Abergavenny Chronicle

STORY 4JF THE CATASTROPHE. ■- The factory which was the centre «f the disaster was one devoted to the mining of explosives. When the fire broke out the danger of an explosion was at once realised. The alarm was given, fire-engines sum- moned, and workers were hurried from the danger zone. Every precaution that fore- sight could suggest was taken, and it is due to the coolness and heroism of Dr. Angel, the chief chemist, and others who perished in the disaster, that the death-roll is so small as to appear almost miraculous considering the magnitude of the disaster. The sound of the explosion was heard at a distance of twenty miles, and "felt" at much greater distances. Everywhere in London it was heard; and though in some districts the detonation appears to have been louder than in others, it was everywhere terrifying, and all who heard it were con- vinced that a great catastrophe had oc- curred. Some dim idea of the tremendous force of the explosion may be gained from the reports coming from districts many miles from the scene of the disaster. Windows t were smashed, roofs and woodwork damaged, while in a number of houses ceilings col- lapsed. In the immediate neighbourhood, of course, the effects were devastating. Rows of small houses, from which fortunately many of the inhabitants had fled on the first alarm, disappeared, collapsed in heaps of ruins. There were people in some of the houses-men, women, and children who had been unable to escape or had not realised their peril. In the streets men and women were thrown down. A boiler weighing forty tons was hurled through the air for a dis- tance of a quarter of a mile. A PILLAR OF FIRE. I Other warehouses and factories caught fire. A flour mill was destroyed, and fire was raging in a score of places at once. The explosion had injured a gasometer at some considerable distance. It held about 8,000,000 cubic feet of crdinary gas. The force of the explosion lifted off the top, and the contents escaped. An immense column of fire rose against the pall of the clouds to a height of about two miles; it burnt itself out in a few seconds, and then all was over. There was no explosion and other gas- holders near by were not damaged. In a very short time agencies of suceour and mercy were on the scene of the disaster. Doctors, special constables, policemen, sol- diers, and large numbers of civilians helped in the task. Within a short time motor ambulances, lorries, and 'buses reached the stricken district. First-aid stations were rapidly organised at convenient points—in churches and schools; the wounded were taken to hospitals, and attention was turned to those whose homes had been razed to the ground or so damaged as to offer little shelter. People whose houses had suffered little or no damage were wonderfully kind to those who had lost all, and by midnight shelter had been found for all who had been evicted from their homes and were not so injured as to require attention in a hos- pital. ACRES OF RUINS. I The full effects of the disaster could not < be seen until the following day. The pile of 1 buildings, covering many acres, where the first explosion occurred, is a mass of ruins. The large flour mill close by was de- stroyed, and another building had every i window blown in. The collapse of the stair- cases of the latter establishment cut off the ordinary exits for the workpeople, who had a thrilling escape by climbing through a trap-door in the roof and descending to the ground by means of an iron safety ladder fixed to the outside of the eteht-storeyed building. A large sack-making factory was burned to the ground, and a timber-yard blazed fiercely for several hours. The ruined dwelling-houses present a .pitiful sight. Most of them are a mass of broken masonry, the only parts of the 'buildings which remain standing being the .end walls. The force of the explosion alone appears to have been responsible for the total collapse of these houses, for they are undamaged by 'fire. Among the piles of bripks and slate lie broken furniture, orna- ments, and many cherished odds and ends, and on the few walls which still stand hang broken pictures, mirrors, and the like. Whole streets of houses in the immfdhite vicinity bore evidence of the force of the concussions, many of the dwellings being un- roofed and others razed to the ground. I REMARKABLE ESCAPES. Some wonderful escapes are recorded. One of the most remarkable was that of a family of five who lived- not far from the scene of the explosion. The mother described it in I these words: The husband saw the fire, and ran into the house to call the others cut to see it. They went to the back garden and j had only just got there when the explosion I occurred, and the house crashed to the I ground. Not one of the family was hurt. In a small factory not far away a cashier I was about to pay a hundred men when the building fell. He was killed, but not one j of those surrounding him was hurt. A fireman who arrived at the scene of the explosion soon after it occurred, said that seven members of the local brigade were taken to the hospital, and two of them were dead. One of these was a second officer, whose wife and daughter happened to be away visiting friends. Another who lost his life had his eldest daughter killed also, and it is stated that yet another fireman lost his wife. The fire station, together with the I men's quarters, was completely blown out. It stood at the back of the factory and buf- fered the full shock of the explosion. The local brigade had just arrived on the scene and were preparing to play on the flames when the explosion occurred. A pathetic scene was witnessed at a hos- pital, when a man on arriving recognised as his wife a woman who up to that time had been unknown to the doctors and nurses. Five minutes later she died. Two children of the family are lying in hospital injured, and one boy aged fourteen is still missing. DR. ANGEL'S HEROISM. I The. heroism of Dr. Angel, the chief chemist, ia on everybody's lips. Though exhorting the operatives to flee, he himself remained at his post, took a hand in com- batting the fire, warned the firemen and police of the peril, and, finally, died more gallantly than many a soldier in the thick of fighting, for he knew there was no escape for him. Knowing that any moment the place might be blown sky high, he worked to the end, and undoubtedly many of the operatives owe their lives to him. Dr. An- drea Angel was a Master of Arts and B.Sc., having been educated at Christ Church, Ox- ¡ ford. Another brave figure in the story was that of Police-constable Edward Greenog. Like Dr. Angel he was aware of the deadly con- sequences which might ensue, and he urged the spectators to disperse. i DEATH-ROLL—71. I Up to Monday evening the total number of people known to have been killed or to have died as the result of the explosion was seventy-one. The seriously injured number about 125, and another 450 persons are suf- fering from minor injuries. I SEARCHING INQUIRY PROMISED. j Dr. Addison, Minister of Munitions, speak- I ing at the Mansion House, on Monday, in support of the War-time Women Workers Movement, referred to the disastrous ex- plosion, and said the casualties were much smaller than was anticipated. They did not know fully the cause of the accident. We had been singularly free from accidents on the whole, and this one, like others that had occurred, was occasioned by an outbreak of fire. A most searching inquiry was being and would be made, and any precautions which this experience-together with many others—might suggest would be fearlessly adopted. To munition workers he would say that there was no occasion for alarm. He had been astounded in these factories to find with what immunity many of the materials could be handled. Many of them were no more dangerous to handle than so much sand, provided people adhered to the rigid instructions laid down. I INQUEST STORIES. I Inquests were opened on Monday on fifty victims. One coroner had thirty-five cases, and another dealt with fifteen, six of the bodies being unidentified. Some tragic stories were told by witnesses. A labourer who had left home to go to his work immediately returned on hearing the explosion, and found the body of one of his daughters, aged twenty-one, lying outside the house. He had lost a second daughter, .,g,d "twieirtrthreo. Another man had three children killed-a boy aged nine, and two girls aged five and three years. A young father lost his wife and baby. He himself was injured in the head. Mrs. Alice Croft stated that just before the explosion she was sitting at tea with her husband. They saw a light and got up, and then the explosion came. The Coroner: I believe your husband recognised the danger, and said that it was a munition factory?—Yes. He said: "Let us try to get out," and we tried to get out. Did he get out —No. She found his body there on Sunday morning. A man who went to identify the body of his wife saw also the body of his son, aged thirteen. After he had left the mortuary he was informed that the body of his little girl, aged ten, had been recovered from the I wreckage of the house.

