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WIRELESS STUDENT FINED. I
WIRELESS STUDENT FINED. I At Enfield Police-court on Monday, Stanley Warren White, seventeen, a wireless telegraph student, of Church-street, Enfield, was charged with having a complete wireless installation in his possession without the permission of the Postmaster-General. The father of the boy said the accused was keen on his work, and so was witness, but he did not know anything about the working. The boy sat and experimented nearly the whole evening. A Post Office expert said that the apparatus was capable of sending and receiving messages from eight to ten miles. Counsel for the accused said there was no question of his loyalty. He was English, and his parents were English. He had left Enfield Grammar School, and was now at the East London Wireless College. He was unaware that he required the written permission of the Postmaster-General. He had never transmitted or received a message, although he had heard sounds. The magistrate fined the accused £7 and costs, and said part of the blame was attached to the father, and he ordered the apparatus to be removed and confiscated until after the war.
NOTES ON NEWS. I -
NOTES ON NEWS. I I The recommendations of the Select Com- mittee which has been considering the question PENSIONS I AND ALLOWANCES. of naval and military pen- sions and allowances are a considerable improvement upon those of the White Paper published in Novem- her last. The Committee have not gone as far as some people think they ought to go- the pound a week minimum separation allow- ance is still not reached-but the new scale is at any rate more worthy of the nation than the old one was. The minimum pension for a childless widow is to be 10s. a week, to be increased to 12s. 6d. at the age of thirty- fivo and to los. at forty-five. The White Paper scale gave the childless widow 7s. 6d. The allowances in respect of children are also to be increased. Naturally a great deal of interest has been taken in the matter of the pension for totally disabled soldiers. This has now been fixed at 25s. a week. This, again, is better than the disablement allowance pro- posed in the White Paper, but nobody can say that it is an over-generous allowance for a man who has been crippled for life while fighting in defence of his country. It should not be forgotten that in. the new armies there are thousands of men who have given up highly-salaried posts. Twenty-five shillings a week will not seem riches to them. It was well that all political parties should have been represented on the Committee which dealt with this important matter. Obviously all parties have an equal interest in it, and it was very necessary that there should be no opportunity for criticism of a partisan nature. Since the war began probably no Member I of the Government has been so much harried HARASSED HOME SECRETARY. and harassed f.3 Mr. McKenna. Newspapers, public speakers, and magis- trates have been going for" him bald-heeded on the question of spies and aliens. Whenever there has been a rumour of spies—and there have been a good many—somebody has been sure to say that the Home Office and the Home Secretary were not domg their duty. Were enemy aliens allowed to live at the sea- side, the fault was Mr. McKenna's; were enemy aliens interned, then it was Mr. McKenna's fault that they had not been in- terned earlier, before the mischief was done; were they released, then Mr. McKenna's hopeless ineptitude and incompetence were made manifest. Always it was Mr. McKenna to blame. And now it appears that it has not been Mr. McKenna's fault at all. It is true that the police deal with the aliens, and that the police are under the authority of the Home Office, but in this matter the Home Office itself acts under the instructions of the War Office. It is the War Office that gives authority for the arrest or the release or the letting alone of enemy aliens. Now that Mr. McKenna has made this clear in the House of Commons, perhaps he may be left in peace a little while. We may take the German "Hymn of Hate as a compliment. Herr Lissancr, the A VALUABLE TESTIMONIAL. author of the remarkable poem, and the Germans who have learned it by heart, and possibly teach it to their children, do not mean to be complimentary, of