Abergavenny Chronicle

DUBLIN "QUITE SAFE": ALL REBELS SURRENDERED. THOUSAND PRISONERS TAKEN. The following communique was issued by the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, Home Forces, at seven o'clock on Monday night:- "1. All rebels in Dublin have surrendered, and the city is reported to be quite safe. "Rebels in country districts are surrender- ing to mobile columns. There were 1,000 pri- soners in Dublin yesterday, of whom 1.89 were õe-nt to England last night. "2. It is reported from Queenstown that hopes were entertained that arms would be handed in to-day in the' city of Cork. "ENNISCORTHY. I "3. During the night of April 30-May 1 the rebels at Enniscorthy made an offer to sur- render their leaders and arms on condition that the rank and file were allowed to re- turn to their homes. "They were informed that the only terms that could be entertained were uncondi- tional, and these terms were accepted by them at 6 a.m. s "It has been reported at a later date that the rebels are now surrendering to-day on I these term*. "FERNS. I "4. A column composed of e>:ldier3 and Royal Irit-h Constabulary captured seven prisoners in the neighbourhood of Ferns to- day. "5. Wicklow, Arklow, Dunlavin, Bage- nalstown, Wexford, New Ross, counties Cork, Clare, Limerick, and Kerry are gener- ally quiet. "6. The whole of Uloter is reported quiet." Earlier in the day-at 1 p.m.—the follow- ing was issued:— "The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Irish Command, reports that all 4blin cojomandoes have surrendered."

COUNTESS AMONG THE PRISONERS. NORMAL CONDITION" RETURNING. The following communique was issued by the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, Home Forces, at 7 o'clock on Tuesday night: Dublin is gradually reverting to its normal condition. The work of clearing some small districts around Iri-h Town is being carried out by an ever-contracting cordon. CORK. I All is quiet in this county with the exception of an affray in the Fermoy District, where the police, on attempting to arrest two men in their house, met with armed resistance, tho Head Constable being shot dead. On arrival of military reinforcements the occupants of the house, two of whom were wounded, surrendered. The Sinn Feiners in Cork City. where there has been no rising, have handed in their arms. WEXFORD. I The column which went to Enniscorthy is carrying out the arrest of the rebels in Co. Wexford. The rest of the South of Ireland is reported quiet.

On Sunday evening the Fkid-Marshal Colllmandiua- in Chief the Home Forces issued through the Press Bureau the follow- ing communication: "The General Officer Commanding-in- Chief, Irish Command, lias reported that the situation in Dublin is much more satis- factory. Throughout the country there was still much more to be done which would take time, but he hoped that the back of the re- bellion ha, been broken. "Last night messengers were sent out from the leader of the rebels in Dublin to rebel bodies in Galwav, Clare, Wexford, Louth, and Dublin counties ordering surren- der, and the priests and Royal Irish Con- stabulary are doing their utmost to dissemi- nate this information. "As regards the situation in Dublin, rebels from the areas Sackville-street, Post Office, and Four Courts are surrendering freely. "More incendiary fires took place in Sack- ville-street last night, but the fire brigade have now been able to resume work. "It is further reported that up to the pre- sent 707 prisoners have been taken in- cluded among these is the Countess Markie- wicz. "The rebels at Enniscorthy were reported to be still in possession of this place, and a mixed column of cavalry, infantry, and ar- tillery, including 4.7in. guns, had been sent from Wexford with a view to engaging the rebels. "The latest information from Enniscorthy shows that the rebel leader at this place does not believe in the rebel leader's mes- sage from Dublin, and has proceeded to that city in a motor-car, under escort, to verify the information. In the meantime a truce exists. "A deputation for a s'milar purpose from the rebels at Ashbourne has also been sent to Dublin. "In Gal way the rebels are believed to be disbanding, and a few arrests have been made. "The situation at New Ross, Gorey. Wick- low, Ba gonaistown, and Arklow is reported to be normal. Carlow and Dunlavin are be- lieved to be quiet." The following communique was i-iied on Saturday night by the Field-Marshal Com- manding the Chief Home Forces:— "DUBLIN, April 29. "(1) The situation this morning has im- proved considerably, but the rebels are still offering serious resistance in the neigh- bourhood of Sackville-street. A cordon of troops encircling this quarter was, however, eteadih closing in, but the house-to-house fighting. necessarily rendered this progress slow. "(2) The Post Office and a block of build- ings east of Sackville-street has been de- stroyed by fire. "A party of rebels have been driven cut of Bolland's Mill, Ringsend, by gliiis mounted on motor lorries. One of the rebel leaders, a man named Pearse, was aid to be in this area, wounded in the leg. "A report received this evening states that Pearse has surrendered unconditionally, and that lie asserts he has authority to accept the same terms of surrender for his followers in Dublin. "Another leader, James Connollv. is re- ported killed. "The Four Courts district, which is still held by the rebels, is also surrounded by a cordon of troops, which is gradually closing in. "All information to hand points to the conclusion that the rebellion, so far as Dublin is concerned, is on the verge of collapse. "A considerable number of rebels are pri- soners in military custody. "(3) Reports received this evening from the rest of Ireland are generally satisfac- tory. The conditions in Belfa.-t and Ulster province are normal, and the situation at Londonderry is stated to be quite satisfac- tory. "The district within fifteen of Galway is also reported to be normal, but a band of rebels has been located between Athenry and Craughwell. "Nineteen rebel prisoners have been cap- tured, and are on their way to Queenstown. "Another band of rebels are reported to have entrenched themselves at Enniscorthy, but the police are still holding out, and the roads and railways are cleared to within four miles of the town. "The damage to the Barrow Bridge, on the Dublin and South-Eastern Railway, is now reported not to be serious."