LADS OF 18 CALLED UP. 1 —— 0- TO BE TRAINED AND EMPLOYED IN HOME DEFENCE. The War Office makes the following an- nouncement The War Cabinet has instructed the Secre- tary of State for War to call up for military service all lads as and when they attain the age of eighteen years, instead of as at pre- sent eighteen years and seven months. The necessary proclamation will be issued imme- diately. It is not to be understood that this im- plies any departure from the present arrangements whereby no man is sent over- seas until he has attained the age of nine- teen. There is no present intention to depart from the existing arrangements or to modify existing orders on this point. The decision is to call up all lads as and when they attain the age of eighteen years to train them and to employ them in home defence until they reach the age of nineteen. By doing this it will be possible to reduce the requirements for men of more mature years, who are fit only for one or other of I the lower medical categories. All lads born in 1898 and in January, 1899, who are still in civilian life may report at once at the recruiting office in which they are registered. VACANCIES IN THE TANKS. I The only lads, as a class, who should not ia the meantime report are those who have passed through an apprenticeship in one or other of the skilled engineering trades, and who are fully engaged on war work in the shipyards or munition factories. Such lads should remain at their work. Others who have passed through an apprenticeship as above, but who are not fully engaged on war work in the shipyards or munition factories, may report to their recruiting office and request to be "trade- tested" for posting as artificers. There are vacancies for such lads in the following corps: Royal Regiment of Artillery, Royal Engineers, Royal Flying Corps, Machine- gun Corps, Heavy Section (Tanks), Army Service Corps, and Army Ordnance Corps.

