasoned divisions of the European Allies until the time is ripe for incorporating them in the American Army; and the way is thus opened by which Aimprica-s splendid contribution of the very flower of her manhood to tlie cause may be brought, in large part, to the aid of that canst'. KING'S VISIT TO FRANCE. I The King's visit to the troops at the front formed a brief but noteworthy and interesting chapter of the stery of the ■week, and, by way of confirmation of the effects of the magnificent resistance offered by the AIVas and the air mastery. counter-attacking and minor enterprises, came the report on Wednesday that up to the hour covered bv the latest official accounts available on Tuesday night, the comparative lull which besran with the defeat of the German efforts on Sunday continued unbroken, except by fighting of a purely local and minor character. LULL tN THE STORM. I In fact. since Friday, when the Ger- mans, by dint of great sacrifices, flattened out a salient which existed north Of Mont, didier. as a keen observer pointed out. no change of importance lias taken -place in the line, where, however, at various pci-nti the Allied armies have regained •fio-me of the lost ground. BRITISH LOCAL OPERATIONS. I The lull on the Western front continued on Wednesday, but the-local fighting was such as to keep the French and our own anen on the alert. From the British Headquarters on Wednesday came the following official:— A.t dawn yesterday a determined attack niade by a strong party of the enemy against our positions in the neighbour- hood'of Fampoux was repulsed after sharp fighting. A number of German dead and a few prisoners were left in our hands. A successful local operation was under- taken by our troops la-st night in the neighbourhood of Avette, which is now in our possession. Over 100 prisoners and three machine-guns weije captured by us. We also secured a few prisoners yesterday in the enterprise in the neighbourhood of Serre already reported. There is nothing further to report from the battlefront. Lincolnsliire troops raided the enemy's trenches north-east of Loos yesterday morning, and captured 31 prisoners and a machine-gun. Another successful raid, in which we captured a few prisoners, was carried out by us last night north-east of I)oelm,p,elle, FRENCH REPULSE LIVELY ATTACKS Then, on Wednesday afternoon, from Paris, came this French official summary of the events of the previous day:— On the Somme and the Oiw front there was growing reciprocal artillery activity. South of Moreuil the enemy delivered a lively attack against our positions between Morisel and Majilly-RoinevaJ. Repulsed by our fire, the attacking force could not gain a footing except at one point of our advanced line.. An enemy attempt north of Nollet failed under our fire. We car- ried out yesterday evening a minor opera- tion against the points north of Le Ple- mont, during which,1 our troops appreci- ably widened their positions and tooE 60 prisoners. There is nothing to report on the front as a whole. ECHOES FROM THE EAST. Just a glance may well be taken, how- ever, at operations in the East. Our men still maintain their triumphs, and during the week we had a report of a. further ad- vance in which no fewer than 5,000 Turks were taken prisoners by the British. STRANGE WORDS FROM AUSTRIA. In view of the lull in the fighting in the West, therefore, we may leave the story of the war for this week where it is, and close the chapter with a few words on the view of peace taken by Count Czernin, as the Austrian spokesman of the Central Powers. Coming at such a moment. Count Czernin's address to the Municipal Council of Vienna will command but a small share of the attention whr.ch it would have received three weeks ago; but there are points in it which demand dis- cussion even at a time when peace, in the sense in which the Count speaks of lit, is the very last thing of which? we in the West are thinking. For the Allies, indeed, it may be SBlÍd that the only phrases of immediate prac- tical importance in frhe address are those in which the absolute solidarity of Aus- tria-Hungary with Germany is insisted upon, and the fact proclaimed that. in the West; troops of both Empires are fighting shoulder to shoulder as they did in Russia Serbia, Rounmania, and Italy H —not, perKa-ps, a too heartening thought for thCX'Je pf his audience who remembered what the respective records and loesses of the two Powers had be4 in those theatres of war. STILL MILDER THAN THE HUNS, I But the Foreign Minister ywwle other statements and profession which require, and will doubtless sOsn receive, notice from the statesmen of the Entente, and of the United States. In spite of a marked change of tone in the direction of the bellicose, he still speaks in sof ter accents than are ever heard from Berlin. • LIKE HIS" CHEEK." I He speaks of his Emperor's genuine, and honourable desire for a general peace." He professes again his own be- lief that "datc-imational agrieememts, framed in a binding form, to prevent war," efford-and one caji but admire the effrontery of the words— a much stronger guarantee against surprise attacks by neighbours than frontier rectifications." This, coining from the Power which is now proved to have been the original mover in the plot of 1914, from the con- federate of the Power which invaded Belgium, and which has now torn whole provinces from its exhausted enemy n the East, is remarkable enough. WHAT THE AUSTRIAN EXPECTS. I What is made quite clear, liowever, by the Count's speech is that Germany and Austria, putting their aims at tho very lowest estimate, intend, i,f they possibly can—and they profess.to think that they will-to come out of the war without the smallest sacrifice of their own territory to those principles which they pretend to respect, and with a colossal expanltion of their actual sovereignty and their effective political domination at the expense cf the weak nations of Eastern Europe. Even if the Western Allies were_ nipt directly threatened in their own national existence by the new development of the war, they would never acquiesce in such a pro- gramme of spoliation and oppression while they could raise a hand against it. And with this memo." from the enemy, we must close the war story of the week.