STORY OF THE RISING. I "STARK AND GRIM" FIGHTING IN I THE STREETS. The story of the rising is told in the "Times by Mr. John E. Healy, editor of the "Irish Times." The outbreak began, he says, on Monday, shortly before noon. Thirteen Sinn Feiners walked quietly up to the lower gate of Dublin Castle. The police- man on duty put up his hand to show that there was no passage. Instantly one of the volunteers raised his rifle and shot the policeman dead. That was the first shot fired, and the first life lost in the insurrec- tion. A little earlier about 200 Sinn Feiners turned the public out of St. Stephen's Green Park, locked the gates, and started to dig trenches. At noon a crowd of rebels raided the General Post Office, turned out the em- ployees, except such as themselves were Sinn Feiners; cut the telegraph and trunk tele- phone wires, and put the building in a state of strong defence. Simultaneously other bodies seized Westland-row railway station, Harcourt-street station (which, however, was soon abandoned), the South Dublin Union, and the Royal College of Surgeons, St. Stephen's Green. An attempt was made to destroy the Great Northern Railway line at a point some twelve milett from Dublin, but this failed. The Sinn Feiners had taken possession of the road between the Shelbourne Hotel and the Green and stopped all traffic. 1 he young volunteers digging trenches in the Green seemed to take the matter as a joke. The people in the hotel were puzzled, but hardly alarmed. All this changed in half an hour, says Mr. Healy, when a vanman who was slow in stopping his cart outside the hotel was brutally murdered by the red-headed volun- teer who seemed to be in command. The hotel was quickly put in a state of defence, and since then all its occupants have been close prisoners within its walls. The rest of Monday was comparatively quiet. BRAVERY OF TERRITORIALS. I The real bloodshed began on Tuesday. On that morning soldiers began to arrive from the Curragh and from England, and since then battalions have been pouring into Kingstown. I got home for a few hours on Tuesday and was in time to see the first bit, and one of the most desperate bits, of street fighting in the insurrection. It took place nearly opposite my door. The rebels had seized a doctor's house commanding the junction of Pembroke and Lansdowne-roads. At about 11 a.m. the first battalion of soldiers came in sight along Lansdowne-road. It had marhed from Kingstown, and was thrown foodless and without warning into the first fighting it had seen. I know little of the English Territorials, but if they are as cool and brave as the men of the Notts and Derby Regiments, they are a splendid body of men. These voting soldiers fought magnifi- cently. They were absolutely without cover. They were under a close and well- directed fire from the house. Two officers and a dozen men fell. The house was not taken until the evening, and when it was captured the bodies of nineteen Sinn Feiners were found within. Mr. Healy says the rest of the insurrec- tion in Dublin is a record of such fierce and bloody street fighting as our Army has not known since the Peninsula War. I may divide it into two parts-the house-to-house fighting which took place everywhere in the suburbs, and the tremendous fighting at long range between the troops concentrated in, on, and around Trinity College and the main body of rebels in the General Post Office and the surrounding buildings. By this time the military tactics were obvious. The soldiers had surrounded the city with a ring of steel, and were trying to drive the scattered rebel army back on its centre at the Post Office. I LOYAL VOLUNTEERS KILLED. The worst fighting in the suburbs took place in Haddington-road, at a point about 300 yards behind the house which had been taken in Pembroke-road. In a house here about twenty resolute ruffians had en- trenched themselves. On the Monday even- ing they had filed upon a body of Loyal Veteran Volunteers, who, still innocent of any insurrection, were returning from an Easter manoeuvre, and had killed three of them. This house- was attacked by the still hungry and weary troops on Tuesday morn- ing. Again the soldiers were absolutely without cover, and again they fought magnificently. As one officer dropped another came on. By inightfall the house had been bombed and shot to pieces. The military loss was heavy. About 100 casual- ties from this and minor roof fighting are lying in the Baggot Street Hospital, and I fear that about a dozen of these are dead men. From Tuesday morning onward in every suburb the soldiers kept pushing in towards the city, doing their best to clear the streets as they came along. The rebels had occupied three or four houses in every street. As one house was taken they escaped along the roof to another. The sniping was continuous. and, unfortunately, accurate. Officers told me that this was far more dangerous and trying fighting than anything they had seen in France. By Friday evening this street fighting had reached Merrion-square on the south side, and was raging there to-day (Saturday). On the north side the fiercest fighting took place in the nest of mean streets about the Four Courts and along the quays. I FIELD GUN IN ACTION. I I I On Tuesday the rebels took an ammuni- tion shop in Bachelor's-walk, from which they had Trinity College under close and direct fire. On Wednesday, at the sugges- tion of the Provost (Dr. Mahaffy), a iield gun was brought to the roof of this College, and the ammunition shop was blown to pieces. Eleven men who ran out of it were 1 all killed by a machine-gun. I should like to add that during those terrible days a