Abergavenny Chronicle

ESCORT COMPLIMENTED. I At West London Police-court en Saturday I an escort from the Middlesex Regiment attended to take over an absentee, who earlier in the day had been fined 40s., with an alternative of twenty-one days, for another offence. The corpo-al in charge asked if he could have the man if he could pay the 40s. "We have some money amongst Lie,, sir," he said, "and one member of the escort can get zEl out of the bank. We can make it up to 35s. Mr. Fordham Well, I may reduce the fine by 10s., and then, if you can get the 30s., you can have the man. Later the corporal returned. Mr. Ford- ham said I will hand him over to you and give him seven days to pay the fine. The military authorities can send the 40s. and deduct it from his pay. You have done your dutv. very well, corporal, and I think you are both very promising young soldiers.

——.—— I DEATH OF AN M.P. I The death of the Right Hon. Russell Re* took place at his residence, Tanhurst, Leith Hill, Surrey, on Saturday. Mr. Rea, who was in his seventieth year, had represented South Shields in Parliament in the Liberal interest since 1910, having sat for Gloucester in the ten previous years. He was a promi- nent shipowner, and was appointed a Privy Councillor in 1909. Last year he was made a Junior Lord of the Treasury. ————— —————.

A LIVING SHIELD. I Sir Andrew Wingate, at a meeting of the Worlds Evangelical Alliance at Queen's Hall, London, W.C., on Monday, related a •etory of a woman in a French village who. -terrified by the explosion of a shell in the irstreet, rushed with A child in her arms to- wards a group of British Tommies. The soldiers closed round her and a second shell immediately burst near. One soldier lay dead, and two or three were wounded, but the woman and child were unscathed. For child, for woman, for Christ—no wonder, he <said. Britain was proud of her soldiers, able in the moment of danger to remember their manhood.

STOLEN GOVERNMENT WOOD. I In a case at Woolwich Juvenile Court on Monday, in which two boys were fined 10s. each for stealing wood belonging to the War Department at some huts at Plum- stead, it Avas stated that children "went to the huts in shoals" and stole wood, which they took home to their parents for fire- wood. Wood to the value of £ 7 or .£8 was stolen in this way every night, and there was no doubt the parents encouraged the children.

The Dresden newspapers publish letters from Austrian prisoners, who state that they are imprisoned on the island of Elba i i "the palace once occupied by Napoleon during his captivity. It is announced that thirteen sons of bishops have already fallen in action, and that some hundreds of other prominent clerical families have been bereaved by the Joss of ons oj mere sons.

.—— 9 ——. AMERICAN NEWSPAPER'S SYMPATHETIC EXPRESSIONS. New York "Life" for January 27 opens with a leading article which is a statement of the reasons why most true Americans are pro-British. "It is a hundred and fifty years," says the writer, "since it has been openly popular in this country to be practically English.' A trouble that happened in the last century but one, when we set up housekeeping, made it necessarv for our fathers to accentuate the fact that they were not Englishmen, but Americans. "But Nature is not to be baulked by mere politics. Race is race, though seas divide and interests conflict. Quarrels heat the blood, but do not change it. Jew is Jew, German is German, Irishman is Irishman, and what is born English lives English, as a rule, on whatever soil, and under whatever flag. In spite of all jealousies and rivalries, the ties between the British Isle6 and these States have grown closer and closer as the distance between them has diminished. "The backbone of the United States is made of precisely the same materials as the backbone of the British Empire. It is Eng- lish, Scotch, and Irish. The language, litera- ture, and political ideals of tho United States are of the same derivation. That is why in this world-crisis we have seen things as we have. It has not been that the British propaganda has captured us. It has been that, with the minds we have, we could not see the case otherwise than we have seen it. We have been for the Allies because we were born so, born to the faith that is in them who hold that faith born in the duty which they have accepted to keep liberty alive in the world and maintain it against the domination of calculated and machine- made efficiency. To us of the English stock the great war seems to bring a summons to wear our English derivation with somewhat more assertion. "Who is the anchor at the end of the Allies' rope in the great tug-of-war? Who but our blood-cousin, John Bull. There he stands, with planted feet, sweating and sore beset; his muscles lame, but holding on. Hold on, John Bull, hold on! There are tho6e across the seas who care for you; who hold with you now in daylight and in dark so far as yet they may, and will gladly hold with you in face of all comers when Fate I permits it. Hold on, John Bull!"