I =;; - 11-111..1 ? . EAST…
=;; 11- 1 11. 1 EAST TYRONE RESULT, j Harbison (N.) 1.800 Milroy (Sinn Fein) .I 1,219 Majority 581 I
BRITONFERRY FATALITY, I
BRITONFERRY FATALITY, I A verdict of death .due to exnausuon and respiratory embarraesineht caused by tetanils was returned at the inquest at Swansea on Wednesday on the body of Wm. Rees, Britonferry. Evidence showed that deceased was filling ashes into a barrow at Britonferry Ironworks, and was standing in the rails, when he was knocked down by an engine, receiving in- juries to both legs.
COPPER PIT MANAGER.I . - .-…
COPPER PIT MANAGER. At Swansea on Thursday Dand L/ewis Thomas, manager of the Copper Pit Col- liery, Morriston, was summoned by Dd. Phillips, James Richards, Dd. Lewis James and Thomas Rees Thomas, work- men, for breach, of contract. It was al- leged that the manager paid the men k 3d. less than was due to them. The complainants said that according to the pay shoot the deduction was made on ac- count of slag, but there was no such agreement in the Act of 1887. A witnees stated that there was an agreement whereby men working dirty coal were liable to instant dismissal. ralif, checkwe-igher said he was not informed that any tests of the coal were to be made. Mr. Harris, for the defence, eaid the case should really, go to the County Court. The manager was fined 10s. inclusive, Benc|i dealing with first case (there being two ^Tiiplamante) only.
THURSDAY'S FRENCH OFFICIAL.
THURSDAY'S FRENCH OFFICIAL. Headquarters, Thursday. The artillery duel assumed during the night a lively mtensity in the region north of Montdidier. To the north-west of Rheims, in Champagne, and the left bank of the Meuse, our troops have pene- trated at several points info the enemy's trenches. These raids enabled us to bring back some 30 prisoners and two machine-guns. Enemy surprise attacks to the east] of Rheims, at Avocourt Wood, and north of St. Die, were unsuc- cessful. There is nothing to report on the rest of the front.
CLEMENCEAU SAYS WE WILL-WIN.1
CLEMENCEAU SAYS WE WILL-WIN.1 Paris, Thursday.—-M. Marcel Hutin, in the Ikho de Paris," says:—I had a con- versation last evening with M. Clemen- ceau, who seemed the most favourably impressed by what he had seen and heard. I asked ar.mply this question: U Can you gtve me your impression on our military situation ?" "Excellent impressions," replied the Premier. They could not be better." "You authorise me to repeat that ?" I authorise you. The battle is not finished. It will still be hard; but we will win."
IA QUIET NJGHT. I
A QUIET NJGHT. I The Press Association special corres- pondent in France, writing on Thursday says:— A quiet night prevailed along the whole battle front, and the situation remains practically unchanged. Meanwhile it continues to rain steadily, and the ground is growing more and more difficult. This, of course, affects the Germans very much more than the Allies. For, whereas t hey are moving across tho battle- pounded country, mostly honeycombed wtth shell-craters, which are now brim- ming with water, our communications are practically untouched. German communiques state that our attack upon Ayetto was repulsed. So far is this from the truth that it turns out to be a better success than was at tirlit reported. Not only have we re-estab- lished our positions at th is, our impor- tant tactical point, but the latest ac- count shows that we took six officers, 186 other ranks, and six machine-guns. Early yesterday the Germans occupied one of our email outposts east of Arras, but after daylight we went over and took it back.