term examination was held with exact cere- mony within the walls of the ancient and dauntless university. On Wednesday night a new horror was added to the fighting in Sackville-street. Some shops had been looted at Nelson's pillar, and a fire broke out in one of them, a toy shop. It spread quickly, and soon the whole of one of the finest blocks of buildings in Dublin was in flames. By Thursday night the fire had involved a large restaurant, the Imperial Hotel, a big drapery shop, a jewel- ler's shop, a picture house, and several other buildings. Friday evening saw what was obviously the beginning of the end. By this time it must have been clear to even the most reck- less and ignorant rebel that the game was up. On Friday night the General Post Office, the last stronghold of the insurrection, took fire, and is now a blazing ruin. On Satur-. day afternoon street fighting was still active. Mr. Healy says there is no doubt that the troops have suffered heavily and that many harmless civilians have been killed. The casualties among the Sinn I Feiners will probably run to many hun- dreds. The fighting was stark and grim. 1 IR BIRRELL'S STATEMENT. I On Friday afternoon Lord Wimborne, the Lord Lieutenant, and Mr. Birrell, made a statement to journalists at the Viceregal Lodge. f-.avs:- T he affair began on The statement says:—The affair began on Monday a little before noon. Information was received that the Castle had been attacked, St. Stephen's Green occupied, and the Post Office seized. Telephonic communi- cation with the Curragh was made at once, and the troops there came to Dublin that night. During the attempt to enter the Castle a policeman was shot. But the Castle itself was never in anv danger of being occupied. When the rebels seized the Pest Office they cut off all communication with the outside world, so that Dublin was isolated. Com- munication with Belfast and the North was not, however, completely severed. Westland-row Station was for some hours in the possession of the rebels, but they were ejected. They also tried to seize the Broadstone Terminus, but failed to do so. On Tuesday morning troops had arrived from the Curragh, and s ince then the rebels have been on the defensive, and have not attempted anything further but to hold their position. A gunboat from the Liffey shelled Liberty Hall, which was the headquarters of the Sinn Fein, on Wednesday. It was destroyed. Some fires in other parts of the city were caused, but the rebels fired on the fire brigade and prevented it taking any action. The fires were confined to one quarter of the city. On the same day the military authorities completed their arrangements for hemming in the rebels. This occupied a great deal of time, as the troops had to make their way through devious back streets. This seemed to delay matters, but the delay was unavoidable owing to the nature of the operations. But it is now completed, and there is a double cordon-round the city and round the area occupied by the rebels—and it only remains to occupy these. This will take time, ns so many houses have to be cleared of snipers. FIGHTING IN GALWAY. Reports from other parts of Ireland are very satisfactory. The situation to-day is that there has been some fighting at Athenry and Galway. In Athenry the police have been able to deal with the situation. In Galway fighting has been going on, and is still proceeding. There have been disturb- ances at Enniscorthy, and some minor affairs in Meath and Louth. But the counties of Cork, Limerick, Kerry, Clare, Mayo, Kildare, Sligo, Tip- perary, Leitrim, Longford, Roscommon, Westmeath, and the whole of Ulster have re- mained perfectly quiet, and not the slightest sympathy with the rebels has been shown. Thirteen rebels assembled at Dun- dalk. but were soon overpowered. The most serious situation outside Dublin has been in Galway. The authorities are quite satisfied that the action of the rebels has been encouraged, fomented, and assisted by Germany. Of this they are absolutely certain. The connection between events can be clearly traced. There was the attempt of Casement to land sup- plies, accompanied by men from the German fleet. There was the attack on Lowestoft, and there was the rising in Ireland. All these were done simultaneously in order to alarm England and divert troops to Ireland. Evidence has been obtained that the Sinn Feiners expected foreign aid, and Germany was most lavish in her promises. A curious incident occurred on the day on which Casement was arrested. A motor-car was thrown into a river and the occupants drowned. When they were recovered they were Ave a ring the Sinn Fein badges. I JACOB'S AND GUINNESS'S. Mr. Hugh Martin, the special correspon- dent of the "Daily News," stating that Jacob's great biscuit factory, which was a rebel stronghold, has been burnt down, re- marks that this is significant in view of the close association of the Sinn Feiners with the Larkinites, as the latter have an old-stand- ing grudge against this establishment. Another important commercial building de- stroyed is Boland's Mill-a large flour mill and bakers. It is a curious commentary upon certain characteristics of the Irish character that, although the rebels hold, or have held, the district immediately to the east and south of Guinness's vast brewery on the banks of the Liffey, no attempt has been made to in- terfere with the place. The suggestion of pretty stern discipline among the rebels is unmistakable. People here recall that during the Irish transport workers' strike Messrs. Guinness enjoyed the same immu- nity, trains conveying their liquor being granted free passage when all other traffic was held up.

