Llais Llafur

NEWS IN BRIEF. I AUSTRIA STILL CALLING UP MEN. The Tiroler Anuiger states that men of the Austrian Landsturm, aged forty-four to forty- six, who are not yet in the fieldfare being called up for the middle of January. ENGAGEMENT OF LORD GRANBY. The engagement is announced of the Mar- quess of Granby, only son of the Duke and Duchess of Rutland, and Miss Kathleen Ten- nant, youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Tennant, of lanes House, Morayshire. BOXING DAY CABINET MEETING. A Cabinet meeting war held at 10, Downing- tre.et. on Monday afternoon, the arrival of the Ministers being watched by a large crowd, who greeted the arrival of Lord Kitchener and Mr. Lloyd George with enthusiastic cheers. It is understood that Lord Derby's recruiting scheme was further considered by the Cabinet. CANADA PROUD OF HER TROOPS. The Duke of Connaught has sent the follow- ing reply to the Christmas greetings of the Canadian troops at the front: Canada warmly reciprocates the gcrsd wishes of her forces serving at the front The Dominion is proud of her sons.—ARTHUR." WELL-KNOWN HORTICULTURIST DEAD I The death is announced of Mr. Henry Whateley, of Priory Lawn, Kenilworth, one of the leading horticulturists in the country. He was particularly successful as an orchid and carnation grower. FRENCH TRIBUTE TO BRAVE SURGEON. I Captain Malcolm A. Macdonald, who was senior hou&e surgeon of the Pr,inc-e of Wales Hospital, London, when he joined the R.A.M.C. on the outbreak of war, is to re- ceive the French Military Cross for conspicu- ous surgical services while under fire at GallipoLi. MAJOR CHURCHILL'S LEAVE. Major Winston Churchill returned to France on Monday on the expiration of h?it; leavte of absence. ARRESTED GERMAN SOCIALISTS. The Basle Nachrichten publishes the names of nine prominent Stuttgart and Karlsruhe Socialists, including three women, who have been arrested on charges of high treason. The trial is to take place at Leipsic in the middle of January. SPECIAL CONSTABLES RELIEVED. The superintendents of police in Lanca- shire, where there are county instead of borough police, have been informed by the Chief Constable of Lancashire that it nas been decided until further orders to relieve special constables from duty and drills, owing to the quiet state of the county. FIRE ON A BRITISH STEAMER. A New York message says: The British steamship Inchmoor, which was in the Erie Basin taking aboard a cargo of sugar for the Allies, was found to be on fire on Sunday in her forward hold, and damage to the extent of Cl,0,000 was caused before the fire was ex- tinguished. It is believed the outbreak was the ;??r'? It is believed the outbreak was the work of an incendiary. EIGHT DEATHS IN NEW YORK GALE. New York was struck by an eighty-mile-an- hour gale on Sunday, which caused much de- struction. Telegraph wires were down in all parts of the city and surrounding country, and communication with the New England States was cut off. Eight persons were killed in New York alone by accidents due to the giale. WAR LECTURE IN PRISON. An officer, home from the front, greatly in- terested the convicts at Parkhiirst Prison on Monday with a lecture on war. The prisoners it the Camp Hill Preventive Detention Prison had a smoking concert. FATAL MOTOR CAR SKID. A motor-car, which was being driven along Dtley-road, Leeds, on Monday, skidded and dashed against a wall. The front of the car was smashed, and one of the passengers, Mrs. Blackburn, of Harehill, was thrown out and killed. ITALIAN FIVE PER CENT. LOAN. In Italy the issue of a national loan h&JS been authorised by Royal decree. The loan is to be redeemable at twenty-five years, and wilG be issued at the rate of 97-50. It will bear interest at 5 per cent. LIFE DEVOTED TO INVALID CHILDREN. I he death has occurred at Margate ot Superior Mother Honorinc, who devoted hc-r long life to ministering to invalid children. She joined the Roman Catholic Order of which she was a member at Liege in 1856. TOO MANY RATS. At a. meeting of the St. Helens District Council a letter was read from the scavenging contractor terminating his contract at the end of the year on the ground that he was nut to such great expense in buying poison to k-e-ep down the rats that it was not worth doing. CHRISTMAS SAVINGS. At Waltoyi-on-th-e-Nitze, a small coast resort, three clubs have this Christmas shared out to their members £ 2.250, wjiich is equal to £ 1 per head of the population, counting men, women, and children. The principal society disbursed £ 1,900 among 600 members. BODIES WASHED ASHORE. Two bodies have been washed ashore on the coa,st at Carnoustie. They are supposed to be those of, two members of the crew of the French barque Hoehe, which foundered be- tween Arbroath and Carnoustie during a heavy storm on October 28th. PERIL OF SLIGHT CUTS. Mr. Charles Holland, a well-known Ipswich tradesman. hos died at the age of thirty-three from blood-poisoning, which followed a slight cut on a finger caused when opening a tin. NEW RUSSIAN MINISTER TO ROUMANIA. The Bucharest correspondent of the aior- tiaic (VItalia states that M. Schebeko, the Russian Min ster, has arrived in the Rou- B2iiirian capital with a letter from the Czar to the K ing making fresh proposals for terri- t(orial, cessions in the event of Roumania par- ti' .ipating ii tho war. COUGH BEFORE THE SERMON. Before the Bishop of Buckingham preached at High Wycombe, Bucks, on Sunday, the Vicar, the Rev. C. P. S. Clarke, asked that if iu the congregation wished tn cough he should do-So during the hymn which pre- ceded the sermon, or, failing this, go outside for the purpose. v GARAGE BURNT DOWN. Over twenty fire engines were called or Monday to all extensive building in Camber- wdl-road, CamberweU, used as a motor ga-ra-gi and stores. The building was practically burnt down. TEXTILE WORKERS WAR BONUS At Hud'dersfieldi on Mow iy a mass meetinj of textile workers ratified In agreement witl the employers for the pay-* fit of a war bonuv of Is. 6d. a week for v% Gt,, ii and young per sons, and 3s. a week for men.