course; but the fact remains that by making so much fuss about their hatred of this country they are really giving us a magnificent testimonial, which cannot fail to impress our Allies. It is very evident that the Germans have a full appre- ciation of the part which Great Britain is Trying in the combination against them. When, the Kaiser visited his fleet at Wil- "elrdshaven the soldiers and sailors there Sllg the Hymn of Hate." They knew very "en that this little vocal exercise would please the Lr('at War Lord, who has decorated the author of the poem with the inevitable Iron Cross. Think how deeply the Kaiser himself must hite tis-wlth our "contemptible little army that has proved such. a big stumbling-block to the Kaiser's forces on land, and our Nayy that is strangling the life out of Germany at sea! The object of the War Office in dec laring that all members of the Volunteer Training VOLUNTEER TRAINING CORPS. Corps of military age must enlist in the regular forces if called upon to do so is of course clear enough. The War Office does not want fit men to have any excuse for evading what it considers to be their duty—enlistment in the regular Army. Certain reasons for not join- ing will be recognised, but these apply only to a comparatively small proportion of the Volunteers, and for the others the only alter- native to giving an undertaking to enlist if called upon would seem to be resignation. This is undoubtedly hard upon a great many patriotic men who have good reasons for not joining the regular forces, and are yet keenly desirous to do their bit in home defence. It cannot be said that the reasons which alone will be recognised by the War Office exhaust the reasons which may be reasonably and honourably put forward; and it certainly does seem unjust that patriotic citizens who are willing to help should be penalised, w hile other and younger men get off jscot-free. It is very considerate of the German Ad- miralty to give us official notice of their BLOCKADE OF BRITAIN! intention to blockade these islands of ours and to tor- pedo our troopships and our trading steamers. Wo should feel more frightened about it, no doubt, if we were able to believe that the Germans have the power to carry out their threats. They have shown us in every possible way that they have no nice scruples in the conduct of war, and it is not to be supposed that, having braced them- selves up to torpedo hospital ships, they will hesitate at an inoffensive merchant steamer. But the blockade of Great Britain and Ire- land is a big undertaking. Submarines are the only type of vessel the Germans have available for carrying it out, and they have not enough of them for the job. And as for the torpedoing of troopships—well,we have been sending troops across the Channel since tho early days in August, and it is quite certain that the Germans would have used their submarines against them if they could. here is no reason to fear that they will be ny more successful in the future than they aVe been in the past.
CANADIAN AVIATOR KILLED.
CANADIAN AVIATOR KILLED. Xiieut. Sharpe, of the Canadian contingent of the Royal Flying Corps, has been killed '\VhIle flying at Shoreham. e had been at the Shoreham Aerodrome Olut a fortnight. '11 Piloting a Maurice-Farman biplane, he flew CPU the Adur valley, and was near Lancing dO U ege on the return journey to the acro- ome when the machine came to earth, nose st, with great velocity. The biplane was smashed to pieces, and al- though the aviator was breathing when distance arrived, death occurred almost im- laediately afterwards.
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A- correspondent of the Dutch "Nieuwe COurant" writes: "The Canadian nurses h in Veurne (Flanders), in their khaki ¡ ^tumes with knickerbockers and broad- ( »nmmed hats, look very smart indeed. In  field they are everywhere, and know no ??ger. Several of them belong to the best ??ilies." 1 Owing to the coal shortage in the Isle of  the Manx Government commandeered i?? 0 tiMM of coal, the cargo of a ship which V it Mttto Douglas Harbour through stress of leather. L Th? aem<?np€ of death passed on Private T n ? British prisoner of war, who 8ssault a a (camp guard, has been commuted to t?",C guard, has heen commuted wenty ^acs imprisonment.
a PROVIDING FOR AN ARMY.