THE REBEL MANIFESTO. PROCLAMATION OF "THE IRISH REPUBLIC." The following proclamation was issued by I the insurgents in Dublin on the outbreak of the revolt: POBIACHT NA H EIREANN. I "THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF THE IRISH REPUBLIC. "TO THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND. I "Irishmen and Irishwomen: In the name of God and of the dead generations from which she receives her old traditions of nationhood, Ireland, through us, summons her children to her flag and strikes for her freedom. "Having organised and trained her man- hood through her secret revolutionary orga- nisation, the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and through her open military organisations, the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army, having patiently perfected her disci- pline, having resolutely waited for the right moment to reveal itself, she now seizes that moment, and, supported by her exiled chil- dren in America and her gallant Allies in Europe, but relying in the first on her own strength, she strikes in full confidence- of victory. We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies to be sovereign and indefeasible. "The long usurpation of that right by a foreign people and Government has not ex- tinguished the right, nor can it ever be extinguished except by the destruction of the Irish people. In every generation the Irish people have asserted their right to national freedom and sovereignty six times during the past three hundred years have they asserted it in arms. Standing on that funda- mantal right and again asserting it in arms in the face of the world, we hereby proclaim the Irish Republic as a sovereign indepen- dent state, and we pledge our lives and the lives of our comrades in arms to the cause I of its freedom, of its welfare, and of its ex- altation among the nations. "The Irish Republic is entitled to. and hereby claims, the allegiance of every Irish- man and Irishwoman. The Republic guaran- tees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happi- ness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all the children of the nation equally, and oblivious of the differences carefully fostered by an alien Government, which have divided a minority from the majority in the past. "We place the cause of the Irish Republic under the protection of the Most High God, whose blessing we invoke upon our arms, and we pray that no one who serves that cause will dishonour it by cowardice, in- humanity, or rapine. In this supreme hour the Irish nation must, by its valour and dis- cipline, and by the readiness of its children to sacrifice themselves for the common good, prove itself worthy of the august destiny to which it is called. "Signed on behalf of the Provisional Government: Thomas J. Clarke. Sean Mac Diarmsda. Thomas MacDonagh. J. H. Pearse. Eamonn Ceannt. James Connolly. Joseph Plunkett. I A SPECTACLE OF RUIN. I The damage done by fire and artillery during the week of fighting is very con- siderable. In a menage to the "Daily Tele- graph," Mr. Percival Phillips says Sackville- street is an extraordinary spectacle of wanton ruin. The heart of it has been burned out, yet the area of the fires which raged at intervals for three days and nights is really much smaller than one would have believed after watching them from a house- top a mile away. The Post Office, which the rebels burned on Friday niIYhi; is a four- wall roofless shell, although the massive portico is still upright, its gigantic pillars pitted with rifle bullets. Half the street, between the Post Office and the bridge, is strewn with bricks and charred wood. Two dead horses have been there since Monday. As I picked my way over the still warm embers of the fire, two soldiers passed me carrying a stretcher on which lay the ashen-faced body of a com- rade shot through the head by a sniper on Friday. Ambulances were drawn up before the mina of the Post Office. and parties of soldiers groped carefully through the burned area, searching for bodies. The odour of death was heavy cn the morning air. If you stand in front of the Nelson Pillar and look down Sackville-street to the O'Connell Bridge, there are gaping ruins on both sides. On the west every building from the Post Office, at the corner of Henry- street, down to the third house south of Abbey-street is gone. Behind Sackville- street, on the west, both sides of Abbey- street have been burned out as far as Liffey- street, and Henry-street, which parallels Abbey-street above the Post Office, is also well gutted. The Metropole Hotel is a pile of smoking bricks behind a ragged front wall. Be- tween the Metropole and the Post Office, in the narrow thoroughfare called Prince's- street, stood the "Freeman's Journal" Office, three hundred feet back from Sack- ville-street. It is wholly destroyed. In front an extraordinary barricade, composed largely of furniture from the "Ereeman's Journal" Office, but also embracing a motor brougham and some shop counters and baulks of timbers, stretches from the main entrance to the Post Office, in Prince's- street, to what was the grill-room door of the Metropole. About forty live rebel bombs, primitive instrument* constructed from jam tins and marked "Citizen Army Equipment Fund," still lie among the debris behind the barricade. On the east side of Sackville-street every building has been destroyed, from the south corner of Talbot-street, at the Nelson Pillar, to the O'Connell Bridge, and then, along Eden Quay for the distance of a block. Both sides of Middle Abbey-street, east of Sackville-street, "are gone, as far as Marl- borough-street, and thence south towards the river. The Four Courts, which was a stubbornly held rebel stronghold until last night (Saturday), is now filled with troops. Like other public buildings which have been local battlegrounds in this siege warfare, it has many scars, but the rebels