? or, THE KING'S MESSAGE I TO HIS SOLDIERS AND SAILORS. I The following message from the King to his Navy and Army was published in Naval and Military Orders throughout tha Empire on Christmas morning: Another Christmas finds all the resources of the Empire still engaged in war, and I de- sire to convey, on my own behalf and on be- half of the Queen, a heartfelt Christmas greet- ing and our good wishes for the New Year to all who on sea and land are upholding the honour of the British name. In the officers and men of my Navy, on whom the security of the Empire depends, I repose, in common with all my subjects, a trust that ia absolute. On the officers and men of my armies, whether now in France, in the East, or in other fields, I rely wi,th an equal faith, confi- dent that their devotion, their valour, r.nd their self-sacrific-e will, u.nder God's guidance,, lead to victory and an honourable peace. There are many of their comra.des. now, alas in hospital, and to the brave men also I desire, with the Queen, to expres6 our deep gratitude and our earnest prayers for their recovery. Officers1 and men of the Navy and of the Army. a,nother year is drawing to a close, as it bega.n, in toil, bloodshed, and suffering, and I rejoice to know that the goal to which you are striving draws nearer into sight. May God bless you and all your under- takings.

INCOME-TAX DEDUCTIONS. I AN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION. I > t The Commissioners of Inland Revenue have issued a memorandum regarding the deduc- tion of income-tax to be made for the year 1915-16 from unearned payments made after October 5th. It should prove useful to inves- tors. for it shows in a general way what deduc- tions should be made from interest and dividends. The cases in which deductions have to be made fall into two main classes. Class 1. (pay- ments which are not made out of profits or gains brought into charge to income-tax) com- prises dividends and interest on the funds pay- able between October 6th and April 5th, inclu- sive, on foreign and Colonial Government securities, and of foreign and Colonial com- panies, payable here. In this class where any annual payment is made in one sum, tax will be deductible at the rate of 3s. in the pound and when cr.e half-yearly payment has been made before October 6th under deduction at 2s. 6d. in the pound, tax will be deductible from the subMquent half-yearly payment at the rate of 3s. 6d. in the pound. Payments made at period's other than half-yearly will be subject to deduction on the basis of the tax being 3s. in the pound throughout the year ending on April 5th next. Class II (payments made after October 5th, out of profits or gains brought into charge to income-tax) comprises ground-rents, interest or annuities, dividends paid out of profits or gains of public companies in the Unit-ed King- dom. Tax is deductible from these payments at the rate or rates in force during the period through which they were accruing. The ad- justment of deductions from such payments is primarily a matter to be settled between the I paver and the recipient, and does not immedi- ately concern the revenue.

