Herald of Wales and Monmouthshire Recorder

CARMARTHEN PROBATE CASE. I In the Probate Court, application I was made to Mr. Justice Bargrave Deane l for a grant of administration of the estate of Henry Thomas, who had re- sided at Carmarthen. It was stated that the deceased bad a deposit in the Port Office Savings Bank of £14. and S135 in Lloyd's Bank. He ( died on 4th June intestate and a bachelor, I but in contemplation of his death he had handed his deposit book to David Thomas. The application being unopposed, his Lordship made a grant to David Thomas.

Tho Serbian Press Bureau at Nist an- nounce that the Tsar has conferred on King Petar of Serbia the Order of St. I Andrew with Sword*.

GERMANS FALTER. SIXTEEN AVIATORS REACH THE CHANNEL BUT TURN BACK. Calais had a visit on Saturday night from a Zeppelin and three Aviatik aero- planes, which, flying high over the town, were reported to be heading in the direc- tion of Dover. Anti-aircraft guns, mounted on motor-cars, were hastily rushed to ait advantageous position for an attack, but the German machines, with- out doing any damage, continued their journey ac top speed. The Zeppelin had come from the interior of Belgium, pass- ing over Furnes and Dunkirk. There has been exceptional activity on the part of the enemy's flying men of late; and on most days during the past week aeroplanes have been seen in the vicinity of Dunkirk and Calais, whilst bomb? have been dropped over other towns during the last 48 hours. For instance, on Sunday morning an aeroplane made its appearance over Haze- brouck, and discharged three bombs, but, happily, none of them burst. Two British aeroplanes gave chase, TSut the German escaped. The same morning from a Taube came three bombs aimed at the railway station at Anaentierea. Anti-aircraft guns, mounted in readiness to meet any such raid, were soon in action, and the aero- plane hastily retreated before the shower of shrapnel. Then there was at exciting incident at Al.)bevill&an open town, by the way- an aeroplane relating bombs which fell I on ploughed land on the outskirts, with- out doing damage. The German aero- plane which aimed th ese futile shots went I off following the Calais to Paris railway I line. Yet another of these German raids is to I be recorded, and this was at Donllens, where bombs fell in the river. Dunkirk, Sunday.—Twelve German aviators flew over the town and neigh- 1 bourhood to-day and thmv about 30 bombs, but, owing to the precautions taken, there were but few casualties, and the material damage done was not very important. Copenhagen, Saturday.—A German aero- plane, with two paasengers, was observed at Esbjerg and its environs, flying only about 40 metres above the ground. The passengers were waving their hands to the inhabitants. The aeroplane dis- appeared after an hour. On account of this visit, th. « Ribe Stiftstidende, an old provincial paper of high standard, prints an article, saying, ¡ We hope the German military authori- l ties will instruct thedr aviators not to fly over neutral territory, as the aero- planes of belligerent Powers should have nothing to do in Aeutral countries, and we trust our Government will call the German Government's attention to the matter, pointing out that similar flying excursions will not take place in future without risk to the passengers and their machines. In neutral Switzerland they shoot at them without ceremony." German Aviators Turn Back Aften I Reaching the Channel. ) Sixteen German aeroplanes were seen over English Channel on Sunday morn- ing, and it is evident that a raid on England was contemplated. Having got so far, however, the pilots apparently found the conditions too bad to continue their journey, for they turned their machines and steered in the direction of Dunkirk.

SWANSEA ALIENS CHARGE. I Well Known Tradesman and His Lodger J. Bound Over. Arthur Stix (24), a tailor, surrendered to his bail at Swansea on Monday on a charge of being an alien found living in a prohibited area—No. 5, Brunswick-street, Swansea-did fail to register himself to the alien registration officer. Daniel Dennis, a travelling draper, also surrendered to his bail on a charge of being the occupier of No. 5, Brunswick- street, did fail to give notice of the pre- sence of an alien in his household to the registration officer. Mr. Henry Thompson appeared on be- half of Dennis, and he held no objection to both cases being heard together. Detective O'Brien said that on January 1st he visited the house and saw Sax, who said he was a Russian Jew. and admitted that he had not registered in Swansea, but he had in other places. When told he should have registered himself in Swansea, Sax replied, I did not know. I am not an enemy. He was taken to the police station. Dennis admitted that Sax was a lodger. Asked why he did not notify the registration offioer of the presence of Sax in his household, Dennis replied, He told me he had registered." Mr. Thompson stated that when Sax came to the house Dennis asked if he waa registered. Sax replied that he was, and Mr. Dennis then erroneously thought that Sax was roistered in Swansea, and did not think there was any duty upon hiIn- self to notify the police. Mr. Dennis gave evidenoe. Sax, in his defence, stated that he had registered himself in Mertliyr, Porthcawl and Ilfracombe. He went to Aberystwyth and the police there told him that he need not register himself, Wing a friendly alien. He came to Swansea under the impression that he need not register again. He passed the police station regularly, and would immediately have registered if he thought it neoeesary. He put into oourt a letter which he had received from Aberystwyth. Both defendant were bound over in £ 10 each, and both were warned to fol- low the regulations very carefully. <