did not succeed in firing it. Every window on the four sides is broken, and the thousands of books in the Law Library, one of the finest in the United Kingdom, were built up as a barricade, with loopholes through which the snipers fired across the" Liffey and down the side streets. Books were strewn about in the corridors, and even were used for defence purposes around the entrance doors. About 100 rebels held the Four Courts at the end. A number were killed during the last fight, and shells from a field-gun, planted in the east wing on the quayside, did effective wcrk in clearing the snipers from that per- tion of the building. In other parts of the city remarkably little damage has been done. The populous area south of the Liffey, immediately oppo- site the Four Courts, was untouched. I walked down Lord Edward-street from the cathedral, and saw only one plate-glass window broken until I reached Upper Castle-yard. Here I found evidences of the brief, unsuccessful attempt of the rebels to seize the Castle. The facade of the Town Hall as well was covered with bullet-marks, and the buildings facing it partially wrecked. Dame-street was apparently un- touched. A few shops in the upper end of Graf ton-street had been looted-the taste of the crowd ran principally to boots, sweets, tinned stuffs, and watches-but the re- mainder of Grafton-street had not suffered in the least. DEFIANT PRISONERS. At 3 o'clock on Monday morning over 400 Sinn Feiners arrived at Holyhead from Dublin as prisoners, being carefully guarded by troops, who accompanied them with fixed bayonets. The majority wore ordinary civilian clothes. A few were in the uniform of 'the Irish Volunteers. Many were hatless and without overcoats. Several were mere youths, and there was a sprinkling of old men; but the party was mainly composed of young men. They appeared very dejected. Writing on Sunday morning, after the surrender of the rebels, Mr. Percival Phillips, special correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph," said:— Gangs of dirty, unkempt insurgents are marching through the empty streets to gaol, between double files of British troops, with fixed bayonets. I passed one party of pri- soners half-an-hour ago, tramping sullenly up Lord Edward-street past Dublin Castle. They were a varied assemblage—men of all ages and soci.nl standing, old and young, mostly in dusty and ragged lounge suits and cap. Out of a total of a hundred perhaps twenty wore the close-fitting dark-green tunics and breeches, and the slouch hat with upturned brim, that is the uniform of the -inll Feiii "arj-ziv." Three were in uniforms of a lighter shade. There was a grey-haired old man, in neat blue serge and immaculate collar, who glared disdainfully through gold-rimmed spectacles at the sentries beside the pavement. A dozen or more prisoners were wounded. They wore dirty, hastily-wrapped bandages —some almost black with grime—around their heads or arms: some of the bandages were stained with blood. All the prisoners were in the last stages of exhaustion. Their faces were haggard and drawn, their eyes sunken, and they looked like men who had been without sleep for some days and nights. At the same time none of them showed any signs of dejection. They marched in time with their guards, with eyes set defiantly in front of them, and only a few turned to scowl at the military drawn up along the road. One man, whom I have frequently seen in Dublin-a notorious S'nn Fein apostle, and an Irish poet of "nwe note in his own world-toseed back his long brown hair with a gesture of defiance. He had lost his hat, and he carried a blanket rolled up military fashion. The people in the street watched the prisoners pass v> Ith- out any demonstration, save that an old woman "spat at them, and called them "eirty dogs." LEADERS SURRENDER. Both Pearse. "President of the Irirh Re- public." and "Commandant-General James Connolly, who was earlier reported killed, are prisoners. Pearse was badly wounded in the fighting, and, after he and a number of his followers had fallen into the hands of the troops, they asked for an armistice in order that surrender term.s for the entire body of their followers might be discussed. The military authorities are understood to iiave agreed to a three hours' truce, which expired at half-past six on Saturday even- ing, by which time Pearse had affixed his signature to the following document: In order to prevent the further slaughter of unarmed people, and in the hope of saving the lives of our followers now sur- rounded and hopelessly outnumbered, the members of the Provisional Government present at headquarters have agreed to an unconditional surrender, alLd the com- manders of all units of the Republican forces will order their followers to lay down their arms. (Signed) P. H. PEARSE. Datad April 29, 1916. LOOTING. I There was a good deal of looting in the vicinity of Sackville-street. The windows of several of the largest shops were smashed (says a "Morning Post correspondent), and the contents of the show cases thrown into the streets. Later the crowd, which con- sisted mainly of women and children, pene- trated to the upper storeys of the buildings, and thousands of pounds worth of goods were secured. The spectacle of this whole- sale pillage was truly remarkable. Children were seen leading away toy horses, seized from the great emporium of Lawrence's. Women, unable to secure anything valuable to themselves, carried away sets of boxing gloves. The boot stores were emptied of th"1r stocks, and women sat down on the kerb trying on boots, the majority several sizts too small. Boxes of cigars were sold openly for a shilling and gold watches were selling at the same price. To do them jus- tice, the rebels were not concerned in these depredations, and, in fact, they did every- thing they could to stop the looting, posting sentries over the shops with orders to fire on the looters.