I DETERMINED « SUTTEE." I I MOUNTS HUSBAND'S FUNERAL PYRE. I A remnrkablcca-se of suttee is reported in the Allahabad Pioneer from Goghat. In this village there lived a beggar named Nibaran Dome and his wife, who lived together for over fourteen years. Some time ago the hu-s- band fell a. victim to consumption, and died. When hi.s dead body was carried to the crema- tion ground and placed on the pyre, says the Daily Express correspondent, the wife jumped three times on the burning pyre, ap- parently smiling, and each tame she was extri- cated by her relations. Though she was severely burnt sh& did not show the least sign of agony, but on being taken home she died in an hour, and was cremated on the same pyre with her husband.

I OBJECTED TO BE CALLED A TURK I I ARMENIAN WHO DID NOT REGISTER. I At Bow-street Police-court, London, before Sir John Dickinson, Monrad Wake Sureinian, an Ottoman subject, described as a teacher of languages, of Woburn-place, Russell-square, was charged with failing to register himself as an alien enemy. Inspector Thompson stated that the accused came to Bow-street Polico station and told him that he was born in Turkey of Armenian parents. He came to England from Paris in March, 1914, and had since acted as a teacher at Abingdon, Sidcup, and Worthing. When not so engaged, he said, he resided in London. The reason he had not registered before was that he was ashamed of being called a Turk. The Armenians, he added, hated the Turks, who had slaughtered them for centuries past. The accused said that the statement was quite true. He owed nothing to Turkish "culture." He dreaded the idea of being considered a Turk. He did not wish to do anything wrong. In reply to the magistrate, the prisoner now said that he was willing to register him- self. He was put back for that purpose, and later in the day was again brought before the magistrate and bound over to come up for judgment if called upon.

I OFFICER'S SAD DEATH. I QUICK-FIRING GUN ACCIDENT. The death has occurred at Shoeburyness Military Hospital of Captain Francis Gains- worthy Lane-Pool, aged thirty-five, Royal Marine Artillery, who was wounded while con- ducting experiments with quick-firing guns on the new range. Whilst examining a charge which misfired it exploded, causing serious in- jury to the left forearm. He succumbed to shock and internal hemorrhage shortly after- wards.

528,227 BRITISH LOSSES. TOTAL TO DECEMBER 9TH. I KILLED 119,923 WOUNDED 338,758 MISSING 69,546 The Prime Minister, in a written reply tc Mr. Molteno, gives figures showing that the total British casualties in all the fields of operations up to December 9th amounted to 528,227. Up to November 94h the total was 510,230, but this included 12,160 naval casualties, which are apparently not included in the re- turns published to-day. The details ars* as follows: FLANDERS AND FRANCE. Killed. Wounded. Missing. Total. Officers 4,829 9,943 1,699 16,471 Other ranka 77,473 241,359 52,865 371,51,7 387,988 DARDANELLES. Officers 1,667 3,028 350 5,045 Other ranks 24,535 72,781 12,194 109,510 114,555 OTHER THEATRES. Officers 871 694 100 1,665 Other ranks 10,548 10,963 2,518 24,019 • 119,923 338,758 69,546 25,684

PRIVY COUNCILLORS. CASE OF NATURALISED SUBJECTS. I He is not truly King where will and plea- I sure rule, and not tlie law," said Bracton. And it is in accordance with that fundamental English maxim that the judges of the King's Bench have disallowed all the Crown's objec- tions to the jurisdiction of the Court to enter- tain a subject's complaint that naturalised persons ha.d been "wrongfully and illegally" sworn as members of the Privy Council. It is something to the good that the "rule of law should thu-a have been emphatically re- asserted, though there was never anything substantial in the complaint itself, and it was generally recognised, by constitutional law- yers at least, to be perfectly hopeless. What the relator proposed to do, in fact, was to set up a. provision of the Act of Settle- ment of 1700, which had reference to the cir- cumistanees of the time and excluded all per- sons born out of the United Kingdom, not only from the Privy Council, but from Parlia- ment, "or any office or place of trust either civil or military," though it had been ex- pressly overridden as regards naturalised per- sons by later statutes. The Naturalisation Act of 1844 expressly gave to the naturalised sub- ject all the riglii6 of a natural-born subject except that of becoming a. member of the Privy Council or of either House of Parlia- ment; but theise last disqualifications were re- moved by the amending Act of 1870. The respondents to the application—Sir Ernest Cassel and Sir Edgar Speyer — having been naturalised under the Act of ISiO. were obviously capable, as part of the privileges whicjh they acquired under this Act, to be sworn of the Privy Council, but it was sug- gested, as a sort of pis aller, that since the British Nationality Act of 1914 they had ceased to be capable of holding that office. But this consolidating Act, which was notori- ously intended to extend and not to curtail the rights of the naturalised subject, had ex- pressly provided that he should as from the date of his naturalisation have to all intents and purposes the status of a natural-born British subject." There were neither merits nor legal grounds for the application, and it failed' as it, deserved.