iBxchange telephone service has been I extened to Cardigan, Newcaetie-Emtyn and Llandyssul, at each of which places exchanges have been established, which are connected by trunk line to Carmarthen and thus with the rest of the system throughout the Kingdom. About 50 sub- scribers have already availed themselves of this facility, and no doubt when people get to know the advantages of telephone service, this number will be materially increased.

REALWEI.SH CURE tH?VMiUMf?C?   I CURES I i I COUGHS&COLDS ????a?Me in the NuMefy t?B Bottles I¡.. aad S/8 O. ALL CHEMISES AND STDRES. tH' j

I BRITAIN'S REPLY. 1 STRIKING ANSWER TO AMERICAN I I NOTE. The Press Bureau on Sunday evening issued the British rè\>ly to the Note from the American Ambassador of December 28 regarding contraband. The text of the document, which is issued for publication in agreement wioh the United States Government, is at) follows:— Sir Edward Grey to the Hon. W. H. Page. Foreign Office, Jan. 7, 1915. Your Excellency,—I have the hononr to acknowledge the receipt of your Note of December 28. It is being carefully ex- amined, and the points raised in it are receiving consideration, as the result of which a reply shall be addressed to your Excellency dealing in detail with the issues rai>?e<J and the points to which the TJnited St-aites Government have drawn attention. This consideration and the prepa nation of the reply will uecesfwr-ily require some time, and I, therefore, deed-re to send, without further delay some pre- liminary observations which m"t1. I trust, itelp to clear the ground and remove some misconceptions that seem to exist. Let me say at once that we entirely recognise the most friendly spirit re- ferred to by your Excellency, and that we desire to reply in the same spirit and in the belief that, as your Excellency states, frankness will best serve the continuance of cordial relations between the two countries. His Majesty's Government cordially concur in the principle enunciated by the Government of the United States that a belligerent in dealing with trade be- tween neutrals should not interfere un- less such interference is necessary to pro-j tect the belligerpnt?s national safety, and then only to the extent to which this is necessary. H We shall endeavour to keep our action within the limits of this principle on the understanding that it admits our right to interfere when such interfer- ence is not with bonafide trade between the United States and another neutral country, but with trade in contraband destined for the enemy's country, and vo? are ready whenever our action may un- intentionally exceed this principle to make redress. "Wo think that much. misconception exists as to the extent to which we hnve in practice interfered with trade. Your Excellency's Note seems to hold his Majesty's Government responsible for the present condition of trade with neutral countries and it is stated that through the action of his Majesty's Government the products of the great industries of the United States have been denied long- established markets in European coun- tries which, though ineutraT, are contigu- ous to the seat of war. Such a result is far from being the intention of his Majesty's Government, and they would exceedingly regret that it should be due to their action. "I have been unable to obtain complete or conclusive figures showing what the state of trade with these neutral countries has been recently, and I can, therefore, (mly ask that some further consideration should be given to the question whether the United States' trade with these neu- tral countries has been so seriouely affected. The only figures as to the total volume of trode that I have seen are those { for the exports from New York for the month of November, 1914, and they are M follows, compared with the month of November. 191,R:- Nov., 1918. Nov., 1914. Dollars. Dollars. Denmark 558,000 7,101,000 Sweden 377,000 2,858,000 Norway 477,000 2,318,000 Italy 2,971,000 4,781,000 Holland 4,389,000 3.960,000 I n It is true that there may hare been a falling off in cotton exports, as to which New York figures would be no guide, but his Majesty's Government hava been most careful not tq interfere with cotton, and its place on the free list has been scrupu- lously maintained. We do- not wish to lay too much stress upon incomplete statistics. The figures above are not put forward as conclusive, and we are prepared to examine any further evidence with regard to the state of trade in these neutral coun- tries which may point to a different con- clusion. or show that it is the action of his Majesty's Government in par- ticular, and not the existence of a state of war and consequent diminution of purchasing power and shrinkage of trade, which is responsible for adverse effects upon trade with neutral countries. That the existence of a state of war on such a scale has had a very