I CLERGYMAN'S BETS. I In the King's Bench Division on Monday, before Mr. Justice Ridley, Mr. Albert Edward Aston, a commission agent, sued the Rev. Sydney Richard Rimmer, rector of 18s., due on betting transactions. Mr. Rowland Harker,- instructed by Messrs. Simmons and Son, ap- peared for the plaintiff; and Mr. W. Framp- ton and Mr. Wallington, instructed by Mr. H. Wihon, represented tho defendant. Mr. Harker said that for many years his client and the defendant had betting trans- actions together. The rector met with good fortune and received large sums of money. The defendant now pleaded the Gaming Act. Counsel understood that the plea was per- sisted in, and so it was useless to waste the time of the court with the matter. Mr. Justice Ridley: Why do you say per- sist? He has a perfect right to it. Mr. Harker: I quite appreciate that, but it does sometimes happen that the defence is withdrawn. Mr. Justice Ridley: Was it horae racing? Mr. Harker: Yes; and on an extensive scale. Mr. Justice Ridley: A dreadful thing. Mr. Harker: He seems to have had great tuck, and very good information for many years. Judgment was given for the defendant, with costs. —

I TWO CONVICTIONS QUASHED. I In the Court of Appeal on Monday, before Justices Lawrence,. Sankey, and Low, Thomas Evans, who had been sentenced to five years' penal servitude at the Warwick- shire Sessions for alleged receiving, had his conviction quashed, the court holding that the jury had done wrong in convicting the prisoner of an offence with which he had not been charged. The conviction was also quashed in the case of John Haslam, who had been sen- tenced at Blackburn to three years' penal servitude for alleged false pretences. It was said that as the result of the cross- examination of the prisoner the jury were informed that the appellant had been in trouble previously. George Williams, otherwise Richard Embleton, a soldier, who, at the Dorset Sessions, had been sentenced to four years' penal servitude for burglary, appealed on the ground that there was no evidence against him of criminal intent. His excuse was that he committed the offence of break- ing into a dwelling-house so that he might be discharged from the Army and removed from his regiment, with which he was dis- satisfied. Although he entered the house, the prisoner did not steal anything. He sat in the house and drank whisky, which he had brought with him. The court reduced the sentence to one of twelve months with hard labour.

A TENANT'S RIGHTS. I The West London County-court judge gave his decision on Monday in a case of Mr. Chasemore, of New Kings-road, Fulham, a landlord who claimed possession of a house next door to his own from the tenant, Mr. John Eagle, on the ground that he required the house for himself. The case came under the Rent Restriction Act. It transpired that the landlord kept lodgers in his present residence, and that the tenant paid his rent regularly. The judge adjourned the case, generally declar- ing that the tenant was entitled to remain in possession of the house so long as he paid his present rent, and he awarded Mr. Eagle costs.

MAN BLOWN OFF ROOF. I Whilst looking for airships at night, J William Charles Waller, forty-six, master ) tailor, was blown off the roof, and died a few hours afterwards from the injuries he received. His son said that he and his father went up on the roof almost nightly, and on the night in question the deceased said: Come, and let us see if there are any airships about." The deceased went up the ladder, and when the witness followed and reached the roof he found that his father had disappeared. There was a tremendous wind blowing at the time. The jury returned a verdict of "Acci- dental death."

M. Maurice Barres, the Paris deputy, pro- poses, that the votes of dead soldiers, like posthumous decorations, should be trans- ferred to their relatives. Half a million soldiers have been ad- mitted free to Eastbourne Pier during the 1>ast year, and over 10,000 wounded soldiers MVQ ?e& cIlra¡¡,ed iZ the pier theatre

THE PRICE OF BREAD. The Workers' War National Emergency Committee, meeting at General-buildings, Aldwych, London, under the presidency of Mir. R. Smillie, had under consideration the increasing cost of bread, and a resolution was adopted expressing the opinion that there was no reason why the price of bread in this country should be raised out of pro- portion to the world price of wheat in Chicago and elsewhere. The committee further suggested that there was no reason, except the high charges made by 6hipowners for freight, why the 41b. loaf should now be sold at more than 6d. The scarcity of shipping, though an opportunity, was not a justifica- tion for a rise in freights, as the Govern- ment could take over the mercantile ships as it had done the railways, and charge only the freights current before the war, utilising valuable tonnage for bringing to this country those commodities that were most needed for the requirements of the people rather than those which would bring high freights. —————————————— ——————————————