POLICE AMBUSHED. I TEN KILLED IN DESPERATE FIGHT. I A terrible conflict occurred in County Meath I between fifty policemen and a band of insur- gents, some hundreds strong, in which the con- stabualry lost ten men killed and eighteen wounded. The constabulary were trapped by a message stating that the rebels had seized Ashbourne police barracks. Two inspectors and fifty men started from the county headquarters for Ash- bourne in motor-cars. Near Rathside the con- stables had just alighted when they were fired on by a body of rebels hidden in a coppice. A sergeant fell, and the other men took cover in a ditch. The rebels sent a messenger to Inspector Gray, who was in charge, demand- ing his surrender with all his men. The inspector refused, and though his little force was surrounded it resisted gamely for four and a half hours. The police fought until they expended their faist cartridge, and then seeing further resist- ance was useless they surrendered. Seventeen constables were wounded, and the county in- spector, two sergeants, one districi inspector, and four constables were shot dead. The rebels took possession of the policemen's rifles, seized some of their equipment, and in the meantime others attended to the wounded. They had a doctor with them in uniform and two women nurses, and seemed in every way prepared for their murderous work. They, however, behaved very well towards their prisoners, giving some of them refresh- ments, placing the wounded in some of the motor-cars, and sending them to Navan.

I KING S TRIBUTE TO SHAKESPEARE. — ?— I MR. F. R. BENSON RECEIVES A KNIGHT HOOD. The King paid a graceful tribute to the famous Shakespearean actor, Mr. F. R. Benson, at the Shakespeare Tercentenarv Commemora- tion performance at Drury Lane Theatre on Tuesday, his Majesty bestowing the honour of knighthond upon the actor. Mr. Benson was taking part in the presenta- tion of "Julius Cassar," and at the close of the performanc-e was invited into the royal box, where he was presented to the King ad Queen. While h is Majesty was congratulating the actor the management of the theatre was busily engaged looking for a sword with which to perform the ceremony of knighthood. A member of the staff was able to procure one promptly, and Mr. Benson was duly knighted: The King and Queen were accorded a wonderful reception when they arrived at the theatre. The occasion was a stirring one, even in the history of Drury Lane Theatre. In the performance of "Julius Caesar," and the Shakespearean tableaux which followed ptacticallv every player of note in England at the moment took part. The tribute of music to the memory of Shakespeare consisted of a programme of Shakespearean music rendered by the London Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Sir Hubert Parry and Sir A. Mackenzie, while the tribute of painting was a most remarkable souvenir, including fifty drawings of Shake- spoarean cubjeets by leading artists of the day. The whole of the profits, some Y,3,000, are to be devoted to the British Red Cross and the Order of St. John. A great reception was accorded Mr. F. R. Benson when he made his entrance as Julius Csesar. ————.