SPOTTED FEVER IN LONDON. I The Hackney Coroner on Saturday held an inquest on a ten-months' -old child who had died of spotted fever. "This is the third ase I have had this week," said the Coroner. No treatment seems to be of any use; if a child is taken with it it is sure to die."

Annie White was found the other evening by her fourteen-year-old son at 9, Russell- gardens, Golder's Green, N.W., burned to death on the hearthrug. On the application of a firm of Leicester solicitors on behalf of a creditor a receiving order has been made against Sir Humphrey de Trafford, of Hill Crest, Market Har- borough. i

THE BRITIH FRONT.  FIIONTI, I &??? 1? ic? ?At&i&tjm &&&?B 'i!? ?&< ARTILLERY ACTIVITY NORTH OF THE SOMME. SIR D. HAIG'S DISPATCHES. The following reports from Sir Douglai3 Haig have been issued by the Press Bureau j Saturday, 9.10 p.m. We carried out a successful raid last night east of St. Eloi. There has been con- siderable artillery activity during the day on both sides, particularly on the right of our line north of the Somme. We dispersed enemy working parties north- east of Neuve Chapelle, and carried out effective bombardments of the enemy's posi- tions in the neighbourhood of La Bass6e Canal and south-east of Bois Grenier. Sunday, 9.15 p.m. We carried out a successful daylight raid this morning against the enemy's trenches south-east of Loos. Dug-outs full of Ger- mans were bombed and destroyed, and many casualties inflicted on the enemy at small cost to ourselves. We secured some prisoners. The enemy's lines were also entered by us last night north of Neuve Chapelle. The enemy's artillery has been active at intervals during the day in the neighbour- hood of Rancourt, Beaucort, and Serre, and also in the Ypres sector. We effectively bombarded the enemy's positions in the St. Pierre Vaast Wood and in the neighbour- hood of Gommecourt, Arras, and Armen- f tieres. SUCCESSFUL BOMBING RAID. J Monday, 8.25 p.m. l An enemy raid attempted yesterday even- ing north of Arras failed with h3S without entering our trenches. This evening another attempt against our trenches north-east of Ploegsteert Wood was also unsuccessful. We secured some prisoners last night and to-day as the result of patrol and bombing encounters in the neighbourhood of Grand- court, Neuville St. Vaast, Fauquissart, and W ytschaete. Artillery activity on both sides has taken place during the day north of the Somme and in the neighbourhood of Serre and Ploegsteert. Opposite Arras our heavy ar- tillery caused an explosion in the enemy's lines.

PURSUIT IN EAST AFRICA. RAPID PROGRESS AGAINST GERMAN REMNANTS. The War Office announces:— Telegraphing on January 20th, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, East Africa, reports that considerable progress has been made by all the columns engaged in the encircling movement on the Lower Rufiji River and Delta. From north and south our troops have en- tered the delta near Bohba and at Mohoro respectively. Further west a strong enemy force, dislodged from the area north of the delta, was located by airplane on the south bank of the river near Mpanganya (thirty- eight miles up stream from Mohoro). Still further west, our troops, who effected a crossing under circumstances of much difficulty near Kibambawe, are moving east and south in pursuit of enemy detachments. At Nyakisiki (east of Kibambawe) the enemy abandoned a hospital in which were sixteen whites and 200 natives, mostly wounded. AN ALL-DAY FIGHT. I South of Kibambawe, on the tracks lead- ing south towards Madaba and Kitope, the enemy opposed a strong rearguard resist- ance, but were driven from their positions affcr fighting which lasted all day, and are now in hurried retreat. The Kitschi Hills are being cleared by our f-roos- advancing frohi Kilwa, the enemy in this direction being forced to move north in order to gain the tracks leading southwards to their general line of retirement. In the western area Brigadier-General Northey's columns have driven the enemy away from the high ground east of Lu- pembe, and are pursuing towards Mahenge. Another column, pushing south-east in pursuit of an enemy detachment which had turned south, seized the bridge over th: Hududje River at Malawi's, and engaged the retreating enemy force at Ifinga, co-opera- ting with a third column advancing north' wards from Ssongea.