A HOWITZER FOR BOMBING. Bombing, like a good many other things this war has brought to light, has come to stay in the up-to-date fighting. Bombing by hand needs no explanation; the missiles are simply hurled from one trench into the other. But the minenwerfcr, a complicated trench-mortar greatly used by the Huns, needs some describing. In reality it is a I miLiature howitzer, and is wheeled by the Germans into their lines and there set up in a prepared pit. Its weight is barely thirteen hundredweights all told. Three sizes of bombs are used, the one generally sent crashing into the British trenches being six- teen inches in diameter and two hundred pounds in weight. Eighty-eight pounds of high explosive (trotyl) is contained in this bomb, which, on account of its frail shell, bursts readily with terrific results. The means of propulsion are strange. A long steel rod is attached to the bomb; this steel rod fits the bore of the minenwerfer exactly, and the end with the bomb attached pro- jects nearly a foot from the muzzle. Five and a half ounces of powder exploded in the minenwerfer throw the rod and bomb out, and the steel rod is dropped almost at once. The maximum range of the bomb is over four hundred yards.

PERFORMED UNCONSCIOUSLY. i All our actions may be divided into two classes-those which are controlled by the will and those which are not. Most people are familiar with the experience of playing the piano, singing, reading, or writing, while their thoughts arc far away. These are instances of the working under normal conditions of the unconscious side of the personality. Under conditions of disease, however, this automatic side of the human being may become the dominant side, the power of the will being for the time sus- pended. Sleep-walking is a notable example of this; while a minor instance, related by a well-known physician, is that of a gentle- man who, when out walking, could never find his way back home so long as he tried to think of the way to go. To reach home he occupied his mind with other things, and walked automatically. The unconscious mind, as it has been called, acts with far more ease and skill of itself than when under the restraint of the consciousness and will. This is why a self-conscious person is so apt to stumble and blunder in the per- formance of tasks which he could perform unconsciously with smoothness and Confi- dence. And this, too, is why some of the greatest feats of oratory and literature have been performed by those who, absorbed in their work, had become for the time healthily unconscious of themselves and their part in it. ————— —————<

QUAKERS. The name Quaker is an instance of a term originally given in derision, having spread until it held no reproach. George Fox, the founder of the sect, was hauled before the magistrates for preaching at Derby, and it was stated that he had bidden his hearers "quake in the name of the Lord." The word caught the fancy cf the magistrate, and he used it contemptuously. It spread rapidly, and is now over 250 years old. Originally the Quakers called tliei;nselves "Professors of the Light," or "Children of the Light," and one or other of these was their only name until 1650. Quakers were unique in that their mode of worship, their religious beliefs, and their social customs differ from those of any other body of Christians. They held that no preacher must preach unless he felt himself moved to do so. They had no fixed liturgy, or stated form of prayer. At their meetings they met, sat down, and kept silence! They addressed everyone as "thee" or "thou," would use no title of rank, and would not raise their hats in greeting. Fox declared the equality of the sexes, forbade the members of the sect to go to law with each other, had a peculiar and very simple form of marriage, and im- posed upon the members severity and simpli- city of attire. No Quaker will take an oath, basing his objection on the Biblical injunc- tion: "Swear not at all. Let your nay be nay; and your yea yea."

I ENTOMBED MINERS. I Four labourers were entombed at the Abercrombie Colliery, Aberdare, early Mon- day morning by a fall of rock, but were rescued early in the afternoon, after having been imprisoned for over fourteen hours. ■ They did not appear to be any the woree for their experiences. In order to reach them the rescue parties had to cut through nineteen yards of debris, and the entombed men burrowed in the same manner through a wall of stone three yards in thickness.

I COST OF SHIPPING FREIGHTS. I Sir Walter Runciman, speaking at West I Rartlepool on Monday, said that means should be devised for cheapening the freightage of coal to Italy and France, and also of foodstuffs from grain-producing countries. The cost of freightage was not only scandalous, but a crime. Neutrals should also be brought into line, and made to realise that the Allies were fighting the neutrals' cause as well as their OW 11.