RUSSIAN PRISONER'S APPEAL. j The case of a Russian subject detained as a prisoner of war at the Alexandra Palace in- ternment camp was mentioned before Justices Coleridge, Rowlatt, and Sankev, in the King's Bench Divisional Court, on Tuesday. Mr. Patrick Hastings applied for a writ of habeas corpus or a rule nisi directed against the com- mandant of the camp with a view to secur- ing the man's release, who, it was stated, was arrested at Liverpool on his return from Canada at the outbreak of the war. The posi- tion taken up by the Russian Consul, said counsel, was that the applicant could be re- leased if he went back to Russia, but if he refused to do this he would take no steps in the matter. The application for the rule was granted.

TELEGRAPH HOURS SHORTENED. I The Postmaster-General announces that the hours of public telegraph business at many post offices have been curtailed owing to the depletion of the staffs by the withdrawal of men for service with the colours. Some of the larger telegraph oiffces, and a number of the smaller offices, both in town and country, now open at 9 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. for the collection and delivery of telegrams. Telegrams handed in after 6 p.m. may not reach their destination until the fol- lowing morning. ————— 0'

CAPTAIN MURDERED AT SEA. I At Bow-street Police-court, on Tuesday, Peter Johansen Aarum, first mate of the Norwegian brig Commerce D'Amiens, was committ ?T for extradition on the charge of murdering the captain of that vessel, Otto Grenager. While on a voyage from Norway to Hartlepool, it was stated that the prisoner, who was drunk, attacked the captain with a hammer, inflicting- very serious injuries. Some two hours later the prisoner reported that the captain was missing, saying he believed he had jumped overboard. This was on March 8, and on March 22 the body was washed up by the tide in Amble Harbour. the tide iii Ha-.?otir.

I ROSES FOR THE QUEEN. I The Ho);; i Society of St. George on Tues- day presented to the Queen a model of an old Sussex hay wagon beautifully decorated with red and white English-grown roses. Red and white streamers bore the following inscriptions "These English roses, with the dutiful homage of members of the Royal Society of St. George, are offered to her Majesty the Queen in honour oi St. George—England's- day—the name-day of our beloved King and the tercentenary of the death of Shake- speare. ————— —————

I CRICKETER'S SON KILLED. Lieutenant Hugh Staunton Hornby, R.N., the son of Mr. A. N. Hornby, the cricketer, has met his death as the result of a bathing accident in Dover Harbour. He was about to dive into the water from his ship; but in attempting to clear a rail 3ft. Gin. in height, his feet slipped and he fell with great violence against the rail, badly inj ur- ing himself. Two operations were per- formed, but ho succumbed. At the inquest on Tuesday a verdict of "Accidental death" was returned.