PRAISED BY FOE.-I
PRAISED BY FOE. I One of the most astonishing things in this war (writes Mr. Phibp Gibbs), is the way in which the vitality of youth re- covers from the overwhelming fatigues of battle, and from its breaking strain upon every quivering nerve of our human body. I have described the weariness of our soldiers after a week of fighting over the Somme battlegrounds, yet nothing 1 have said can give more than a faint idea of the exhaustion of many of these poor lads of ours after tlidse bad days when the enemy was all about them and ,Yl* ng to break between them, and they ??.l.ll that they must hold them or we should lose all that we have and are. Highlanders of the 519t Division, whom the King saw on the roods, are as tough as- any men in our armies, yet some of their officers toM me that on the last lap of their rearguard actions they were tired almost to death, and when called on to make one last effort, after six days and rights of > fighting and marching, many oi them staggered up like men who bad been chloroformed, with dazed eyes and grey, drawn faces, speecnless, deaf to the words, spoken to them, blind to the menace about them, seemingly at the last gasp of strength. A crowd of men of Yorkshire took their hand with. them into battle, for the sake of swank," said one of their officers, who is proud of, it, to Mr. Philip Gibbs, and that music, playing gay tunes with the beat of drums, was like wine to the tutn, all ITiV u,J01r-; in t.ir neighbourhood. One curious incident there was in the retreat. This was a compliment paid to the division by the enemy. A paper balloon came floating over them. They brought it down and read on it, written in pencil: Good old 51st Division! Stick ;t vat! Cheerio! Like most people who go about (says the London correspondent of the Man- chester Guardian "), I hoar many stories of how our sdldiers died. None is more poignant, I think, than this told by a brigadier-general just back from the battle. He was at one end of the telephone and a young captain in command of a half-company at a rodoubt- was at the other. The ca. lain was rung up at least every quarter of an hour to report. The fight grew hotter, and he reported Things getting hotter, General. Think we can manage," and described what he was doing. H Getting very bad now, sir." Then: They're all over lie." The General said: Destroy your stuff and cut through as best you can. You're a glorious fellow." Then the voice said: Too late. sir- good-bye."
-CLEMENCEAU AT THE -FRONT..__[
CLEMENCEAU AT THE FRONT. [ Paris, Thursday.—The French 1 remier, accompanied by the military chief of the Cabinet, General Mordacq, again went into the firing line yesterday, returning in the evening perfectly satisfied.—Ex- change.
[No title]
Mr. Lloyd George has promised to at- tend the luncheon of the Association of Chandlers of Commerce next Tuesday.
I OUR SHIPPING
I OUR SHIPPING I LOSSES LOWER AND OUTPUT I INCREASED Last week there was a very considerable falling off in the number of British mer- chant ships reported lost from submarine action. Six vessels over 1,600 tons were reported lost against 15 in the previous week, ad seven vessels of lesser tonnage I against 12. Sixteen vessels were unsuc- cessfully attacked. • The figures of last week's losses in the Official Return, while they cannot be said to show signs of confined improve- ment, are certainly better than those of tho week before (says the Times" Naval Correspondent). Of the ships of 1,600 tons and over, five were reported to have been runk last week, which brings the total in this class for March up to 45, as against 3i in the, four weeks of January, and 49 in the four weeks of February. If we assume that these 125 vessels, of and over 1,600 tons had an average tohnage of 3,250, the tonnage lost for the first quarter would be over 400,000. If these figures are compared with those in the return of merchant ships completed, which was issued on Wednesday night, it will be seen that we are not yet turning out ships at the rate that we are losing the heavier vessels. MONTHLY OUTPUT. An Admiralty statement contains the following table showing the tonnage of merchant vessels completed in United Kingdom yards and entered for service during the past thirteen months:— Monthly Output. Output for Year Ending. 1917. Gross Tons 1917. Gross Tons March 118,699 March 692,225 April 69,711 April 749,314 May 69,773 May 773,110 June L. 109,847 June 833,863 July 83,073 July 865,147 August 102,060 August 928,470 Sept. 63,150 Sept. 957,185 Oct. 148,309 Oct 1,045.036 Nov. 158,826 Nov I,ia3,336 Dec. 112,486 Dec 1,163,474 1918. 1918. Jan. 58,568 Jan 1,173,953 Feb. 100,038 Feb 1,194,540 March 161,674 March .1,237,515 The Controller-General of Merchant I Shipbuilding makes the following com- ment The figure for March of 161,674 tons constitute a record, and demonstrate that the workers have taken to heart the anxiety caused by tilp comparatively low output of January and February of 58,568 tons and 100,038 tons respectively. It will be seen that although there are fluctuations in. the output of individual months, the annual output shows a steady upward tendency. The men in the shipyards are working loyally to maintain this increased output of tonnage.