THE "TOO LATE" SPEECH. I WKAT DID MR. LLOYD GEORGE IMPLY? 1 1 "Wayfarer" in the Nation thus comments Ion MT. Lloyd George's remarkable Too Late" sp-eecii "Mr. Lloyd Georg.3 6 history is always pic- turesque; but must, wo accept both the com- pliment to the Prime Minister and the rebuke to the War OiTics implied in the suggestion that the Government only woke up to the necpasity of more machine-guns by Mr. Asquith dropping in from a casual crossing of the Channel and saying: By the way, we seem to be badly off for Maxims'? At least, the small proportion of machine-guns (two to a battalion) was common talk long before June last, and if it is true that the War Office ignored it and the giave battle issues that depended on it, something more than a slight- ing sentence in a spccch of the Minister of a companion (or rival) department ought to be mcicd out to it. I imagine that Mr. George himself waa member of the Cabinet Committee for looking into munitions, ap- pointed some nine months before June, 1915. As Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. George was at least the second important figure on it. Did the shortage of machine-guns come before this

DUTCH WHEAT IMPORTS. I MORE THAN HALF FOR BELGIANS. I Mr. Runciman. in reply to a Parliamentary question, says that the actual quantity of wheat which arrived in • Netherlands ports in the week endvd December ISth was 45,000 quarters, against a weekly average in Decem- b?r last of about 98,000 quarters. The corresponding figure for the entire period August 1st to December 17th (including the grain equivalent of iir.poitad flour) was 1,599,000 quarters, as against a net importa- tion in the ia-st five months of 1014 of 1,058,000 quarters. Of the quartity imported since the begin- ning of August, no less than 897,000 quarters was imported on account of the Belgian Relief Commission, leaving only 702,000 quarters fol Dutch consumption.

I A LONDON TRADE FAIR. ENCOURAGING HOME INDUSTRIES. The Loard of Trade have now completed the arrangements for the hoi-ding of a British Industries "Fair," at the beginning of next year, on lines similar to those which charac- terised the fair organised by them at the Royal Agricultural Hall, London, in May of this year. The" Fair," which will be opened on Monday, February 21st, and remain open until Friday, March 3rd, 1916, will be held in the buildings of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, Only British manufacturers engaged in the following trades—viz., China and earthen- ware, glass, fancy goods, toys and games, stationery and printing, will be permitted to exhibit. As before, admission will be by in- vitation of the Board of Trade alone, and will be restricted to bona-fide buyers for the trades concerned.

I FIGHTING SCHOOL TEACHERS. I I Ont of 300 elementary school teachers of I mHitary age in the service of the Surrey Education Committee 115 are now on mili- It-ary service, and of the remain-dr all except ten have offered themselves for attestation.

BOAT IN A STORM. I OFFICERS GRAPHIC STORY I An Englishman who had lived for some time in the Near Last, has a knowledge ot some of the languages spoken there and a. wide acquaintance with the Turkish seaboard, took up a commission in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve eariy in the war, and later on, add& the Morning Pod, successfully ap- plied for service with the submarine lfotii: 1-i o- i%-r i t,s of a re- as an Intelligence Officer. Ke writes of a re- cent experiei.ee during a gale, as follows: We left 'on a mission' and stopped out- side in a small bay, where many ships were moored awaiting instructions. A terrific gale sprang up from the north, and we had slaps ■, breaking up all round; dragging anchors and drifting on a lee shore only :2toi) yards away. A torpedo-boat bore down on us and broke our securing wires. We had orders to abandon ship,' but we stuck to her and worked for three-and-a- half hours in the driving snow, often in water up to our armpits. Finally, near 4 a.m., we rescued her :r:.a' managed' to secure her, only to find both propellers damaged and one engine displaced, one of our flood tanks badly holed, cleats pulled cut. our tn.il twisted, and our frames bent and sea.ms opened. At 7 a.m. we broke adrift, and to save ourselves we bad to risk it and submerge. There we sat on' the bottom for six hours, then started dragging again, and, as bad luck would have it. dragged1 on to a wreck a.nd bumped awav We did the only thing blow tanks,' a.nd up in it oil again: on the surface. The pressure was so great that when the air valve was opened mv ear drums crackled and my feet went woolly, like walking on air! However, the wind had, lulled, and we tied up and finally got back to our depot. It was a bad experience for one's fir-t «sink,' and I thought I had lost my chance of doin-H a bit.' but I am now writing this hurried line a.s I am off again for somewhere.'