INDIA AND THE WAR. THREE REPRESENTATIVES FOR WAR 1 CABINTT. The Secretary for India issues the follow- ing in reference to the coming Imperial War Cabinet: — As already announced, the Secretary of State for India, when representing India at the .special sittings of the War Cabinet, will have the assistance of two gentlemen specially selected for the purpose. In purr suanee of this decision, the Seretary of State has, with the advice of the Governor-General in Council, selected Sir James Meston, K.C.S.I., Lieutenant-Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, and Sir Satyen- dra Prasanna Sinha. In accordance with a further decision of His Majesty's Govern- ment, the Secretary of State for India will also have the assistance of one of the Ruling Chids of India. With the advice of the Governor-General in Council, he has invited his Highness the Maharaja of Bikanir, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., A.D.C, to accompany him, and his Highness has accepted the offer

AFFECTED BY LIGHT. I "Nothing is more deceptive than the ap- Eearance of a cat's eye," says a man who has made a study of that que?r organ. "The pupil ordinarily appears as a long, narrow oval, or a vertical black line, yet its natural .shape is circular. It is a matter of the effect of light. In a bright light our pupils become very small circles, while those of a cat turn into ovals or narrow slits. The general effect is the same in either case, namely, to diminish the quantity of light passing into the eye. Curiously enough in the larger animals of the cat tribe, such as tigers, the pupil sometimes behaves exactly like a human pupil, and when brightly illuminated contracts into a minute circle instead of becoming linear. In the case of domestic cats, the older the animal the more frequently does the pupil of the eye assume a circular form."

Mr. John Baillie Hamilton, commercial manager to the city of Leeds, has been ap- pointed director of trades regulations in Mr. Lynden Macaesey's new department at the Admiralty. Whilst crossing the barrack square at Woking at night, Sergeant Evans, of the King's Liverpool Regiment, received a bullet through his right arm. The arm was after- wards amputated at the Military Hospital. Yorkshire flockmagters are agitating for a 50 per cent. advance in price for 1917 wool, compared with the market rates of 1914. The Government allowance was 35 per cent. advance for the 1916 clip. A farmer at the Southwick (Sunderland) Tribunal stated that he was unable to retain the services of women on his land. They PfWerred to work in munition shops, where tftcy could earn more money. By collecting and oelling waste paper the war work depot at Canterbury has succeeded in raising .£100. Frederick Whitfield, skipper of the crawler Recto, was fined .£60 and t2 2s. costs at Grimsby for taking his vessel to a prohibited area. Five munition workers were fined il eaci at the London Munitions Tribunal for play- ing cards during working hours.