A RESPITE,I
A RESPITE, I tRIS. Thursday. Renter's Expert Commentator, writing last night, says:— The stagnation which capae about on Sunday in the operations on the battle- front from the Scarpe to the Oi-oo still continues. The condition of relative calm has followed upon the sanguinary melee of the preceding days. Thc* two adversaries have taken up their positions for a period of waiting. It would be imprudent to conclude that the Germans .realising that the plan of their colossal offensive has been checked, have abandoned the idea of continuing their effort and are IToing to assume the defensive. It is true that they have been digging and organising at certain points of the Somme front just such trenches as have been made in the war of positions, but we must regard this as merely a pre- caution taken by them with a view to hok&injj their ground against a counter- offensive by us. The truth is that the Germans have need of a respite, partly owing to the heavy wastage in their effectives (their losses having attained the enormous total of 300.000 killed and wounded) and partly to difficulties experienced by their artil- lery in following up their infantry owing to the bad condition of the roads behind.
. ALL HANDS SAVED.I
ALL HANDS SAVED. The Secretary of the Admiralty makes the following announcement: One of 1-1.111. destroyers sank on 16t inst. as the result of a collision. All hands were saved.
MUMBLES GARDENER.
MUMBLES GARDENER. There passed away at Swansea Hospital ou Wednesday morning Mr. John Phillips, gardener, of 3, Claremont Villas, Mumbles. Deceased, who was 8], was one of the best known figures in the village.
"MY UNKNOWN DALING: I -.--I
"MY UNKNOWN DALING: tlorence Mayos, a member oi the W.A.C.. who is engaged to a British soldier in France, was fined J!5 at Sheffield on Wednesday for sending letters to a German prisoner of war. The girl, who internment camp, was defected .sending a love letter to a prisoner, who Miclo??i. n reply in a match- box. addressed to My unknown darlIng:'
FAMOUS WELSH HALF. ____I
FAMOUS WELSH HALF. MMu 1/eiris, tlie t'tuuoiifi Cambridge Blue and Welsil Rugby international, who has, of course, often played at Swan- sea, will probably be compelled to give up the game. He has been anything but fit RÍnco he was gassed and wounded in the leg last summer, and though he has tried to, play football, he finds himself quite unequal to the requirements of the game.
-WAR MUSEUM.-I
WAR MUSEUM. The "Daily Express" understands that the plan most favoured officially for a National War Memorial is the erection of a magnificent building as a National'War Muse urn in Hyde Park. If this idea is adopted, it would involve the expendi- ture of 8Joout jOl.000,000, which it is hoped might be obtained by voluntary contri- butions. The proposed site for the museum is close to the Serpentine, the water of which would add to the beauty of the architectural effect.
CROWN COUNCIL. I
CROWN COUNCIL. I Paris, Thursday.—A Zurich telegram of the Matin." states that an import- ant meeting of the Crown Council will be held in Vienna this week under the presidency of the Emperor Charles. According to the Vienna Taggeblatt," Count Czernin, the Premier, as well as the Hungarian Premier, and the Austro- Hungarian Ministers of Finance, Agricul- ture, Food, Commerce and War will take part in this Council, to which special importance is attributed in well-informed circles.—Exchange. I •/■
- - - - .CAEBRICKS
CAEBRICKS Mr. Ultra Vires and the Town Clerk. By the Member for Caebricks Caebricks had been glum and dumb for over a fortnight. I understood why. A favourite nephew was somewhere over there," and there was no news of him until Tuesday morning. An' then mun," so he said to me when I went to smoke with him a pipe of the strongest, an' then mun, ol' Shon the Post comes in with a smile on 'im from there to there. Dai is all right, Caebricks,' 'e said to me. I just took to Hanna-h Maria one of them there deaf an' dumb cards as they calls 'em kke, an' it 'ad all crosced out except < I am well.' So don't eu bother whatever.' An' now, bondigedig, I can see the sun squintin' between the clouds. Them ol' Germans 'aven't knocked out our soljers yet it seems, an' eu may depend on it they won't if we keeps the Welsh boys in their faces. Jawch! I can see the oil Kaiser when they tells 'im 'ow things are goin' like. 'Ow did you get on at this place on the map ? 