"HEROES' POULTRY FARMS." ALLEGED FRAUDULENT C.250,000 SCHEME. At Bow-street Police-court, London, on Wednesday, before Mr. Hopkins, Ritchie Gill, a young man described as a film renter, of St. Margaret's-road, Twickenham, was charged, on remand with attempting to pro- cure charitable contributions by fraud. Mr. Muskett. who prosecuted on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, said that the pri- soner engaged rooms at. 'an address in Upper St. himself there under the title of the Heroes' Poultry Farms, Limited." A large number of pam- phlets were sent out, particularly to persons occupying high social positions, explaining tha-t the object of the concern was to give em- ployment to maimed soldiers and to supply new laid eggs and poultry free of charge to hospitals. Over 100.0f),) eggs a day were said to be wanted, and the pa-mphht added: "We have set ourselves the task of collect- ing five million shillings." Only a paltry Mr. Muskett. The ap- peal seemed to a great extent to have been a failure, and there was no reason to think that more than £ 20 had been subscribed by the public. On August 17th the defendant applied to the New Issues Committee of the Treps,arv for sanction to register a company with a nominal capital 0,[ £10.000. but not- withstanding the refusal of his request he in fact registered a company at Somerset House in August called the Heroes' Poultry Farms, Limited," with a, capital of £ 1,000. Nothing more than the registration had been done in the matter. In his pamphlets the defendant represented company's farms. when completed, would cover an area- of 100 of poultry runs, but on being interviewed on December 16th bv Detective-Inspector Curry he admitted that there were no farms m existence. Evidence y-'fis given by Amy Tjfvcry Pelly, of Eccles ton st ree t. and Lady Sendall. of Con>- wall-gardens, S.W., as to sending 10s. and 5s. respectively to the fund, and the accused WM again remanded on bail.

THE NORTH SEA" SEARCH." GERMAN FLEET'S PEEP OUT. With regard to the statement issued by the Berlin Admiralty recently that part of the German Fleet had "searched the North Sea. for the enemv, but the British were nowhere sighted," captains of merchantmen who ob- served the German Fleet's movements state that it steamed with great caution close to the coast. Several Zeppelins and aeroplanes, -add-q the Copenhage-n correspondent of the Daily Mail. flew at a grea-t height and ahead, and watched for hostile ships. The imircraft were uninterruptedly in wireless communica- tion with the Fl-eet.

MINE CAUGHT IN THE NETS. DUTCH TRAWLER BLOWN UP. An Amsterdam Lloyd's messag e that the Dutch steam trawler Erin foundered at sea. in consequence of explosion of a mine which was caught in the nett; when taking them in. Three men are dead a.nd eight have been landed at Ymuiden, of whom three are wounded. BRITISH SHIP SUNK. 1 1 T"Io. J.1. A Lloyd's telegram states that tne unii&n steamer Morning has 'been sunk. The master and second mate have been saved. The Morn- ing, of Dundee, was an auxiliary screw barque of 444 tons.

WOMEN TYPISTS FOR POLICE WORK RELEASING CONSTABLES FOR SERVICE. For the first time in the history of the Metropolitan Police women typists have now entered the portals of New Scotland Yard as paid servants of the Crown. The typists form a special corps of their own, and they will' work in a large room under the watchful eyes of a woman superin- tendent. They will not be sworn in as con- stables, nor will they wear uniform, but they will be borne on the Civil List, although they are actually ta.king the places of constables who ordinarily perform elerical work and are now wanted for other work in the war- depleted force. The duties of the women typists will consist mainly .in copying reports from the various departments—a work which is in large measure of a confidential character.