a PROVIDING FOR AN ARMY. WORK OF THE ORDNANCE CORPS IN THE FIELD. The work of providing for an army in the field is no easy matter. The duties of the Ordnance Corps are arduous, and "Eye- Witness," in a message issued by the Press Bureau on Monday, describes their work. He gives figures which are truly amazing. Essen- tial as is food, its provision is only one part of the problem of maintainin g a force in the field. To be efficient as a soldier, a man requires more than the adequate nourishment of the body. The furnishing of food of every kind for man and beast is the duty of the Army Service Corps the furnishing of every drug and appli- ance necessary for the treatment of the sick and wounded is carried out by the Royal Army Medical Corps, assisted by the various volun- tary organisations which started their effective work when war began while the provision of stores for disabled animals falls to the Army Veterinary Department. The Royal Flying Corps purchases its own machines, as does the Mechanical Transport Branch of the Army Ser- vice Corps. Broadly speaking, however, with these exceptions, the Ordnance Department supplies the Army with all the clothing, equip- ment, arms, ammunition, tools, appliances, machinery, and expendible material that can be required, from guns weighing many tons to tin-tacks. I BIG FIGURES. In a word, it is the military universal pro- vider, and its activities cover a far wider field than might be imagined from its name. In one month there were issued to the troops 450 miles of telephone wire, 570 telephones, 534,000 sandbags, 10,0001b. of dubbing for boots, 38.COO bars of soap, 150,000 pairs of socks, and 100,000 pairs of boots. In ten days the number of fur waistcoats given out amounted to 118,160, while during the same period 315,075 flannel belts were distributed. The way that insignificant items mount up where large numbers of men are concerned is shown by the fact that the weight of the aver- age weekly issue of vaseline for the feet is five tons, and that of horseshoes 100 tons. The official "Vocabulary of Stores," which corresponds to the price-list of a large shop. contains 50,000 separate items. The different patterns of varieties of the same article stocked is also somewhat surprising. For in. stance, there are several hundreds of kinds of spanners in use in the Service, spanner No. 203 being listed as required for "gland and valve of cap securing inner chamber of air cylinder and filling valve, spindle intensifier; barbette, B. 9.2 inch Mark IV.. also filling and empty- ing valve gland air cylinder, barbette B.L. 9.2 inch Marks V to VB. UNUSUAL DEMANDS. Even such unusual demands have been made as those for bitter aloes-to put on head ropes to prevent horses ljiting them-and perman- ganate of potash for dyeing grey horses brown. And not Qiily is the variety of the stores used greater than it was formerly. Each article tends to become more complicated in itself. Guns, and their mountings and carriages, and ammunition with its delicate fuses, the hand- ling of which originally formed the chief duty of the department, are, of course, far more elaborate than they used to be, as are the elec- trical instruments used by the engineers for telegraph, wireless, and telephone—the employ- ment of which has to such a farge extent super- seded the old, simple flag and lamp signalling and heliography. Even such things as water- carts are now fitted with an elaborate arrange- ment of filters. The duties of the department can be divided into those of supply and maintenance. The first consists of estimating betimes what will be required, of framing scales of issue and checking demands for it, of ordering, procur- ing, and testing or making it, of providing the troops with it, and of accounting for it after- wards. -I WORKSHOPS IN FRANCE. I In most cases the articles used by the army are made either in Government or private fac- tories at home but some are manufactured by the Ordnance Department in its own workshops in France. In the case of anything of a mecha- nical nature, the duties of the "Ordnance" are not finished when the article is handed over to the troops who use it. for it is still carefully watched, gauged, and tested, maintained in order, and if necessary repaired or replaced. The importance of this work in connection with guns, ammunition, or explosives needs no emphasis. To carry on, indeed, the officers and men of the department must not only possess a knowledge of their own work, but have to be well acquainted, in the establishments, forma- tions, and requirements of every kind of unit. For the testing and repair of machinery there is a specially and technically trained staff of officers, warrant officers, and men, and station- ary and travelling workshops, whilst all ar- mourers, whether employed in the ordnance workshops or with regiments, belong to the department. PROBLEMS OF DISTRIBUTION. I It must be remembered that since the units of an army on active service are either fighting or waiting ready to fight, and are, therefore, scattered over a large area, the problem of dis- tribution, whether it be of food, ordnance stores, parcels, or letters, is bound to be one of great difficulty. It is in most cases impos- sible for the soldiers to go collectively or in- dividually to some central depot or shop wherp they can draw what they want. The stuff must be taken out and delivered to them. This. of courtve, applies equally to the question of food, but there are two points which make the distribution of ordnance stores less easy than that of food, and that is the variety of the former and the fact that some of them have to a certain extent to meet the requirements of the individual. For instance, it is not sufficient that a soldier who wants a coat and boots should receive a coat and boots of good quality. He must have the particular sizes of these