'e says to one general. Accoriin' to plan, eur royalty,' 'e answers back. We kept where we was.' Ah! all I' 'e grinds 'is teeth, I 'spoee eu 'ad them Welsh in front of eu like eu 'ad at Gheluvelt—I can say them there Belgium words just like as if they was Cymraeg—an' Mametz Wood, an' them other places. where we went marchin' backwards ? That's 'ow it was indeed sir,' 'e sECys back sadly. An' then the Kaiser says seme thin' for what I can't find any word like in Welsh. It's that there Twin Thomas of the Welsh, drat an' gast 'is eyes. Every time I do want a push, that Twm Thomas spoils me clean. 'E's the fellow who's breakin' up my time-table to go to Paris. Wherever I turns, there's that Twm Thomas in front of my plans.' Well, any 'ow, that's what Twm write in the letter that 'is mam did read out to me in Shop Pob Petli the other day, an' I tolls eu 'xactly what was on the letter, though to he sure Twm always was a man who could tell the truth a long way from what it was really. Still mind eu, I wouldn't be surprised if Twm an' the rest oi the boys from the dre didn't 'ave a lot to do with upsettin' the plan this time. Eu saw 'bout that other Great Offen- sive goin' wrong in Council Abertawe. the week before the last one? There's a fiat shot for t."U! It's a wonder thom there newsboys who is always shout in' Great i ays Great British Victory whether we do be goin' on or back didn't call out Great Victory for Personal Expenses! Eu fancy all i that talk, an* all them resolutions and motions, an' then the Town Clerk savin' they was out of order! Dratto! where was that little pocket book they all 'as, with a leather cover that smells so gran' like, ith all the instructions in it 'bout low to d<) tiiiiii 'ow to do things proper ? It, reminds me, 1 it do, of a debate when I was on the Council for Caebricks. What it was we was talkin' 'bout 1 forgets now, but it was nothin' of no importance whatever. P'raps 'bout buildin' the Cray, or 'bout puttin* up a lamp in some councillor's street, or p'raps 'bout 'ow much we could charge for expenses. It was just before Novem- ber too, it was, an' we was all speakin' straight at the reporters, an' 'opin' as 'ow they would make sense of ue if we didn't make much of it by ourselves. An' I will tell eu, boy bach, there's many a man on Council Abertawe, and on the. big Parliament too, who wouldn't be nobody if it ^wasn't for the poft 'earb; of the reporters an' the way they 'elps out a sentence that 'aven't got any legs the way it is said. Fair play to the reporters too, an' if eu tell 'em 'bout Caebricks talkin' nice 'bout 'em, an' 'special 'bout the kind of cigars ''e do smoke when 'e gets back on the Council, an' goes on deputations again, well maylie some day ou will see Eloquent Oration b:y. Cae- bricks in the 'eadin' of the Council Ireport some day or other. Iloweome-ever, where was T talkin' 'bout that there debate, 'bout somethin' T forgot, in the Council? We was jawin' away to the reporters' tables for one hour, an' two hours, an' there was more motions an* proposals, an' resolutions flyin' 'bout nor was proposed at the Council meetin' the other day. Anwl y bydi We did'tie ourselves up in k.nots! An' by an' by, we didn't know at all where we was. So the Mayor turned 'round to the Town Clerk, who was lookin' on quiet without savin' a word, Mishter Town Clerk,' 'e said, p'ia])s j eu will be good enough to tell the Council a little bit of common sense 'bout this 'ere business? j So ol* John Thomas gets up to 18 feet. an' 'e clears 'is throat impressive like—just as our Mr. Davies do it before 'e starts 'is sermon. 'I take it. Mr. Mayor: 'e said, that the Council desires to know my view of the subject under discussion ? In cwrs they does,' says the Mayor, rather cross, or else I wouldn't 'ave asked eu for eur opinion.' Very well, then,' said the Town Clerk. in my opinion, the whole matter is ultra vireg! Jawch eriod! There was a place when 'e said that! The Mayor leaned forward, an' asked. Beg your pardon. Mishter Town Clerk? I said that the whole thing was ultra vires.' 'e said, more impressive like nor the last time. Now them was the days before our Twm wa.s born, an' >1 didn't know no Latin nor Greece, same as I does now, like Pro Bojio Publico, an' Nem Con an' eo forth. But M' Caehricks wasn't born the day before yesterday, same as one councillor who got up excited like an' shouted out, I rises to a point of order, Mr. Mayor. What 'as this Mr. Ultra Vires got to do with this business I would like to know?' An' p'raps eu wouldn't believe me,. but if I never was to split mos' of the councillors was wftntin' to know too what 'e 'ad to do with it. An' when they understands that 'e was a foreign language, there's cross they got with the Town Clerk. Two of 'em got up to ask why 'e 'adn't spoken 'is speech in the first place. Bift eu couldn't dp as eu lfl)ed with nl' John Thomas. 'E was equal to all the Council put in one. 'Am I expected vo •Continued Rt foot of next collate).