TRICKED OUT OF £ 450. VISITOR FROM CJJINA SWINDLED. The latest victim of the confidence trickster is a gentleman home from Hankow, China, for a brief holiday in England. A chance meeting in the West End led to an exchange of confidences. The strangers, faced by the difficulty of distributing wealth left by a de- ceased relative, obtained the trust of their prey, whom they victimised to the extent of rL300 in Bank of England notes and- diamond jewellery wortk £150..

HEAVY GALE AND RAIN ) HOUSES UNROOFED & LOW-LYING I LANDS FLOODED. LINER ON GOODWIN SANDS. I Sunday night's prolonged and heavy downpour of rain which was experienced in oractically every part of tiie country was fol- io-wed on Monday by a gale ef txoeptiona. iolenee, and despatches irom every part of the country tell of great havoc caused by the tor a. In many low-lying districts thousands of ores of land are under water as a result of e to. rain from Newcastle a serious .le ITent.la raJ!1; l'o;n., l'wc:stle a ser:Ol:S indstide on the North Eastern Railway is re- .-ort-ed-, in many places houses were unroofed nd g.rest trees uprooted, while at various -23, towns considerable damage was Lused by heavy seas and high wind. The weather in the Channel was exceed- agly rough, the seas breaking over the Ad- miralty Pier, the breakwater at East Cliff, .nd the parade. In London the full force of the gale was lelt on the south side of the Thames. At Streatham hoardings were blown down, and at Brixton a tree was uprooted and a fence knelled to the ground. Trees were also blown down at Clapham Commcn, Brockwell Park, and at Duiwich, and many plaie-glass win- dows were smashed. The West End did not. escape, for in Hollard Park-avenue a chimney fe-Ii with a terrific crash, the debris' falling through two floors. A tree was blown down in Holland Park, and a large amount of da-mage was done to hoardings. FLOODED THAMES. I lOwing to the recent heavy and continuous rains the Thames in the Lower Yalley was again in flood. At Mo.esey Lock the official gauge showed 12ft. lOin. of water below the lock, which is about 5ft. 6in. above summer level. Between Richmond and Staines the river overflowed its banks at numerous points and flooded hundreds of acres cf meadow land.?. The towpaths were also submerged in places, and many riverside lawns and gardens were inundated. At Hampton Court several large gardens near the bridge were flooded to a depth of 3ft.. orfy the t-ops of the taller plants and shrubs being visible. The famous old Moat at Hampton Co-urt Palace was ncaiu flooded. Between Cherteev and La.leham the river overflowed its barks and caused considerable flooding. The gale up-rooted scores of lar.ge trees and blew down sever a 1 wooden structures. I HAVOC IN SOUTH WALES. I I In South Wales the saie can sea coi^u^i- able damage. At Abertillerv plate-gla^e win- dows were blown in, and nouses stripped of their roofs, the slates falling into the street in large quantities. At Newport there was an excpptonally higJ, tide, and thousands of acre"" of land Newport and the Severn Tunnel were flooded. In Mert-hyr the streets were stuewn with debris, and the large covered m-and in 1he Merthvr football ground has been denuded of its roof. I RAILWAY LANDSLIDE. I A landslide occurred at Lanr quarry, on the North-Eastern Railway, a- few miles e.vt of Newcastle. The embankment was ti-innelic-d a distance of about fifty yards, the rail- way sleepers and lines being left stispended over the At some ulaces the earth was dislodged to a depth of 12ft. below the rail- I way level. Large gangs of work-men are re- I pairing the damage, and ;t is expected that the work will take about a we-ek to complete. I LINER ON THE GOODWINS. t The large four-masted Dutch passenger liner tons), belong- ing to the Holland-American Line, ran on the Goodwin Sands during the gale. She was bound from New York to Rotterdam, and on Monday morning after leaving the Downs stranded on the edge of the North Spit, near to the scene of the Mahratta wreck. She was refloated after five hours and proceeded on her journey. The Deal lifeboat wc t out to the assistance of the liner, but the offer of help was declined by the Dutch captain. While returning to Dep] the crew of the lifeboat observed a smaii steamer driving helplessly before the gale, broad-side on, the heavy seas making a clean sweep over her. The lifeboat bore down -m the little craft, whose distress signals werf- flying. The crew were huddled together on deck. At great risk four lifeboatmen sprang aboard and assisted in taking the vessel into Ramsgate. I FOUR LOST WITH SCHOONER. I An Irish schooner, believed to be the Mary Jane, sank in Swansea Bay with the loss of four bands. The schooner had been shelter- ing in Mumbles Roads, ¡Uld in response to signals of distress the Mumbles lifeboat and Swansea pilot cutter went to har assistance, but, owing to mountainous seas, could not get sufficiently near to throw a line aboard. The sohooner carried a crew of four, and the would-be rescuers state that they believe the men were lashed to the rigging. One sailor was drowned through being carried overboard when the mast snapped and fell, and the other three went down with the sohooner. I THREE DAYS ADRIFT BEFORE I RESCUE. The Grimsby trawler A goma and a British collier landed at Grimsby and Immingham re- spectively the crew of the Swedish steamer Nereus, which sank in the North Sea on Christmas Day. The crew, who got away in two bo-ats, drifted from Saturday to Monday, in terrible weather, before they were rescued, most of them being utterly exhausted when found. Some of the crew of a mine-sweeper which went ashore near Whitby were towed into Hartlepool on Tuesday morning. The men were picked up at s-ea. by a Norwegian vessel, which htmded them over to the care of another steamer, which took them into pert. The men were none the worse for their ad- venture. A woman's body and much wreckage have been washed ashore at St. Andrews, Fife. It is feared tiiat a vessel has* gone down. I BLOWN INTO AN EXPRESS TRAIN. I At JUangunllo :st&OOD, near  (Radnorshire permanent way inspector John Powes w&s '??own by tbe wind into a passing express and received such injuriee that he I died shortly afterwards. In the Sevenoaks district the gale did much damage. A cowman named Homden was talk- ing to some hoys when a tree fell, killing him insfeantly.