adverse effect upon certain great industries, such as cotton, is obvious, but it is submitted that this is due to the general cause of diminished purchasing po^er of such countries as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, rather than to inter- ference with trade with neutral countries. In the matter of cotton, it may be re- called that the British Government gave special assistance, through the Liverpool Cotton Exchange, to the renewal of transactions in the cotton trade of not only the United Kingdom, but of many neutral countries. Your Excellency's Note refers in par- ticular to the detention of copper. The figures taken from the official returns of the export of copper from the United States for Italy for the months during which the war has been in progress up to the end of the first three weeks of December are as follows:— I 1913 15,202,000ft. I mi 36,285,0001b. I Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Swit- zerland are not shown separately for the whole period in the United States re- turns, but are included in the heading Other Europe' (that is, JSurope other than the United Kingdom. Russia. France, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Hol- land, and Italy). I The corresponding figures under this heading are as follows:- 1913 I 1914 35.347.0001b. w With such figures the presumption is very strong that the bulk of the copper consigned to those countries has recently been intended not for their own use, but for that of a belligerent who cannot im- port it direct. It if, therefore, an im- perative necessity for the safety of this country while it is at war that his Majesty's Government should do all in their power to stop such part of this import of copper as is not genuinely do- stined for neutral countries. Your Excellency does not quote any particular shipment of copper to Sweden which has been detained. There are, however, four consignments to Sweden at the present time of copper and alluminium which, though definitely consigned to Sweden, are, according to positive evidence in the possession of his Majesty's Government, definitely destined for Germany. "I cannot believe thai with such figures before them and in such cases as these just mentioned the Government of the United States would question the propriety of the action of his Majesty's Government it taking suspected cargoes to a prize court, and we are convinced that it cannot be in accord with the wish either of tho Government or the people of the United States to strain the inter- national code in favour of private interests, so as to prevent Great Britain from taking such legitimate means for this purpose as are in her power. I With regard to the seizure of food- stuffs to which your Excellency refers, his Majesty's Government are prepared to ad- mit that foodstuffs should not be detained and put into a Prize Court without the presumption that they are intended for the armed forces of the enemy or the enemy tievwiuaaBt. We believe that. this rule has been adhered to in practice hitherto, but if the United States have instances to the contrary we are prepared to examine them, and it is our present intention to adhere to the rule, though we cannot give an unlimited and uncondi- tional undertaking in view of the departure by those against whom we are fighting from hitherto accepted rules of civilisation and humanity, and the un- certainty as to the extent,to which such rule.3 may be violated by them in future. From August 4.th last to January 3rd the number of steamships proceeding from the United States for Holland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Italy has been 773. Of these there are 45 which have had con- signments or cargoes placed in the Prize Court, and one of these has since been released. It is. however, essential under modern conditions that where there is real ground for suspecting the presence of contraband I the vessels should be brought into port for examination. In no other way can the right of search be exercised, and but for this practice it would have to be com- pletely abandoned. Information wa-s received by us that special instructions had been given to ship rubber from the United States under another designation to escape notice, and sucai cases have occurred in several in- stances. Only by search in a port can such eases when suspected be discovered and proved. The necessity for examination in a port may also be illustrated by a hypo- thetical instance connected with cotton which has not yet occurred. Cotton is not specifically mentioned in your Excellency's Note, but I have feen public stat.ements made in the United States that the atti- tude of his Majesty's Government with re- gard to ootiton has been ambiguous, and thereiby responsible for depression in the cotton trade. There has never been any foundation for this allegation. His Majesty's Government have never put