IN LIGHTER VEIN I BT I THOMAS JAY. ILLUSTRATED BY J. H. LUNN. I Sooner or later, if not before, I knew that this war would jump up and catch us in a Hooping attitude, and here we are all talk- ing about the land as if we knew it to speak t All over the country you can read of men bored to death by tangoing an aggre- gate of several tons of girl around a room have obtained a plot, and made up Oieir mind that as far as the cultivation of the land is concerned they are going to do their bit. I venture to suggest that a few Lints will not be out of place from one who, if not doing a large amount of this work, finds his whole life composed of plots. The first thing to do, of course, is to apply for a plot of land from the people i, iiose duty it is in your town to sit down all day handing out plots. Time should be LI ken in considering the matter, for it is almost useless suddenly to make up your mind to become an allotment holder, rush into the nearest post-office, and send off a postal order requesting the authorities to dispatch one of their best plots by return, and then expect to wake up next morning to find the plot dumped down in your garden ady to start eating up seed potatoes. Having obtained your plot, the first thing to do is to stake out your claim and to cbm- /Kuce work upon it. It is, of course, called a garden, but ribald neighbours, by reason of the minerals, such as obsolete sardine e vns, etc., may have quite a different name for it. Ail that is necessary is a few tools and a csf-iron back with a hinge in the middle. Having obtained these from the nearest rardenmonger, you start. Incidentally so will the neighbours. First there is the j-o-o-ing-up business, and you will realise F, t vllhil-o the world was made in six days, your Ettle part of it is i :-c-ch more diffi- cult. to unmake j lun make. Not long ago a well- k n o w n American agriculturist stated that the explosive method was by far the lx>t method to employ in gar- dening, and Sat- urday in my gar- den under these mles is likely to be a very exciting THE UNTIRING BACK. I time. There are many advantages in th explosive method, for armed with only spade a man has little chance against one of those experienced gardens. You dig your rtpade in only to find that the garden has dodged behind a rock, which it has en keeping up its sleeve, and then you wish that you had kept to window-boxes. But armed with these new cartridges one can get a good chance. You just plant a few dozen in the garden, light a slow fuse, and take the first train into the country for the week-end. When you return you will find that the garden is that tame that it will take seeds out of your hand. Life in the suburbs will be interesting when the allotment-holder sits in his allotment watch- ing the radishes shooting up here and there, while bits of rock and greenhouses fall about his ears, indicating that his neigh- bour has slightly overcharged his garden. This process will be much more exciting, and young men will be admired for fear- lessly moving about the potato-beds ignor- ing the dangers of dynamite, while there will be old men who will be wearing medals for losing a leg during last season s potato manoeuvres, and the V.C. will be awarded for desperate valour in the radish fields. But where I quarrel with the authorities ;s when they say that the best gardening is done early in the morning. They say that early rising is a boon and a blessing to man. But I have never yet been able to rise up when the morning has hardly broken 09 be- come chipped. Fancy going .ut on your allotment at 6 a.m., greeting the dewy morn with a spade! What sort of a way do you call that to greet the dewy morn? Besides, I am convinced that nothing of any impor- tance ever really happens before 9 a.m. If there is any time when I hate being awakened it is when I am asleep. I have heard of people who regularly get up at 6 a.m., but they are generally considered eccentric. Last week at Huntingdon I read of a man who, digging in his garden, brought up four watches and one hundred and two articles of jewellery, but they were the pro- ceeds of a burglary. In any case, you can- not always get such results with one penny | packet of seeds. A few hints will not be I ;mt of place. Frost must be guarded against, f but the old plan of using wire-netting is not A SHORT WAY WITH CATS. now in vogue. Wild birds must be kept off, and escaped German prisoners, not be- ing protected by the Wild Birds Preservation Act. may be shot on sight. High winds must be guarded against, in which case you might tie your name and ad- dress to any shrubs or plants. The vegetable marrow is a species of ram b- ler, and though you may plant them in vour own garden, they have been known to migrate elsewhere. A good plan is to carve vour name and address in them, so that your neighbour four streets away may apprehend them for wandering without visible means of subsistence. Cats may be sprayed with a good shot-gun and planted out in soft soil. Of course it isn't my war, but it is ex- tremely awkward to set out for a walk at nights only to find that London has dodged behind a pillar or something. I should simply hate to overwork Sir Ernest Shackle- ton, but when he comes home again I wish ho would set about trying to discover Lon- don. The great advantage those explorers have is that they don't have to hang a green blind over a glacier or an avalanche, or get hauled before a brace of magistrates for re- fusing to "shade, reduce, or subdue the lights," in accordance with the Defence of the Realm Consolidation Acts, Stat. 45, Par. 56. without the custody of the children, as an accessory after the fact. Besides, thœe dark nights are really dangerous. Why, one might even find oneself in Tooting! That would be a pretty state of affairs, wouldn't it?