articles which fit him whereas if he need s bread and meat, his wants are met if he gets the right quantity and it is good. All this question of size and fit, of course, adds to the complication of obtaining stores and of issuing them. Briefly, the procedure adopted to ensure that the troops receive promptly what they need is as follows For all ordinary stores for which there is a steady demand, and of which an estimat.e of requirements can be framed in advance, the ordnance officer with a division sends down to the base—which is really a depot or reservoir of stores—an order for a week's supply made out in anticipation. If this order were complied with at one stroke and the whole of the week's supply sent up in one con- signment by rail from the base to railhead- the point where railway transport ceases—the result would be congestion and confusion, for the mass could not be handled and sent out to the troops at once, nor could it be stored where it was off-loaded. TWO GREAT PRINCIPLES. I Moreover, it might happen that the troops would not at the moment be in a position to take delivery cpf the stores for which they had asked. From the base, therefore, a proportion of the weekly demand is sent up to railhead daily, and f--oin this amount the divisional ordnance officer is able to satisfy each day part of the current requirements of the units. Two great principles which are strictly adhered to are, on the one hand, not to off-load from the rail and accumulate a stock at a temporary point, such as railhead, where it cannot be handled and, on the other hand, not to lock up railway rolling stock by keeping trucks under load. To avoid a block, therefore, it pays to send back to the base the unexpended balance of a day's consignment which is not issued to troops on arrival at railhead. This applies to ordinary stores, but there are excep- tions which need not be specified. For all technical stores for which there is not a steady demand, and which are not-required in bulk, the system is different. The divisional ordnance officer wires to the base to send up from stock at once whatever is required. Once on rail, ordnance supplies follow the same channel of delivery as the food. Up to rail- head they are conveyed on special trucks in the supply trains and thence by motor transport to the refilling stations, whence they are taken up to the fighting line in the horsed vehicles of units. So far as the ordnance is concerned, the base, besides being a depot, includes huge work- shops, where all kinds of stores are manufac- tured and repaired. A description of these. however, is reserved for an account of the base as a whole. To equip the army, of course, is the main thing. And the amount of experience and fore- thought necessary to ensure that the immense but fluctuating stream of material required should always reach its destination, and reach it in time, can be imagined. I VOCABULARY OF STORES. But there is another side of the work which cannot be neglected, though it is less vital than prompt delivery.; and that is the account- ing for the stores expended. This entails a vast amount of dull and arduous clerical laboui at the various depots, advanced bases, and bases, the latter far away from any possible excitement to be obtained from propinquity to the firing-line. This work, however, loses none of its value as an aid to the successful prosecu- tion of the campaign because it is not "in the limelight," but is carried on silently, con- k tinuously, unseen by most and unknown to many. Nevertheless, it is not altogether without relief. The "vocabulary of stores" is a peren- nial source of amusement. The system of nomenclature adopted, though the only one which lends itself to ready reference, is at first sight cumbrous, the actual name of an article invariably preceding any adjective or qualify- ing description. For instance, no ordnance officer would ever think of referring to a tell- tale clock as such. He would call it "Clock tell-tale portable six Stations Mark II. one." There are, indeed, many stories current regarding the addiction of the department to this inverted phraseology. According to one, an official is supposed to have asked at a restaur mt for a "Choke-artirusalem- Je." Another story refers to the habit of economising words, which becomes almost second nature to those continually engaged in telephoning and making long lists. A. warrant officcr of the department who was of a devout temperament was in the habit of assisting at church service. On one occasion when announc- ing the hymn he read out in a loud voice of command, "Hvmn Number two double 0 seven, Art thou weary; ditto languid; ditto sore distressed ? I A PUZZLING MESSAGE. The demands and messages sometimes received by overworked and harassed officers of the de- partment are puzzling in the extreme; and the following telegram recently delivered to one such illustrates some of the difficulties of cater- ing for an army composed of different races 4,982: 24/11/14: O.G. 79(3.-Alohammedau or Punjab lotah has a spout. With or with- out a handle. Hindoo or Bombay lotah gener- ally of brass, but no spout or handle. Is carried by lip. Hindoos and Mohammedans here both agree that a Katorah never has a spout, but is a sort of metal bowl. Confirm that you want the spouted articles, for which nearest substitute is enamelled teapot. In reference to complaints as to loss of pro- perty on ambulance trains, some official sug- gested the provision of a safe and a lady purser. To this the reply was that the safe; would be furnished if it was thought necessary, but that the lady was not an ordnance supply. In spite of difficulties and peculiarities such as are hinted above, there is no body of nfficers, non-commissioned officers, and men who work harder and do more for the efficiency and comfort of the whole Army than those of the Ordnance Department.