—————. .————— It has been decided to defer for two months the by-law compulsorilv abolishing Sunday labour at the Mersey Docks. Mean- while the Steamship Owners' Association have agreed not to permit cargo work on Sundays except under instructions from the Dock Board. Mr. David Finlayson, formerly general manager of the Union Bank of Australia and chairman of the London Bank of Aus- tralia, has died at South Kensington in his geYeatj-fckjrd year4

Mr. Allan S. Belsher has been elected I chairman of the Licensed Victuallers' Cen- tral Protection Society of London in succes- sion to Alderman Edward Johnson. The death has occurred at Gosport of Captain Starkey, aged ninety-six, a former yacht skipper, who captained the racing schooner Hildegarde for King Edward when he was Prince of Wales.

I GERMAN CONSPIRACY FOR INVASION Canadian Secret Service men have dis- covered a plot by Germans in America to invade Canada and to destroy the Weiland Ship Canal, which connects Lakes Erie and Ontario. The "New York Herald" says that the plotters had already obtained 200,000 rifles, the transportation of which to various points on the Canadian border was begun some weeks ago. Tho destruction of the Canadian Parliament Houses and of various munition plants throughout the Dominion recently, it is declared, are directly trace- able to these criminals. German agents in America have long cast covetous eyes at the Welland Canal, as was proved by the indictment of Paul Koenig, the New York manager of the Hamburg- America steamship line, and Richard Lever- decker, for attempting to destroy the canal. Investigations have disclosed, says the "Herald," that scores of German army officers have been arriving in America lately, disguised as Belgian refugees, with the object of leading an armed force into Canada. The Germans secured much ammu- nition and other war supplies by purchasing from manufacturers here, in the name of the Allies, storing the stuff secretly in various warehouses.

I BOARDING STEAMER ABLAZE. The Secretary of the Admiralty made the following announcement on Monday:— Fire broke out this (Monday) morning on board H.M. boarding r-tearner Peel Castle in the Straits of Dover. Tugs from Dover and other craft assisted in figditing the fire; no loss of life took place. Another account states that the fire broke out shortly before three o'clock. The vessel soon became a mass of flames, and rockets which were on board became ignited and shot into the air, creating a magnificent fire- work display. A lifeboat put out to the vessels assist- ance, but when it arrived the lifeboatmen found that the crew of the burning A'es&el had left the ship and were standing by in their own boats. The heat was so great and' the smoke so dense that the lifeboat could not approach. Tugs arrived, however, and began to pump water into th3 burning hold, and the fire was got under shortly before eight o'clock. The ship, Avhich was extensively damaged inside, carried a crew of about one hundred, but no lives were reported lost.

I DRUNKEN SKIPPER DROWNED. When the Norwegian barque the Souvenir was breaking up on the rocks near Brook, Isle of Wight, Captain Martin Wang de- clined to leave the ship, and said to his men "You save yourselves." This was stated at the inquest by the second mate, who added that the skipper was lying on the cabin floor recovering from a, drinking bout. Other survivors said that the ship hnd become unmanageable, but the captain refused to anchor. The coroner said he thought the crews of the barque and the Brook lifeboat behaved very creditably. The captain, he was afraid, was not a fit man to have charge of the vessel, but he had paid the penalty of his mistake. A verdict of "Accidentally drowned" was returned. ————— —————

I CLAN MACTAVISH HEROES. Admiral Sir John Jelliooe has sent the following- telegram to Messrs. Cayzer, Irvine, and Co. I of Glasgow, the owners of the Clan MacTavieh, which fought the captor of the Appam — The magnificent fight shown by the Clan MacTavish fills us in t 118 Grand Floet with admiration. We sympathise deeply with those who have lost relatives as a xesult of the action."

I SHIP TURNS TURTLE. Through the shifting of a cargo of ballast, the 370 tons barquentine Geraldine turned turtle near Sark and sank while in tow of a salving steamer. She belonged to Captain T. B. Jones, of Cardigan, and took a heavy list in the Bay of Biscay. Captain Jones attempted to make Guernsey, but finally had to take to the ship's boat with the crew.

I OFFICER'S DEATH PRESUMED. Mr. Justice Bargrave Deane in the Pro- bate Court on Monday gave leave to pre- sume the death as having occurred on or since October 31, 1914, of Lieutenant the Hon. Piers Stewart St. Aubyn, King's Royal Rifles. On that date he was in the fighting line in Flanders, and he was last seen wounded in a position taken by the Ger- mans. Nothing has been heard of him since. •

DREAM RESTORES SPEECH. I A bad dream is the latest cure for a soldier's loss of the power of speech. Corporal Ernest Welch, of the Loyal North Lanes. Regiment, was badly wounded ana struck dumb at Neuve Chapelle last March. For eleven months he has been nursed at Morden Hall, Mitcham, Surrey, and is gradu- ally recovering the use of his limbs. One night he had a fearful dream, and shouted aloud, waking all his comrades. He found he could talk, and next morning a special breakfast was provided in the hospital to cele- brate the event. In a letter to his wife, who lives at Liverpool, Welch writes that he feared to sleep again lest his articulation. should fail once more.