No sale of spirits in public-houses and clubs in Carlisle on Saturdays is the recom- mendation by the local Advisory Committee to the Liquor Control Board.. Mr. Stuart Wortley will take the title of Lord Stuart of Wortley, of the City of Shef- field.

MEN UNDER THIRTY-ONE. I GOVERNMENT'S INSTRUCTIONS TO TRIBUNALS. "Every man under thirty-one years of age, who is fit for general service (Category A) or for garrison service abroad (Category B) will be, after January 31, of more value to the country with the forces than he would be in civil employment." "Tribunals will not be justified in ex- empting beyond January 31 any man under thirty-one years of age who is fit for general service or for garrison abroad, unless he comes within certain specified excep- tions." This important decision has been come to by the Government, and all Tribunals have been instructed to that effect. The following are the exceptions to the general rule:— EXEMPTED OCCUPATIONS. I (1) If the man belongs to one of the occu- pations specified in Appendix A to the list of certified occupations—skilled men urgently required for munitions or other work of national importance. \2) If a man, with due regard to age limits, is in a certified occupation. (3) If the man is engaged on work of high national importance and possesses special qualifications for that work which make him manifestly irreplaceable. "The policy here announced," says the offi- cial notice, "does not apply to agriculture." "The special decision mentioned above with regard to men under thirty-one years of ago should not make the Tribunals less sTrict in deciding applications in respect of men above that age. "The demand for men at all military ages who are fit for general service, or for garri- son duty abroad, is so great that exemption is not justified unless supported on very strong grounds."

GERMAN NAVAL LIE. BRITISH ADMIRALTY STATEMENT ABOUT U 41. The Secretary of the Admiralty on Satur- day issued the following:- On September 24, 1915, the German sub- marine U 41, shortly after shelling and sink- ing an unarmed British merchant vessel, was engaged and destroyed by a British armed auxiliary. The German officer in command of the submarine and one seaman were rescued and taken prisoner. In conse- quence of the injuries received by the Ger- man officer, which resulted in the loss of an eye, he was subsequently sent to Switzer- land, and there interned. The full particulars were published in the Admiralty communique of November 6, 1916, and the allegations of the German Ad- miralty containing baseless charges of ill- treatment of the German officer while in our hands were refuted by Admiralty commu- niques of November 14, 1916, and December 21, 1916. On the 13th inst. the German Admiralty made their usual attempt to make capital out of the incident by again publishing an official statement purporting to be the Ger- man officer's report. This contained, amongst other gross mis-statements, the fol- lowing paragraph: "Submarine had received several hits shortly before tower submerged, one hit against window. During whole com bat steamer flew United States flag; to be sure flagstaff turned down, but flag was not replaced by British, and continued flying." As they have already stated, the British Admiralty emphatically repeat that the armed auxiliary opened fire, not under the United States flag, but under the British naval ensign, which was hoisted to the back. stay of the mainmast.

SOLICITOR'S TRAGIC DEATH. I At Plumpton, near Lewes, on Monday, an I inquest was held on the body of Mr. H. Powell Edwards, a London solicitor, who wa." accidentally shot on Saturday. After a morning's shooting with a party on his Plumpton estate he went on to the rifle range with some of his employees to test some new rifle sights. Whilst walking towards one of his men to change rifles ha slipped on the icy ground and fell, and th-e charge in his sporting gun, which he wat- also carrving, went off. He was shot in the chest ana died immediately. A verdict of "Accidental death" was returned.

AFTER THE EXPLOSION. I At an East London Police-court, on Mon- day, John Podesta, the conductor of a com- mandeered motor-omnibus, was sentenced to three months' hard labour for looting a pair of spectacles, cigarettes, and other articles from a shop wrecked by the explosion east of London. Podesta told the magistrate that he had served at Mons and had been discharged from the Army owing to epilepsy. "It was a cowardly and mean theft, com- mented the magistrate.

HONG-KONG'S GENEROSITY. The Secretary of State for the Colonies an- nounces that the Government of Hong-kong has offered a sum of five million dollars ( £ 583,330) towards the prosecution of the war. This generous contribution has been gratefully accepted by his Majesty's Govern- ment. It will be paid partly from current revenue and partly from the proceeds of a local loan of three million dollars raised in the colony.