cot- ton on the list of contraband. Thev have throughout the war kept it on the free list, and on every occasion when qoes- tioned on the point they have stated their intention of adhering to this practice. cr But information has reached us that precisely because we have declared our intention of not interfering with cotton ships carrying cotton will be speciallv selected to carry concealed contraband, and we have been warned that copper will be concealed in bales of cotton. Whatever suspicions we have entertained we have not so far made these a ground for detaining any ship carrying cotton, but should we have information giving us real reason to believe, in the case of a particular ship, that the bales of cotton concealed copper or other contraband, the only way to prove our case would be to examine and weigh the bales, a process that could be carried oat only by bring- ing a vessel into port. In such a case, or in any other, if examination justified the action of his Majesty's Government, the case shall be brought before a Prize Court, and dealt with in the ordinary way. That the decisions of the British Prize Courts hitherto have not been un- favourable to neutrals is evidenced by the decision in the Miramichi case. This. case, which was decided against the CroNin, laid down that the American shipper was to be paid, even when he had sold the cargo c.i.f., and when the risk of loss, after the argo had been shipped, did not apply to him at all. It has further been represented to his Majesty's Government, though this sub- ject is not dealt with in your Excel- lency's Note, that our Embargoes on the export of some articles, more especially rubber, have interfered with commercial interests in the United States. It is, of course, difficult for his Majesty's Government to permit the ex- port of rubber from British Dominions to the United States at a time when rubber is essential to belligerent countries for carrying on the war, and when a new trade in exporting rubber from the United States in suspiciously large quan- tities to neutral countries has actually sprung up since the war. It would be impossible to permit the export of rubber from Great Britain unless the right of his Majesty's Government were admitted to submit to a prize court cargoes of rubber exported from the United States which they believed to be destined for an enemy country, and reasonable latitude of action for this purpose were con- ceded, but his Majesty's Government have now provisionally come to an ar- rangement with the rubber exporters in Great Britain which will permit of licences being given under proper guaran- tees for the export of rubber to the United States. We are confronted with the growing danger that neutral countries contiguous to the enemy will "Become on a scale hitherto unprecedented a base of supplies for the armed forces of our enemies, and for materials for manufacturing arma- ment. The trade figures of imports show how strong this tendency is, but we have no complaint to make of the attitude of the Governments of those countries which. so far as we are aware, have not departed from proper rules of neutrality. We en- deavour in the interests of our own national safety, to prevent this danger by intercepting goods really destined for the enemy without interfering wIth tose which are bona-fide' neutral. Since the outbreak of the war the Government of the United States have changed their previous practice, and have prohibited the publication of manifests till thirty days after the departure of vessels from the United States ports. We had no locus standi for complaining of I this change, and did not complain, but i the effect of it must be to increase the I, difficulty of ascertaining the presence of I contraband, and to render necessary, in the interest of our national safety, the I examination and detention of more ships than would have been the case if the former practice had continued. Pending a more detiled reply I would conclude by flaying that bis M«jestyJ<3 Government do not desire to contest the general principles erf International Law on which they understand the Note of the United States to be baeod, and desire to restrict their action solely to inter- frenee with contraband destined for the enemy. Hi Majesty's Government are prepared whenever a cargo ooming from the United States is detained to explairi I the case on which such detention has, taken place, and would gladly enter into any arrangement by -wbieh mistakes can b\ avoided and reparation secured promptly when "any injury to the nerstra.1 owners of a ship or cargo has been im- properly caused, for they ar, moat desir- ous of the interest, both of the United States and of other neutral countries, that British action should not interfere with the normal importation and use by the peutrai countries of goods from the United States. I have, Ne.. ,It. timl Y." I