CHICKEN BONE CAUSES DEATH. I After Lipman. Cohen, fifty-seven, a mantle machinist, of Langdale Mansions, St. George's, London, E., had eaten some boiled fowl he was seized with violent pains, and died in the London Hospital a few hours afterwards. Between the main artery of the lungs and the heart was found a piece of bone two inches in length, which had caused great loss of blood. At the inquest a ver- dict of "Accidental death" was returned.

LORD KINNOULL DEAD. The Earl of Kinnoull died at Hove on Monday at the age of sixty. Ho is suc- ceeded in the title by his grandson, Lord Hay of Kinfauns, who is thirteen years old. Lord Kinnoull was formerly a colonel of Egyptian gendarmerie, and served on the staff of Baker Pasha. He was a skilful musician and composer. A hymn sung at his wedding was his own work. Dupplin Castle, Perthshire, one. of the seats of the family, was sold to Sir John Dewar a few years ago for about £ 250,000.

SCOTTISH V,C. HERO KILLED. Corporal Robert Dunsire, V.C., of the 13th Royal Scots, who received the freedom of Kirkcaldy two months ago, has succumbed to wounds caused by a bursting shell which fell on a bomb-proof shelter. The news of his death has been brought to Dysart, Firth of Forth, by Captain Yule, who is home on furlough. Dnnsire won his V.C. at Hill 70, on Sep- tember 26 last. He twice went out under heavy fire and rescued wounded men.

THRILLING FIGHT IN THE CLOUDS. In the "Eton College Chronicle" appear extracts from a. letter written by an Old Etoman, giving a thrilling account of an air fight which took place at an altitude of 10,000° ft. He is now a prisoner of war with eight other English officers. Of the fight lie writes:— "Poor I was so sorry he was killed. He was such a nice boy, and only nineteen. I had a light with two German aeroplanes, and then u shell burst very close to us, and I heard a large piece whizz past my head, and then the aeroplane started to come down head, first. spinning all the time. We must have dropped about 5,000 feet in about twenty seconds. I looked round at once and saw poor with a terrible wound in his head, quite dead. I then realised that the only chance of saving my life was to step into his seat and sit on his lap, where I could reach the controls. I managed to get the machine cut of that terrible death plunge, switched off the engine, and made a good landing on terra firma. I shall never forget it as long as I live. The shock was so great that I could hardly remember a single thing in my former life for two days. Now I'm getting better, and my mind is practically normal again. We were 10,000ft. up when was killed, and luckily it was this tremendous height that gave me time to think and act. I met one of the pilots of the German machines which attacked me. He could speak English quite well, and shook hands after a most thrilling fight. I brought down his machine with my machine gun, and he had to land quite close to where I landed. He had a bullet through his radiator and petrol tank, but neither he nor his observer was touched."

PRISON FOR GERMAN. Frederick Nelson was sentenced to three months' imprisonment at Middlesbrough on Monday for failing to register as an alien. He had been working at a local ironworks representing himself as a Canadian, and, according to the police, had formerly been employed as a foreman steeplejack, in which capacity he had the opportunity of visiting the chief works of the district. The prisoner admitted his German birth, but said he left Germany when fifteen.

GIRL PICKPOCKET. I Agnes Marshall, a seventeen-year-old girl of small stature, was charged at Glasgow Northern Police-court with four acts of theft by pocket-picking. She pleaded guilty and was put on probation for twelve months. Three of the thefts were com- mitted at the car station at Wellington- street, in Sauchiehallstreet. Detectives saw the girl putting her hand into a lady's pocket.