IOUR CASUALTIES.I
I OUR CASUALTIES. I TOTAL FOR THE WESTERN FRONT. I In the House of Commons, Mr. Hogge, the Liberal member for East Edinburgh, asked the Prime Minister the total casualties in the pre- sent war, and whether some arrangement could now be made to issue the totals up to date with each fresh li6t of casualties. Mr. Asquith, in reply, said: "The casualties of the Expeditionary Force in the Western area of the war up to February 4 are approximately 104,000 of all ranks. "I will consider from time to time whether the total figures cannot be given." Mr. Tennant, the Under-Secretary for War, in answer to a further question, stated that the 104,000 included men who were "missing or prisoners of war.
INCREASE IN THE NAVY. I
INCREASE IN THE NAVY. I A Supplementary Estimate has been issued I proyiding- for an addition of 32,000 to the per- sonnel of the Navy. The effect of the war on the Navy is shown in the following figures: All Ranks. Original Estimate 151,000 Supplementary. August 5, 1914. 67,000 Now Proposed 32,000 Revised Total 250,000 The 32,000 officers and men represent the pro- bable excess required during the v" ear ending March 31 next. a
SHELLS FOR SIEGE GUNS.I
SHELLS FOR SIEGE GUNS. I Many of the shells used by the big Ger- man siege guns-a Jack Johnsons" as they have been nicknamed on account of the dense black smoke they throw out when bursting, weigh close on a thousand pounds. It is, of course, impossible for one man to left such a weight, so each shell is placed in a special wicker-work basket. The lid for the basket is generally made of metal, and fastened on with leather straps. Each basket has four handles, for it takes four men to carry the shell to its gun, each man prac- tically lifting between two and three hun- dredweight. These shells cost £ 1,250 each.
LADY SHOT IN A THEATRE. I
LADY SHOT IN A THEATRE. An important judgment affecting theatre proprietors was delivered at South Shields County-court by Judge Bonsey, in an action for damages. Sarah Elizabeth Cox sued John W. Coulson, manager and lessee of the Theatre Royal. On September 17 Miss Cox was in the dress circle during the performance of a piece entitled "In Time of War." In one of the scenes pistol shots were fired with blank cart- ridges. Plaintiff suddenly felt a pain in her right wrist, and subsequently there was ex- tracted a pistol bullet which was somewhat smaller than those generally used. His honour said there must have been negli- gence on the part of the person who loaded the pistol, and there was negligence in the fact that the weapon was held towards the audi- ence. When plaintiff paid for admission to witness the performance that implied a con- tract not only that the building should be reasonably safe, but also that the play should be performed with reasonable care, so that the audience should not be exposed to un- necessary danger. Plaintiff had been incapaci- tated for work, and would be so for some time 1:0 come. He awarded her JcZO da.mages and costs.
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At the great fair holiday this year at Petrograd it is expected that the peasants will have more money to spend than usual, owing to the suppression of the sale of vodka. The Kaiser has sent to Dr. Krupp von Bohlen the Iron Cross of the First Class with an autograph letter saying that the recipient has earned it by his great patriotic work for the Fatherland.
GERMANY SHORT OF COPPER.