I THE SCROLL OF FAME
I THE SCROLL OF FAME Pte. John Griffiths, son of Mr. Owen Griffith", Taliaris Smithy, Llandilo, has been wounded in action in France,, and is now in hospital. Pte. Edwin Haiamett, son of the grave- digger at Mumbles Cemetery, has been wounded in France, and is being treated at a base hospital. Sec.-lieut. E. G. Vergette, of the Tank Corps, son of Mr. Vergette, grocer, of Walter-road, Swansea, has been posted as misting since March 22nd. Capt. and Mrs. Pierse Byrne, 3, Pier- street, Swansea, have received intimation that their son, Rifleman Arthur Byrne has been wounded. He is in hospital in France. Mr. J. J. Roberts, head master of the Council Schools, Pontardawe, has received official information that his second eon, Sec.-Lieut. T. Hubert Roberts, has been missing since the beginning of the pre- sent big battle. Information reached Councillor Dd. George. Bettws, Ammanford, on Wednes- day that his eon. Gunner W. E. George, who lies dangerously ill in St. Omer Hos- pital, France, is slightly better, but not yet out of danger. Official news has been received that Sergt. Edmund Miles, R.E., son of Mr. and Mrs. John Miles, Cerdinen House, I Pontardulais, has been recommended for the DC.M. He is an old employe of the Graig Merthyr Colliery. Mifs Williams, of Dynevor-road, j Skewen, has been informed that her brother, S. Walter Wiliams, K.N.D., has | been severely gassed and also wounded in France. He has served nearly Irom the beginning of the war, going through the Dardanelles campaign. <> n 0 Major E. L. Protheroe, only son of Councillor E. G. Protheroe, Swansea, who was wounded in the right leg in the recent fighting in France, has been re- moved to a hospital in Camberwell, on- don. Major Protheroe, it is stated, is getting on fairly well. News has been received that Sergt. J. Ross, R.M.F., bus been wounded in Fiance. He is a native of Australia. Prior to joining the colours he was em- ployed at Messrs. D. ilan and Sons, boot works. High-street, tSwtunsea. Official news has been received by Mrs. Robinson, 135, Western-street, Swansea, that her husband; Driver Ben HobllltiOU, A.S.C., has been brought from Frame to Penrith Hospital, Cumberland, sulJ'ering from contusion ut the thigii and knee. He is one 01 fin-e brothers serving with the colours. Sec.-lieut. Malcolm Mc-Indoer, son of Mr. Neii Mei lulixr, 17, Northampton- place, Swansea, was seriously wounded ia the abdomen. Lieut. Mclndoer en- listed in May, 1916, and in June of last year was granted a commission in the Cameron liighlanders. lie is 20 years of age, and before enlisting war. employed all the Borough Estate Agent's office, and was a sergeant in the Salisbury Company OJ tlie V.T.C. He ie an old Municipal Solidary School boy. News has been received of the death in | action of Lieut. Alee H. Moore, youngest m of Mr. A. M. Moore,of St. Nicholas, Cardiff, and • nephew of Mr. Walforil Aloore, of the Western Mail." Lieut. ua.s killed at Cambrai on March 27th, at 27 years of age. Deceased, who had been on active, service since early in the war, belonged to a family well known throughour. the Vale of Glamorgan, and. was ot high educational attainment and it most promising officer. I Mr. D. Jones, 6, Danygraig-road, St. Thomas, Swansea, has received news that his son, Pte. A. E. Jones, Welsh Reg1-: m?Rt, is at a base bospita1 sunering fro:n II a severe gunhot. wound in the left knee. Pte. Jones, who i" 23 years of ag0. wa5 a j shunter on the R. and S. B. Railway, where his father IS also employed, He was in a ^rritoriai battalion, molu jised at the outbreak of war. and was tlh first man in that battalion to be wounded. The present is his third wound. Mr. W. H. Quicke. saddler. 19, Dil- Iwyn-street, Swansea, has received noti- fication by the War Office of the death i a action, on It. rch 23rd. of his son, Liout. Harry Quicke, Royal Welsh Fusi- liers. Lieut. Quicke. was 23 years of age and had been in the Army for three He was an old Grammar School boy, and before enlisting was on the clerical staff of Weaver and Co. Another or Mr. Quicke's sons, Mr. Bert Quicke. arrived homo from France on Tuesday. suffering from shell shock. Mr. Quicke t was in charge of one of the Y.M.C.A. huts at the front. Sec.-lieut. Joseph Arthur Smith, Royal j Marine Light Infantry. died of wounds iu France on March 27th, in his 21st year, ¡ lie was the second .son of Mr. Ernest Smith, formerly of D. Jones, Dickinson and Co., and Taylor and MI., Ltd., of Swansea. After leaving school he was with the British Chamber of Commerce; in Paris for two years, and enlisted in the Royal Marines soon after ihe out- J break of war. lie served two and a hail years in .Egypt, Gallipol^ and France, and in January, 1917, was given a com- uiissioii in the same battalion in which be had'served as a private and N.C.O. (Continued on Page Four).