COAL SUPPLY COMMITTEE. The Board of Trade have appointed, on the nomination of the various coalowners' associations, coal and coke supplies com- mittees in the coal-producing districts of Great Britain, with the object of ensuring that munition firms and other important consumers obtain the supplies they need with as little delay and friction as possible. The question whether licences for the export of coal and coke can be issued will neces- sarily repend largely upon the home de- mand. It will be the business of these committees to see that the resources of their districts are utilised to the best advantage, and that the requirements of important industries are fully met. It is not proposed to confer any special powers on these committees. Both coal- owners and consumers realise that the indus- tries connected with the war must have pre- cedence, and that some interference with the normal distribution of coal at the present time cannot altogether be avoided. Mr. Runciman has also appointed a Cen- tral Committee to consider all questions re- lating to 'the distribution of coal and coke that may be referred to them by the Board of Trade -or by the district coal and coke supplies committees.

I IN LIGHTER VEIN. I BY THOMAS JAY. I ILLUSTRATED BY J. H. LUNN. And so it has arrived at last. I suppose I ought not to refer to the lady dentist a £ "It," but in any case she has arrived. Th« other day one cf those wags whose duty it is to writer the daily papers referred I thus to the lady dentist's arrival: "A new I THE LADY DENTIST. charm has been added to the de- 1 i cr h ts of den- tistry." I have no ambitions to visit a lady dentist. I am not fastidious ,it all, but I have never felt a long- ing for tooth ex- traction. Per son- ally. I don't know why we grow teeth at all, when a very s e r vi ceable set can be ob- tain e d quite cheaply. I n my case I think it is heredity, for I find that both my father and grandfather had teeth, but the trouble is that our own teeth never remain with us always. They leave us halfway on the journey of life, so to speak. But I did not care to have a tooth out just to watch the lady dentist at work. As a matter of fact, if there is one thing I hate more than another it is being hurt where it hurts. 0 The other day, however, I was visited by a beautiful toothache. It pounced upon the one tooth in front, which stood cut like a lone, lorn, signpost on a country road at night. I was sorry to part with it. It was an old servant. It had been a cigar-cutter, nut-cracker, and string-cutter, but I de- cided to take it round to the lady dentist and get an ejectment order. The waiting- room was full, and the front row of the stalls had evidently been booked So we settled down in a corner, the toothache and I. It was such a nice dentist's room. There were pleasant little reminders in the form of glittering, glistening instruments twisted in all f.orts of shapes to make extraction more complicated. She picked up a probe and probed. Of the length of that probe I am not certain, but it felt about fifteen feet long by two inches in circumference. There were several tugs, and several lady assis- tants gathered round to see the fun. The merry crowd! They all had a tug, all but one, a fine auburn-haired girl. I asked her to have a tug as well, and then came the final tug when I and the tooth dissolved partnership. I promised to call and see the dear girls next day. I didn't though. I feel it my duty to make a protest against the recent accusations hurled at the thousands of dogs in the country by Mr. George Moore—statements of such a charac- ter that, if unchecked, they will considerably affect the morale and well-being1 of the members of the Dogs' Trade Union. And here let me thank Mr. Barry Pain for his excellent championship of the dog, though I wish he had not said they were becoming "Edwin Landseered," for since that state- ment several of the doggie members have become awfully stuck up. Only yesterday I had a report sent in to the effect that a Pom living at Tooting had actually refused to be bathed in the kitchen; while another report is to the effect that a bull terrier actually passed a Pekinese without moving a hair, which goes to prove that the best fighters of the Dogs' Trade Union are fast becoming "Woodrow Wilsoned." Neverthe- less the Executive of the Union thanks Mr. Barry Pain for his brave championship, and has forgiven him that little slip, realising that there is no pleasure without Pain. But it is of Mr. George Moore I wish to speak. He is of the opinion that no person in London should keep a dog unless he pro- vides it with a garden. No one appreciates this more than the writer, but what Mr. Moore overlooked was the opposition we have to meet in the shape of the Cats' Trade Union, who nave stoutly maintained all along that the garden is their property and theirs only. Naturally, the Dogs' Trade Union do not wish to offend such a man as Mr. Moore, and so, icali^ng that much of what he wrote was true, vfie Executive Council of the Dogs' Union decided the other day to draw up a set of rules for the guidance of its members, and these rules, if properly carried out, will, I am sure, tend to a better feeling between Mr. Moore and the many canines throughout the country. It is hoped that upon finding a better spirit throughout dogland Mr. Moore will see fit to withdraw his uncomplimentary remarks respecting a very quiet and law-abiding section of the community. The rules I suggest are as follows: (1) As so many of our members are lost early in every year, dogs are requested to make themselves as sociable as possible with their masters, and upon sighting a policeman coming up the garden path to remove them- selves as quickly as possible to the cellar and there remain quiet. Upon the licence being taken out, this rule becomes inopera- tive. (2) Dogs found growling "Get your hair cut" to Yorkshire terriers will be fined five biscuits or a bone. (3) House dogs are requested not to bite postmen, butchers' boys, bakers, or the vicar, as men are scarce to-day. (N.B.—Rate collectors and income- tax assessors are belligerents, and may be snapped at on sight.) (4) Owing to the prevalence of the foot and mouth disease, dogs are strictly forbidden to take more than one bite of burglar per night. (5) For the duration of the war all mem- bers of the Dogs' Trade Union will upon sighting a dachshund ap- proaching, cross over at once to the other side of the road, assume a dignified air, carry the tail erect, and growl quietly, but never- theless firmly, while rigidly ignoring the said dachshund. (6) Airedales, mas- A STBAPHANGSB, tins, or blood- hounds found stepping on toy terriers, Pomeranians, etc., whether purposely or accidentally, will be removed from the union. (7) Upon meeting canine acquaint- ances in the streets, dogs must bow grace- fully and wag their tails in greeting; one wag only if it is a distant relation, two wags if it is a club member, and three wags if it happens to be a dear old friend who, when times have been bad, has lent a bone or two. (8) Dogs in crowded street cars upon seeing a lady standing are expected to jump down at once, bark twice, pomt to the vacant seat, and offer same to the lady. They will then take hold of tho strap by their teeth, and thus complete the journey, gaining for themselves a reputation as "per- fect little gentlemen." I think everyone will agree that upon these rules being carried out Mr. George Moore should withdraw his statements against dogs; but, in case he still refuses to do so, on behalf of our Bull Terrier Sec- tion, I shall be extremely glad if someone will furnish me with Mr. Moore's address, and a few particulars as to whether there is a back or a side entrance in addition to the front door, as the bull terriers have decided to try and convince Mr. Moore that their bite is much more impressive than their bark.