INDIGESTION CAN BE WARDED OFF! Most of us are liable i have indigestion. Our ever-changeiui climate severely taxes the digestive organs, oar modern habit of doing everything in a hurry leaves the stomach little repose, and we can't always spare the time to eat slowly and rest awhile afterwards. Only a strong healthy stomach can stand the conditions of modern life, and if you wish to ward off pains after eating, a sense of fulness and weight. flatulence, and all the other miseries of indigestion, you must keep vour stomach healthy and strong. If for any reason voi r stomach loses tone and efficiency, take Mother Svrup after your meals for a while, and notr the improvement in your health—the incre > o- vrw vigour. He sure you get the gen- ">V <v < Svrnp. No other reme-d- T.it pi-.biic. assesses its splendid pow-<• toRtug <•> -'rei'g'. h- ening the stODi.n u ->« jvnih uuhiting. the action of the i

INDIANS' FINE RECORD. NEVER LOST A POSITION. The Indian troops which were accepted for service in Europe numtered 70,000. The Indian divisions landed at Marseilles to- wards the end of September, 1914. and were presented by their commander before the General commanding on the 28th. On October 2nd the Government authorised the publica- tion of King George's message, which was read to them on their arrival. It was in this message that the King Emperor said he looked to his Indian soldiers to uphold the Izzat of the British Raj against an aggressive and relentless enemy." At an early stage in the war on the western front the Indian troops had many opportuni- ties, of which th-ey took full advantage, of proving their valour in the field. A French officer, writing in the Daily Telegraph, men- tioned several instance? of their gallantry. SIKH SAPPER S SMARTNESS. A few days ago," he said, a company of Indian sappers and gunners found itself in a very critical position, the main attack of the enemy being directed against them. Not only were the Indians under machine-gun fire, but there were plenty of Black Marias' pouring over them from all sides. At one moment one of these unpleasant- shells fell quite near a sapper while he was lying on t.he ground and steadily firing on the advancing foe. It did not hurt him, but dug a hole six feet deep at his side. The sapper—a Sikh, I be- lieve—waited until the smoke had gone, and then jumped into the hole. He soon found that the position was a comfortable one, and started firing from the cover the Germans had dug for him. According to officers who were standing by he managed to kill some fifteen or twenty Germans by himself, and would have remained there icr ever if he had not been eventually ordered to retreat. He was warmly congratulated afterwards, but did not appear to think be had done anything remarkable. "THE FORTY THIEVES" AT YPRES. In October, 1P14, several Indian regiments were rushed to the aid of General Smith- Dorrien a-t Neuve Chapelle. and during the "critical three days at the first battle of Ypres (October 29th-31st) they played a gal- lant part in -esisting the Grerma,n offensive. The 40th Pa ins--who are known as The Forty Thieve '—made a magnificent- charge, piercing the German line. It stands to their credit that the Indian troops never once lost a position they were in- Struct.ed to hold, though they were engaged in the most severe fighting of the campaign- the actual attack on Keuve Chapelle, for ex- ample, or the more recent struggles in the neighbourhood of Loos. Sir John French visited the Gurkhas after the battle of Neuve Chapelle and congratula,ted them on their splendid gallantry. At later stages in the campaign, too, the Indians fought under many disadvantages, for they hucl JSI most of their British officers in the fighting, and it was not possible to reinforce them. FIRST INDIAN V. C. French officers at Arras end other places bore warm tribute to the work of the Indian troops, and much enthusiasm was created throughout our Indian Empire when Ki-n-g George himself, on a ripit to Fra-nce early in December, 1914. pinned the Victoria Cross on the uniform of Naik Darwan Sing Negi-the first Indian soldier to receive the coveted dis- tinction, The first Indian who actually won the Cross was in hospital at the time recover- ing from his wounds.