GERMANY SHORT OF COPPER. BRITISH AVIATORS DROP BOMBS ON LILLE. We have heard much about the bull-dog tenacity of the British soldier under fire, and How testimony of this comes from German sources. In a letter found on a German i" written: "The. sit there in their trenches and bhoot right up to the last minute." Our air- craft have been active. "Eve-Witness," in a message issued by the Press Bureau on lues- day, says that the enemy's aircraft always turn towards home when they sight one of our own. The following is "Eye-Witness's story:— Tuesday, February 2, was marked by no incident of any importance. The Germans did not attempt to drive us from the ground won on the previous day near Cuinchy, and vc strengthened our position undisturbed. Owing to our ability to enfilade a part of their trenches from our forward position on the canal bank, they abandoned a part of their line, leaving quantities of rifles and equipment behind them, a sign that their troops had been considerably shaken by our offensive, and had retired in disorder.. One of our batteries in this quarter succeeded in obtaining two hits on a hostile observation post. On the rest of the front there was nothing beyond the usual tninty and shelling. On Wednesday there was some increase in the hostile artillery fire against our left and centre. In the neighbouriio >d of Messines our trench mortars compelled the enemy to abandon a portion of their front line, and to retire across the open under our rifle-fire, from which they suffered considerably. One of our aviators dropped ten bombs on the aerodrome at Lille, which are believed to have been effective, while a German airman flew over Bailleul and threw two bombs with- out inflicting damage. On Thursday, the 4th, the shelling against the left and centre of our line was severe, and the enemy showed increased activity. Between seven and eight p.m. a local attack was attempted by a small body against us to the south of Armentieres. After a heavy artillery and rifle fire searchlights were (arected on our trenches, and an assault was launched; but it was at once checked and I driven bacjj by our rifle fire. The rest of the bight passed quietly. GERMAN AIRCRAFT ACTION. The enemy's aircraft were very active, espe- cially on the left, where they endeavoured to reconnoitre the positions of our trenches and batteries. As usual, however, their aeroplanes E-eclined to engage ours, and made for their own lines when approached. The ascendancy obtained by our aviators was once again shown by an incident which occurred on this day. One of our machines endeavoured to engage two hostile aeroplanes, which thereupon turned towards home. They descended' to their own lines but their pursuer, determined not to be baulked of his prey, though they had reached their aerodrome, threw two bombs on them, then fired fifty rounds at them, and flew away. A German machine flew over Hazebrouck end dropped bombs, which injured two women. A man who was cleaning a window had an Extraordinary escape, for although the window was shattered, and the interior of the room irrecked, he was untouched. THE PHYSICALLY UNFIT FIGHTING. The past few days have been fine and warm, rond our aircraft have taken every advantage tf the favourable weather. It has also enabled [Jur artillery to obtain especially good results ggainst the hostile batteries. Some of the infantry units opposing us now contain large numbers of Ersatz Reservists. amongst whom are men who were originally put back for some physical defect. Recently these men have been joining after only eight weeks' training. The casualties of one German company in the recent fighting round Cuinchy have been pnormous. In six days it lost from shell fire and bombs 130 men, out of a total strength of 160, and the remaining thirty appear to have all been killed, wounded, or captured on February 1. Two other companies which took part in the attack on January 29 were reduced to twenty men each. It is stated that the German soldiers are not in every case sufficiently fed; that the men have to eke out the Government ration by the gifts of food sent by friends and relatives and that the new "Kriegsbrot" is being issued. The prisoners, however, though not so well fed as our own men, seem fit enough, and certainly do act give the impression of being half-starved. It is reported on reliable authority that on February 10 the German Government will com- mandeer all the copper, tin, nickel, aluminium, antimony and hard lead, both raw and worked material, also alloys of these metals. LETTERS FOUND ON PRISONERS. Of recent documents found on prisoners the following extract from a miller's letter is of interest as throwing some light on economic conditions in Germany The rules regarding flour to come into force on January 15 are as follows White bread to contain 30 per cent. of rye, rye bread to contain 20 per cent. of potato flour, and now war bread is also to be made containing mashed potatoes. Here is a portion of another letter, dated January 19, which tells of the strain on Ger- many's manhood To-day twenty-nine old Landsturm men left, including Police-constable Steiger, old Police-constable Pfaff, and little Hutte. Pfaff. The fanatical hatred against the British ex- pressed by the people is not displayed to the same degree by the soldiers, for both their men and ours have learnt to respect one another. Nevertheless, some of the letters found breathe the same spirit. Witness this extract from one dated January 31;— Last week we again had a heavy scrap with the English. When anything is on I am always in it. They are to blame for everything, the yellow devils. They sit there in their trenches and shoot right up to the last minute. This unconscious testimony of the tenacity of our infantry is borne out by the losses suffered by those regiments which attacked our trenches on January 25, and suffered so heavily that, according to prisoners, they had to be with- drawn from the fighting line. A GERMAN SOLDIER'S DIARY. I One somewhat pathetic diary rctcrds the everyday experiences of a German soldier, from Christmas Eve, when he left his home at Mul- heim, until January 30--two days previous to his being killed at Cuinchy. The first entry Is as follows :— December 24.