I BORDEN CAMP TRAGEDY. Samuel Soholovitch, a Russian-Canadian, aged twenty-two, who was indicted at the Hants Assizes on Monday foi the murder of Henri Jolicoeur, a French Canadian, at Borden, on January 1C., was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to twelve months' hard labour. Mr. Emanuel, who prosecuted, said that both the prisoner and the dead man were privates in the Canadian Infantry. On the night in question Solulovitch was in. the saloon bar of the Prince of WTales Inn at Wliitellill, when Private Lamadeleine, who was acting as a military policeman, asked him where his cap was. He said it was out- side, and wanted Lamadeleine to help him find it. Prisoner left the bar for a moment, and, returning made two blows at Lamade- leine with his clasp knife. He was making a third when Jolicoeur stepped in between and was fatally stabbed in the right shoul- der, the main artery being severed. Witnesses for the defence said they had seen the prisoner in epileptic fits, and one stated that the man was intoxicated on the night of the stabbing. Mr. Justice Darling, after passing sen- tence, said that if the authorities could take Soholovitch out of prison and employ him as a soldier—preferably in the Russian Army- he should support such a course.

I POWER STATION EXPLOSION. I Through the bursting of a compressor in the generating station of the Smithfield Market Electric Supply Company, London, on Monday, driver Henry Baker was slightly injured and assistant-driver Edward Tyrrell was killed. The station was not seriously damaged, and work was only slightly inter- fered with.