GALLIPOLI WEATHER. FLOOD, BLIZZARD, AND FROST. MEN FROZEN AT THEIR POSTS. The winter weather in the Dardanelles has caused great discomfort and suffering to our men. Writing of the bitter weather of the end of November, Mr. G. Ward Price says in the Daily Graphic: The extraordinarily bitter cold of those three days at the epd of November was a ter- rible trial for them, penned up, as most of them are, in narrow trenches on naked ridges and abrupt slopee fully exposed to the north wind. In one of our three sectors of the peninsula a number of men were sent away with frost-bite. The Turks, accustomed as they are to the severe winters of Anatolia, suffered even worse. For one thing they have no blanket or waterproof sheet, and eleep wrapped only in their great-coats. Down the gullies, tamed into raging torrents by the cloudburst that preceded the blizzard, the-ir bodies came washing along with the carcases of mules and all sorts of equipment. Their trenches, too, were so completely flooded that they had to get out of them and lie about in the open, being actively shot down by our men, though some of the latter were frozen too stiff to pull the trigger, and, almost dead with eoid, had not strength enough to raise their rifles, but stood there and, as one officer told me, "COULD ONLY OWN AT THE TURKS." It was indeed a supreme test of the endur- ance of our troops, and they came through it magnificently. Every officer I have talked to says the same thing. The men were spl- did; not a grumble; patient and cheerful through it all. I would never have believer! they could have stuck it so well." For it no ordinary winter etorm. First it rained torrents for twehw hours. The narrow trenches, often cut in hard rock or tenacious clay, were flooded to the height of the thighs. The dug-outs filled with water. The deep saps that climb the slopes of the trenches literally became cascades. The gullies along which the stores are brought from the beach resumed their natural fn-nction of watercourses. Im- posssMe to light a fire, to have any food but cold bally and damp biscuit; the men soaked through to the very ekin. Then the wind shifts suddenly to the north, and a bitter, biting, piercing frost aete in. The drenched great- coats grew so stiff that they would stand up by themsel ves. The water FROZE ROtTND THE MEN'S FEET as they lay snatching the wretched sleep of utter exhaustion. Some of them were only kept alive by being made to work ba-rd all night with pick and shovel. After the frost the Hizzard. A wind sprang up from the north eo strong that you could not stand against it. It kiehed L- face and inflamed the eyes. A General who bat" :cros,Ing the flat plain beside the Salt- -k-i at Suvla told me that it took him two ho-m-s and a-half to cover a distance be ordinarily does in one. The g-ale, moreover, brought snow w,*th. it. Frozen, buffeted by wind and sleet, with r-.rdly the possibility of motion to keep the -'rc-u^a-tioo alive, the men endured agonies, Sentries watching thromgti the loopholes in the parapet were found dead at their posts when their turn came to be relieved, FROZEN RIGID, stiff fingers still ckrtching the rifle in an ironfast grip, the blackened face still leaning, ir.i-der its sackcloth curtain, against the loop- hole. Yet through pft this the tro-ps kept un- complainingly to their duty, an-d the mc '0 lid died with f-m lips. Never, probr.b'y, have British forces the fid-d had to endure such cold as the last days of November brought to OUT men at the Dar- a ;alle,3. Yoc care have no possible corcet)- I lion," said an officer after he had beeii (le- scribing it all for a quarter ef an hour, "of what db w" klue."