STUDYING WHILE INTERNED. The Board of Trade have made arrange- ments for the recognition of study by mer- chants of .seafarers and fishermen interned in Germany and elsewhere subject to conditions of study for which adequate proof will be re- quired. Time spent by a candidate in attend- ing courses of lectures or classes at Ruhleben or other internment camps will be accepted by the Board of Trade in lieu of a portion of sea service required to qualify him for the certificate for which he offers himself. ————— ——————

WASTE IN MATCHES. Speaking at Pontefract Quarter Sessions Mr. R. H. Vernon Wragge, the Recorder, delivered an interesting tabloid lecture on war-time economy as applied to the humble safety match. He estimated that 25,000,000 people used matches daily, and that if only one match was saved by each person 500,000 boxes could be filled by them every day. In the course of the year this saving would amount to 182,500,000 boxes, which at a halfpenny each would mean a saving to the nation of £ 380,000. People struck matches even now they were so heavily taxed, he said, in quite a reck- less manner, and in the course of a three- mile walk behind three smokers recently no fewer than sixty-two matches were counted. v

Manchester has introduced women meter- reader.4 to supplement the war-depleted staff of the gasworks. They wear a uniform con- sisting of a dark grey Norfolk jacket, with the word "Gas on the collar, a tailor-made short skirt, a grev straw sailor hat with a grey silk band, and high boots. They are also equipped with an attache case and an electric lamp.

ZEPPELIN RAID —— —— OVER NORTH-EAST ENGLAND AND SOUTH EAST SCOTLAND. The following communique wa,-) issued bv tIt< Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chiei Horn* Forces at 12.45 a.m. on Wednesday: "Five hostile airships ^attacked the north- east coast of England and south-east coast 01 Scotland last night. "The movements of the raiders appear u:i certain. "A few bombs were dropped in Yorkshire, but no details are y-et to hand ad to casualties and damage caused thereby."

MEATLESS AND DRINXLESS DAYS. Twenty-three representative iien-, ing the Bishops of London, Birmingham, and Durham, the Rev. R. J. Campbell, Dr. R. F. Horton, Sir Hedlev Le Bas, Dr. C. W. Salceby, Mr. Arnold Bennett, Mr. H. G. Wells, and Mr. Will Crooks, have signed an appeal to the public to forgo the use of meat and of alcohol for at least one day every week. The appeal is as follows:— "The nation has been appealed to on two occasions by the Board of Trade to reduce the consumption of meat "with a view to economising the national supplies, diminish- ing the demands upon shipping and avoid- ing a further advance in price." It has al,f) been strongly urged that the nation should reduce its consumption of alcohol. We there- fore venture to suggest that an appeal be made that all citizens should—for the dura- tion of the war-resolve (unless under medical orders to the contrary) to forgo the use of meat and of alcohol for at least one day every week, e.g., of meat every Thurs- day, and to abstain from the consumption of alcohol every Monday. It is true that fish is dear at present, but there are plenty of ,other foods on which energy can easily be sustained fcr the space of a day. "Such an act of personal self-denial would help to bring home to all of us the n'ed fni rigorous self-sacrifice by which alone tllO requirements of our country for the war can be met, and the saving in money would be considerable. "In view of the great sacrifices freel made bv our sailors and soldiers we feel sure that all who remain at home will willingly help the country in this way.

I M KING GEORGE CAPTURED." y "The Persian newspapers circulated the story that a giant German aeroplane equipped with a great magnet had visited Petrograd, Paris, and London, and that the magnet had succeeded in drawing up the Czar, the French President, and King. George out of his bed- room in Buckingham Palace, and they are now all in Berlin," said Bishop Stile- man at the C.M.S. meeting at. Church House, Westminster, on Tuesday, referring to the falsehoods circulated by the enemy among Mahometans. "Jbny of our British Consular and Russian officials'have been murdered at the instiga- tion of the German-.

I PRISON FOR SHOPLIFTING. "These cases are becoming so common As to be a public scandal," said the magig- trate at Marlborough-street Police-court. when he sentenced Lilian Wagstaff, a schooi matron, to a month's imprisonment in the second division for stealing a hat from a draper's shop in Oxford-street, London, W.