—At 2.30 p.m. departure frcm Mulheim, and at 5.30 p.m. erose Belgian frontier at Herbesthal. My thoughts arc with my people and my ifancee. On December 28 he is on guard in the trenches. If my love could see what I look like— dirty and in a helmet. Always raining. After this the diary becomes a chronicle of life in the firing-line. "the joy of being relieved after three days in the trenches, the intense satisfaction of getting an occasional hot meai, the trying work on outpost by night—con- tinual shooting at my shield, earth flies in my face; very dangerous situation for one hour." Gradually the entries become more pessi- mistic in tone as the strain becomes more severe. January 24. Rest. Everybody wants it. Then comes an order. The 169th propose to attack the English trenches at Auchv, and, accordingly, we must go into reserve instead of resting." ■ • He is then ordered to the scene of the fighting on the 25th. DESPAIRING OF LIFE. I "I will not trust to writing what I saw, heard, and felt on my arrival. The poor men! How much unhappiness We have losses in our company. Our company leader, our platoon commander, and the commander of the 2nd platoon were wounded. The night passed in the open, freezing and without food. The whole day we had nothing to eat. January 26: Fearful hors past and fearful shellfire just in front of our position. The repair of our trenches cost us heavily" Rest onlv betwen violent bursts of shelling. I never believed I would come out of it alive. When will the relief arrive? Still nothing to eat. We are to be relieved early to-morrow." Apparently, however,, the relief didnot come till the 28th. "In the morning we are relieved. i We go to Auchy. I begin to despair of life. We must still keep this position. I have little hope of seeing my home again. God protect me so that I may withstand all this." The last entry in on January 30: "Feel phy- sically and spiritually better. We are housed in a cellar." Two days later the writer was found dead. I PETROLEUM-DRIVEN TRANSPORT. I The change in warfare generally brought about by the introduction of petrol-driven mechanical transport has been remarked, but its effect on the results attained by artillery is not so obvious and has attracted little atten- tion. So destructive, indeed, have modern high explosive projectiles shown themselves against even the strongest forts constructed of concrete and iron, such as those surrounding Liege, Namur, Maubeuge, and Antwerp, that there has been an inclination to give the credit of the results attained to this agency alone. This is, however, not altogether correct. Permanent works on the perimeter of a fortress have always laboured under one great disadvantage. They are fixed points of known position, which can only fire divergently. The attack, on the other hand. has always enjoyed within limits a choice of artillery positions and the power to bring a converging fire from a number of guns dispersed along a large arc upon the forts of the defence. Hitherto this disadvantage on the part of the defence has to a greft extent been neutra- lised by the resisting power conferred on per- manent works constructed in peace by the protection afforded by masses of earth, con- crete, and armour. It has also been somewhat discounted by the fact that the construction by the attack of siege batteries was a slow process, which could hardly escape the notice of the defence, and could frequently be delayed very seriously by the superior fire brought to bear on the batteries before they were com- pleted. For in all former wars heavy guns were comparatively immobile when off the rail- Tray, and could only be fired from solidly-con- structed wooden or concrete platforms. MOTOR-DRAWN GUNS. I Now, not only is no material of which forts re constructed, however strong, capable of resisting the shell which can be fired against it, but heavy siege artillery has by the intro- duction of motor-traction been rendered mobile wherever good roads exist. Moreover, by mounting guns on carriages with belted wheels even heavy pieces can be fired from their carriages. It is possible, therefore, for the attack to bring up a large siege train under cover of darkness, or by roads secure from observation, and to concentrate an overwhelm- ing bombardment on the defence before the latter has time to locate the attacking guns. Furthermore, these guns can be moved about at will, and their positions can be continually changed, so as to minimise the risk of being located. All the German heavy howitzers, with the exception of those of 42cm., are mounted in this manner. And this accounts both for the Fuccess of the Germans against the Belgian fortresses, and for the great effect gained by them in field operations during the early part of the campaign. They had the advan- tage, both in weight of ordnance and in the power of rapid concentration, and could thus speedily bring a superior weight of metal into action against any portion of the Allied line. What changes the increased power of artil- lery will force on the art of fortification remain to be seen. But they will have been brought about by the mobility conferred on heavy guns by motor-traction, as well as by the destructive properties of high explosives.