PENAL SERVITUDE FOR ARSON. I Elijah Alexander pleaded guilty at Somer- set Assizes, on Monday, to setting fire to a stack of hay, value F.100, at Frome, Selwood. It was totally destroyed. In sentencing the prisoner, who had previously been guilty of a similar crime, to five years' penal servi- tude, Mr. Justice Bray said that in these days arson was an even more serious offence than if we were hot at war, and in this case klOO worth of animals' food was destroyed.

————————— First-class Air Mechanic Stanley, R.F.C., was fatally injured while flying at Hounslow Aerodrome. Mr. George Edward Lewis, who was en- gaged in the gun trade for seventy years, has died at Birmingham. Much havoc has been caused in the mid- land and mountainous parts of the West of Ireland by the heavy snowfall. The National Rose Society has decided to abandon the Spring Show, which had been fixed for April 20, and to hold the Metro- politan Exhibition in the Royil Botanic Gardens on July 6. The death has occurred, near Burton-on- Trent, his native place, of Ben Warren, the famous Chelsea and Derby County half-back. Although only forty years of age, he has long been an invalid. Eastbourne Tribunal granted twelve weeks' exemption to a draper's stockkeeper, aged twenty-six, who had been rejected ten times, and was now passed for home service. At New Maiden JB34 14s. has been realised by the sale of waste paper, and of this amount two cheques of £ 10 each have been sent to the local Bed Cross Hospital.

OUR CHILDREN'S CORNER. BT UNOLE RALPH. • MARJORY'S EXCITING DREAM. I Marjory once had a wonderful dream, Of a ride on a great ball of snow, Which rolled from the top of a very high hill Till it got to the valley below. It rolled and it bumped, and it bumped and it rolled, And she felt so afraid she would fall, That she opened her mouth and tried hard to scream "Help! help!" But no sound came at all. She wondered how long it was all going to last, As away down the hillside she sped, When all of a sudden she came to a stop- I And she found she had rolled out of bed! THE SHIPWRECK. < Once upon a time there was a ship, and it used to sail about the sea, and inside the Jj ship were a lot of rat people, and they didn't know however to sail a ship at all. j And one day there a great storm came, j and the rat people got very frightened and nervous, and hid themselves in the coal || bunker. And all the rat people were very 'i nasty and wicked, and they used to fight all day long and smack each other. But there was one rat person who wasn't wicked, and his name was Richard. But all the other rat people didn't like him, and so he stayed on deck because the others would not have him with them. s And the storm grew fiercer, and Richard J the Rat got very frightened, and he could ,J hear all the other rat people calling out and smacking each other down in the cellar, and he wished that he were down there, too. But presently the ship began to wobble, and got deeper and deeper into the water, until it began to sink. Then did Richard get more frightened than ever, and he thought that it would be nice to isave him- self, and so he got some little barrels and a box, and some rope, and a very beautiful flag, and he tied it all together very firmly, and he made a kind of raft. Then he tied himself on to it, and waited to see what would happen. Presently the ship sank quite down into r. the sea, and all the rat people in the coaJ bunker were drowned. But Richard floated away on the raft he had built, and he was quite safe. Still, although he was safe he was not very comfortable, and he wished that a ship would pass that would take him on ¡o board, or that his raft would float to an island. After he had been floating for some time he came to a desert island And all the rat people that lived on the island were quite black, and they had woolly hair, and painted themselves red. And when they saw that Richard the Rat I was brown and quite different from what I they were, they made him king over all of i them, and did all the kind of things that } he told them to. And Richard the Rat was very surprised and happy. A FAVOURITE CHILD. I Of a child I want to tell you- Dorothea Daisy Weeks; ■ For her colour she is noted, [ She's a child with apple cheeks. Watch her on a frosty morning, As along to school she skips, With a smile for all who greet her- ) She's a child with cherry lips. t Eyes of grey has Gertrude Taylor, I' Palest blue are Winnie Bly's; Dorothea's eyes are darker- t She's a child with hazel eyes. She has fingers long and slender; See her turning fairy-tales, f Page by page, and you will notice She's a child with filbert nails. l< Ere I finish, let me whisper, t And a secret I'll disclose: t She's a child-her only blemish!— J With a little "turn-up" nose. f Other children have her parents— 1 Mauds and Ethels, Toms and Dans; But they love her best of any— They are vegetarians! I HOW JUMBO PLAYED A JINK. I One dreadful night, poor Mummy Elephant could not sleep, do what she would. All night long she kept hearing sounds. Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, all round the house the sounds went. Then there would be a scratching noise, as if some large ani- mal were trying to get in. Mummy Ele- phant shook so with terror that the whole house shook too, and the people next door thought there was an earthquake. And still the sounds went on: Pitter-patter, pat, pat! .2critchy, scratchy, scrat, scrat! And the worst of it was that Daddy Elephant never heard anything, but went on snoring deep and loud. Mummy Elephant couldn't bear it any longer, and got out of bed very softly and went on tip-toe to the window, and peeped out. She could see nothing but the moon shining at her over the Mango trees, and the river rippling ruppling past the crocodile's tail! Then she stole into her son Jumbo's room to see if he was awake. And what do you think? Jumbo wasn't there So she rushed back to Daddy Ele- phant in an awful state of mind, and woke him up, and then they both went into Jumbo's room. And there, to Mummy Ele- phant's great surprise, was Jumbo, fast asleep, and snoring like anything! Next morning Daddy Elephant took his gun and went out to see if he could find the beast who had been prowling round the house all night. When Uncle Lion saw him go, he got dreadfully nervous, and went about telling everybody that if they didn't about telling everybod s  ot. So they all got take care they'd be shot. So they all got together in a far corner of the desert, and had a parliament about it. And all the time Daddy Elephant went gaily on, carry- ing his great big gun, and looking for the beast. But the beast wouldn't show even the tip of his nose. As for Jumbo, he was having high jinks, and low jinks, and every kind of jink. He went jinking here and jinking there, and jinking in the jam cupboard; for he took advantage of everyone being scared to death. Some said that they were sure that the beast only came out at night, and that by day he was only a tiny tot of a small little beast, but at night he swelled till he was ever so big. But the only person who knew anything about the beast was Jumbo. For it was Jumbo who had gone pitter-pat- tering, scritchy-scratering all ound the house, because he wanted to get to the iam- capboard and couldn't find the key! W >0 it wasn't any wonder if Daddy Ele- phant never shot the beast.