M IN ERS-' COMB-OUT. I
M IN ERS-' COMB-OUT. The executive ct the Miners' Federation of Great Britain met in London on Wed- nesday, when reports were received from districts as to the comb-out of men from the mines for military service. It was decided that the Federation, as a national organisation, should take no part in the matter, each mining district being given freedom of action to decide whether it should co-operate with the National Ser- vice rocruitiug officials in the selection of the 50,000 men required from the mines. In the South WTales coalfield the National Service representatives are mak-I ing anangements for the medical exair,: wuHan of men of the required ages, but will issue no calling up notice until after they have met the miners' executive on Friday. In Lancashire the number of men required to be taken from each col- liery has been decided, and the men within the ages fixed for military ser- vice are themselves balloting as to which among them shall join the Army
TOWN TALK.
TOWN TALK. According to General Foch, the Ger- mans can say Amen to Amiens. -:0:- When, if ever, was the Swansea Mar- When., for business on a Sunday morn- I-et open ing before?. Nature made a fool of allotment-holders on Easter Monday. And smiled at them in the afternoon! oc The menu at the Swansea and district Cymanfa GrulU": Tea and Milk on de- mand; but bring your bread, butter and sugar. — :Or— A sailor on a weekly boat gets iijlbs. of meat, plus lib. of bacon, per week. He also gets the appetite to enable him to con- sume it. — :0:— A Mumbles resident has found a new use for the bath. Two iive rabbits were found in it. Mr. Puddicombe made the discovery, and said something, too! -;0- The "Spectator" says that Welsh ta worth learning because of its poetry. How long these English journals-yes, even Spectator's" —take to see the obvious r — :0:— The allotment-holder who intends to plant the whole of his patch with onions will probably re duce his neighbour's pota- toes to tears. Then they will cry their Qyes out. 0: & —:o:- B The Germans are in Dernacourt, but we believe that the cemetery—one of the largest on the Somme battlefield-is still in British keeping. Many Swansea heroes sleep within it. 0: Dr. Ivor Thomas was a good man in all respects. He loved the observances of re- ligion, and his cleatli is a heavy blow to Bethesda, where, on Sunday weak, he took his accustomed part in worship. — :0 A mcdel allotment is going to be a fea- ture at the forthcoming Allotment Pro- duce Show at Neath. From what we have *een, i. few dead crows will have to be 4,ii,pend4p,cl to complete the model. Local gardens are gay with daffodils just now, and in some of the larger plots armfuls of blooms are being cut without making any appreciable difference in the glorious appearance of the flower beds. :0 What with blue chevrons, gold stripes, divisional and other colour distinctions, net to mention war decoration ribbons, some of the boys now on leave remind one of tales of Joseph and his coat of many colours. — :0 Llansamlet people are still troubled with the smoke nuisance. They say that all their agitations in the past have. ended in smoke."» However, t hr.t may be, it is certain that smoke and spuds dOl: t go together. — :o:— Dr. Vauglian Thomas, who conduct:, the annual singing festival at Tahernaeli- Morriston. had some pointed .eommetit: to make to those who ayi?cared to attended for the purpose of meeting and chatting with friends. :0:— Some of those Swanse a people who got meat earl y last week did better than those who waited until Sunday mornir.g for delivery. But it doesn't always hap- pen like that. This time, however, the early bird got the little worm. -:o The Figure Eight isn't, we are pre- roared to admit, a very elevating amuse- ment. It's just an--aiiiu-ment. But a voung evangelist on the sands yesterday told his audience that the joy-riders < n it were gliding their quick way th011! — :0 Now that the Welsh drama seems to be all the go in the intensely Welsh dis- tricts surrounding Swansea, a local nationalist is wondering why seme of the