I VON PAPER'S PLOTS. I GERMAN INTRIGUE IN AMERICA. Further selections from the papers or Captain von Papen, the German military attache who was recalled because the United States declined to have him at Washington any longer, have been published as a White Book. The papers were seized at Falmouth when Captain von Papen was on his home- ward journey. In July, 1914, Captain von Papen was in Mexico, but he seems to have known that war was certain, for on the 29th of the month he wired to Captain Boy-Ed, at the German Embassy in Washington: "On out- break of war have intermediaries located by detective where Russian and French intelli- gence office." From a correspondent signing himself "Filipino," who wrote on paper marked "Acting Great General Staff and dated his letter from Berlin on September 29, 1914, Captain von Papen received instruc- tions as to securing publicity for pro-Ger- man articles and information as to the pro- gress of the war. "Herewith I send you (by order of Section III.B) a few articles which have been passed for publication in all home and foreign papers. You will please arrange for them to have wide publicity. The war news which you receive in America, in spite of all our efforts here, will prove meagre and not in accordance with the truth. At first things, went on 'at a giant's pace at present, how- ever, there is a hitch but I hope that by the time you receive these few lines this will have been overcome. The Austrians are fighting well, but their leadership is bad; they had to retreat as far as the Carpa- thians. The reaction on the Balkans and Italy's attitude is correspondingly bad; but we—i.e., our troops—will pull the matter through all right. Of course, you will stay in the U.S.A. as long as the war lasts, and it will probably drag on over the winter. I will let you have more precise news about the military situation as soon as I know that you have safely received this letter." I "STUPID" AMERICANS. Other letters touch on the question of influencing American opinion. Prince H. Hatzfeld, in a communication from Wash- ington, wrote:- "I telephoned to-day to Albert. The Am- bassador, in my opinion, should neArertheless issue a statement to enlighten the native Americans and the pro-Germans, and to lead their thoughts into the right channels. The people are really so stupid. And besides, by this means we can openly defend the Americans (Adams, Hodley) who are im- plicated in this affa ir." What was the affair in which Hodley and Adams were implicated is not stated, but among the attache's papers was' a memoran- dum dated December 21 last of an interview at New York between Mr. George Hodley and Captain von Papen and others, when "it was agreed that American shrapnel shell shall be manufactured until instructions to the contrary are received." I THE IRON CROSS. Among the letters which Captain von Papen was taking to Germany from his compatriots in New York was one from Mr. George von Skal to his sisters. Mr. von Skal wrote:- "The recall of the two attaches is an in- credible piece of meanness, and was only demanded in order that the English might be able to do as they please here. Von Papen is a splendid fellow, and I have grown very fond of him. I am extremely sorry to see him go, but I am gl:1d for his sake that at all events he will now go to the front, for it is not pleasant, least of all for a cavalry officer, to remain here Avliilst ones comrades are fighting. It ia true that he has been sent the Iron Cross. but he is ashamed to put it on because he has not been under fire. In 1870-71 things were different: no one was given the Cross who had not stood face to face with the enemy. He has certainly de."erv0d it, for he has done magnificent work here, and accom- plished more for the Fatherland than he could have done as a squadron leader or general staff ofliecr. Now he can earn the war distinction already conferred upon him." Among the other papers is a letter from Mr. Walter Ives, of New York, to a German friend. He wrote: "I shall come over by the first ship which leaves here after the war, Lnfortunately there is no prospect of getting through before. Scarcely 1 per cent. have had any luck with their attempts. The British search every corner of every ship." I CHEQUES FOR SPIES. The White Paper gives particulars re- specting several cheques- issued by Captain von Papon between September 1, 1914, and December 21, 1915. A cheque was drawn in favour of Mr. Bridgeman Taylor, a person who came over to England to offer himself for work under his Majesty's Government. His real name is Von der Goltz, and he is now in England. There were two cheques made out to Caserta, Ottawa This man repeatedly tried to enter the service of his Majesty's Government. He is now interned in England. Another cheque showed that payment of 100 dollars was made to Kuep- ferle, probably the German spy who com- mitted suicide in July in England. Another for 700 dollars was made out in the name of Horn, probably the man who made the attempt on the Vanceboro' Bridge. It is dated the 18th of January, and the attempt on the bridge took place on the 2nd of February. ♦

I CANADIAN SOLDIER'S VANITY. Lieutenant Charles Morton, of the Cana- dian Expeditionary Force, was fined C50 at Salisbury Police-court oil Monday for wear- ing the Victoria Cross without authority, and for wearing the uniform of a lieu- tenant-colonel. He was also charged with obtaining £ 10 by fw-,iiid from Lloyds Bank and with attempting to obtain £5 from the- London City and Midland Bank, and it Avas stated that he was wanted by the police in other places on charges of obtaining money by means of worthless cheques. Morton, who after his arrest in a Salis- bury Bank escaped from the police con- stable, but ran into the arms of another policeman, was committed for trial on the charges of false pretences.

Mr. A. F. Walbrook, formerly part pro- prietor of the "Surrey Advertiser" and owner of the "Bath Chronicle," has died at Bromley. His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to send his annual subscription of X21 to the Royal National Lifeboat Institu- tion, of which he is the patron. A nest of young sparrows has been found at Dunmow, Essex, and these early birds are doing very well. It is most unusual to find young birds in nests in England so early in. the season, but last month was the mildest known ia Essex for half a century.