"These men are doing almost as good ser- vice for their country as the men who are fighting in France." said Mr. Ingleby Oddie al an inquest on a L. and S.W. Railway man, who was killed while crossing the lines at Waterloo. It is proposed to erect a memorial in Wealdstone Parish Church to the Rev. H. J. C. Chapman, son of the vicar, a missionary who was accidentaly killed in Canada. Loss and damage sustained by farmers in Hampshire by the depredations of wood- pigeons has been so serious that the AIres- ford District Council has taken the lead in organising weekly shooting parties. Mi. Alphonse Lambert, who was a per- sonal friend ef the father of ex-President Faure, has died at Southport, in his 100th year. He devoted several hours a day to painting, a talent which he exercised almost up to the last.

I FISH THAT FISH. I The natives of Stradbrook Island, just at the mouth of the river Brisbane in Queens- land, Australia, have achieved quita a re- markable feat. They have trained a school of porpoises to help them to do their fishing. When a shoal of mullets is sighted the natives immediately hurry to the shore and wade into the sea, when they proceed to beat the water with their shields in regular time. The porpoise must be a very intelligent fish, for directly the school hears the natives give the signal by beating the water, it charges in squadron formation the outer edge of the mullet shoal, and as the mullet can't go backwards they go forward towards the shore and into the nets of the natives who are waiting to catch them.

FLYING MAN KILLED. I A coroner's jury at Hounslow on Saturday I' returned a verdict of "Accidental death" at an inquest on the body of Air-Mechanic Ray- mond Stanley, who was killed while flying. Evidence was given that deoeased, who was an experienced pilot, rose well, but in turn- ing at a low altitude failed to bank, with the result that the aeroplane nose-dived to earth. Stanley was the eon of an iron- founder at Eveshal.