THE ONLY SURVIVOR.I -—-0-
THE ONLY SURVIVOR. I -— -0- EXCITING RESCUE FROM OVERTURNED I VESSEL. N A shipping disaster occurred at Peter- head on Saturday, resulting in the loss of a salvage boat, Salvor No. 1, of Hull, and six out of her crew of seven. Previously the trawler Daniel Stroud stranded on the beach of the South Bay, but without loss of life. Tremendous seas were running across the South B, in which both vessels had taken shelter, the salvage boat in the lee cf the breakwater of the harbour of refuge. ALout eight o'clock the salvage boat moved from its position in a northerly direction. Then something seemed to go wrong with her engines and she was carried into the seeth- ing middle of the bay. An attempt was made to get her to steam astern, 1:ut she was caught by another heavy sea. It was seen by the spectators on the shore that the vessel was doomed, and with the next huge wave she was struck broadside on and turned turtle, being swept across the bay, keel up, and on to a low reef of rocks at the brickworks. The crew were imprisoned in the vessel and hope of their safety was abandoned, when a man was observed to put his hand out of one of the portholes and wave for help. Crowd s watched attempts to cut through the steel plates of the vessel's lizill and rocue the imprisoned man before the tide should drown him as in a trap. The feat was accomplished by a boiler- maker named McRobie. By means of an oxygen apparatus he cut a hole twenty inches square above the porthole of the com- partment where the man was imprisoned and then carried him ashore on his back amid the cheers of thousands of spectators. The rescued man was John Ritchie, the cook. He is the sole survivor.
SOMALILAND REVOLT -CRUSHED.I
SOMALILAND REVOLT CRUSHED. I The following statement was issued by the Press Bureau on Monday: The Secretary of State for the Colonies has received a telegram from the Commis- sioner of Somaliland reporting further successful operations against the Dervishes in the Ain Valley. After the operations in November last it appears that the, Dervishes had returned to Shimberbcrris and begun to repair the forts and to make raids on the friendly tribes. Accordingly the place was again attacked on February 3 and 4'by a combined force of the Indian contingent and the camel con- stabulary. After a desperate resistance in the lower forts and caves the Dervishes were driven out, leaving in the caves alone thirty- two dead, including- both headmen. All the forts were totallv destroyed with guncotton, and the district has now been completely evacuated by the Dervishes. The casualties en the British side were: Camel Constabulary.—Captain W. Lowrv- Corry, 23rd Cavalry, Indian Army, wounded. Rank and File.—Seven wounded. Indian Contingent.—One Sepov killed. Tribal Auxiliaries.—Two killed, three Wounded.
MORE NEWS WANTED.I
MORE NEWS WANTED. I In the House of Commons on Monday, -Mr. Joseph King moved that: "The action of the Press Bureau in restricting the free- dom of the Press and in withholding infor- mation about the war has been guided by no clear principles, and has been calculated to cause suspicion and discontent." Mr. Joynson-Hicks declared that certain matters had been suppressed which the public had a right to know. The public were not afraid to hear bad news and they wanted to hear more reliable news. Sir S. Buckmaster said he had never with- held for five minutes any information a bOl1: the war. With regard to the suppression of news, there might be circumstances in which it was extremely desirable that the full effect of a mishap should not be known to the enemy. Mr. King's motion was not proceeded With.
[No title]
The London County Council have just re- fused applications for the renumbering of three places numbered 13, the suggested alterations being lla or 12a. The busmen of the National Steam Car Company in dispute with their employers at- tended at the Peckham garage on Saturday, when they returned their uniforms and equipment and received two days' wages due to them. At the annual presentation of prizes by the Society Nationale des Professeurs Frangais en Angleterre to students at various English colleges and schools on Saturday at the Mansion House the Lord Mayor said however necessary and desirable proficiency in French had been in the past, it would become more and more essential when the French and English settled down after the war.
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