companies—end they are said by critics to contain excellent amateur talent—do not appear occasionally in the- to rn proper. :—— Mametz Wood figures in the war tala to-day. One of the correspondents telk how, on the 2.5th, enemy patrols worked into the wood. and were held up by handfuls of machine-gunners and riiie- men. The morning of the 26th found wearied heroes on the last stage of their journey to the Ancre. -:0:- The visit to Swansea of Mr. Harry Roe, who holds an important shipping appoint- ment in France, recalls a famous dro-pped goal by which he enabled the All Whiter, to beat Pontypool some eight or ten years ago. Mr. Roej who used to live at New- ton, Mumbles, has filled out greatly, and looks the picture of good health. 0:- Fred Ambrose in a Welsh tale of the war. gives fe marvellous bit of Welsh- French as follows:—" Mae Fritz a'i gloomiu' gtrafes no bon heddi." Another "tit-bit" runs—" Paeth whizi>bang just •mewn i'n dugout ni, a dwlws sopyn o •wvrl dro; y bleedin' mangy. Mae Shorn Heaicoup wind-i-up o aclvos e, ond wy' i yn treg bien, fair play!" — :0 •— Already enme funny pronunciations have been heard in Swansea anent the rumoured new Generalissimo, C^-wm1 Foch. First we heard—Foke, then Fobtch (hard Welsh "ch "), followed by Fo. In a Swansea train on Monday he was t!t>- =cribod as Fush. What it will be by the end of the week—who knows? By the way, the proper way to say it is Fosh! —:o:— Anxious to let the congregation know that the special singer (a professional musician) had rendered gratuitous ser- vices without announcing ,-lip fact too bluntly, a speaker at a Welsh chapel concert began in this way: Madame aifd-so has given her services "-after a momentary hesitation, he continued • "to the Lord. She, not in the habit of doing this." -:0: That grey hairs are not necessarily a sign of senile decay was demonstrated in the Easter Monday Rugby game at Swan- sea. The inspiration of most of the pass- ing done by the South Wales backs was a groy-haired but wonderfully active centre- three-quartor in the person of D. Elan Evans. He was the personification of camouflaged youth. -'0- Apropos the races at Clyne Valley tlus weeu, the following paragraph in a Wel&h journal a hundred and more years ago will give an idea of how the old town used to do things in those far off days:— Swansea raoes. which commenoed on Wednesday last, attracted a great con- course of beauty and fashion, and the town was literally crowded. The race- course on Crwmlin Burrows was thronged and a more pleasant show of elegant females has seldom been witnessed than was assembled on the occasion. A great many carriages were attracted to the course, horsemen and pedestrians out of o umber."
THURSDAY'S BRITISH OFFICIAL.I
THURSDAY'S BRITISH OFFICIAL. General Headquarters, Thursday, 10.55 a.m.—.During the night a German machrne post in the neighbourhood of Hebuteme was rushed by our troops, and the machine-gun captured. A few prisoners have been brought in froon other parts of the battle-front. Bevond some hostile artillery activity at different points of the battle-front, and also dn the Menin-road and Passchenduele sectors, there is nothing further to report. [Hebuterne was upon the old Somme front line. It was upon this right flank of the 1916 battle that at the start we failed to make any impression. Later in the offensive, however, we advanced our line, but Hebuterne remained on our front until the great German re- treat dn February of the following year. It lies about 8 miles directly north of I Albert.]
- - - - .CAEBRICKS
answer that question? 'e turned to the Mayor. Yes if eu please,' said the Mayor. Well,' "« answered back, the reason why I didn't speak before was because I wasn't asked to.' Now if the Town Clerk to-day was to But Caebricks' visitor hurriedly turned the talk to the subject of deacons. What the old man said about the new diaconal weight on the Council shall also he kept dark. Caebricks on his brother deacons is always an abiding joy, and lwrhaps some day his counter-talk thereon may be recounted. But it will '•ave to be very strictly censored.