BRITISH STEEL TRADE. I It was reported on the Newcastle Ex-I change on Saturday that the steel tradel is very Sjm. The Germans have secured a Norwegian order for ;,OOO tons at a price which &hows that our enemies are obliged to keep their works going at any cost. An important contract for the North- Eastern Railway has been split up within the pa-st few days amongst a number of British mills. The works which have participated in the order are Messrs. Bolchow, Vaughan, and Co., the North- Eastern Steel Company, and the Cargo Fleet Company, Messrs. Walter Scott, the Barrow Hematite Company, and the Workington Steel Company.

A militarr club was formally opened rt j the Assembly Booms, CMUMMthaa, on Sat- urday night.

TOLD BY TOMMY, 1 I TOLD BY. TOMMY. INTERESTING SOLDIERS' LETTERS. I German discipline is all right at long range, but at close formation they are downright cowards. I was in three bayonet charges, but never got near enough to a German to stick him. They are capital sprinters when cold steel con- front them!" The speaker was P.C. Rawlings, of the Xeath Borough Constabulary, who re- joined his old regiment- the Scots Guards, at the beginning of the war. He re- turned home on Friday with seven well distributed shrapnel wounds. P.C. Rawlings went through the battle of Moœ, defended the Meuse, was fight- ing for seven weeks in tho neighbour- hood of the Aisnc, and got his quietus in the battle of Ypre6. Disregarding the I preface from information received"— a police court formality out of place on this occasion—P.C. Eawlings told a Herald representative an interesting story connected with the war and his personal experiences. The German snipers." he HI, "are difficult to locate, and they are crack rifle shots. One morning one of our officers jumped out of the trench to con- sult a French otficer, but he had not gone a dozen yards when he fell hot through the head. About two hundred yards away was a hay rick, and I had my suspicions that Mr. Sniper was con- cealed there. I watched, and saw two flaehos and smoke emerge from the top of the rick. I emptied my magazine into the very spot. Whether I found a human target, or whether the German funked it I can't say, but we were troubled no more. During the retreat of Mons, we were billeted in a barn attached to a large I farm. We were there for four day, and ¡ I shall ijerer forget the farmer's kindness. Every morning he brought us hot mm and coffee, and gave us practic- ally all the food be had in his house. The II next I heard of him was that he had been ehot, together with his little, adopted son. and his farmstead burnt to the ground. If ever I felt like having revenge with a clear conscience it was then. "How did I get my wounds? WeB. that will be a long story, because I re-I member everything 80 vividly. I bad been in some hot scraps, and luck seemed to make me conndent? and a bit reckless. We had been four days at Ypres, and. reinforced by a French acmy corp6. made an effort fo recapture some trenches. We were making tor cover under a thick I beach hedge, and here we found some barbed wire entanglements. With our bayonets we made an open- ing, and I turned to my mate to advise him about his bayonet when a shell burst right over us. My mate was killed on the spot, and only one out of ten of us at that particular spot escaped injury. Our men made a charge, and although I knew I had been hit I followed. I got about 40 yards when my leg gave out, and I fell. The blood was rushing out I of the wound, but I managed to crawl to a tree for protection. That day a terrible battle was waged: the gun-firing was one continual roar, and I was lying prostrate waiting for someone to come to my aid. The loss of blood made me weak, but I remained conscious. About eight o'clock that night I was found by an officer. He told me to buck up, and would send a couple of men back to pick me up. The ofifcer moved away, but his errand of mercy was never acc-oirplisbed-be was shot before my eyes. About ten o'clock our regimental doctor found me, "nd lie told me to lay still for a little longer. By the light of the rockets I could see that the Germans were making another violent attack, and I had made up my mind that all was over with me. Then I heard the doctor's voice again. "Here he is," he shouted, and coming nearer to me he exelaimed, "My God, the poor fellow is still alive. Take him to the farm, quick!" "Well, that was done; I was after- wards taken to Boulogne, then to Netley and Fowley, and here I am now." "That's all, so here's luck to the boys in the trenches, and the downfall of Germany 1" Terror of the Indians. I Mr. Courtney Snow (son of Mr. John Snow, Penllwyn Park, Carmarthen), who is a dispatch rider at the front, has just returned home on a ehort furlough. Mr. Snow was the dispetch rider who carried the dispatch conferring the V.C. on -anlee- Corporal Fuller, of Swiansea. On one occasion," said Mr. Snow, in describing an aeroplane fight which he witnessed, "I saw a German Tiwibe hover- ing over our trenches, and, flying pretty low, it attempted to dTop bombs on our artillery. An English airship went up in pursuit, but the English aviator had to come down again, as he w»« wounded in the arm. The woret part of it was (for the Germans) that they m4stook our linee for their own. and the machine came down right in our lines. It was rather lucky for as too, because the machine con- tained two officers who had in their pos- session a map marking the position of (,ur batteries, and undoubtedly they were about to signal our position to their own artillery. Just before I came away I aaw a Ger- man spy brought in. He was dressed in kliaici uniform, and was wearing the blue and white bond on his arm worn by OUT signallers. He w".shot of course, but our men had a terrible job in bringing him in, as he started clawing at the ground and would not budge an inch. The big German ehelk w-ork terrible havoc. The other day a German battery dropped two shells in a trench occupied bv a Territorial regiment, killing eight men and wounding thirty others. In some places our trenches are only thirty yards apart, and one off our officers had his head severely cut by an empty bully-beef tin which a German bad thrown from tliear trenches." Mr. Snow mat some Indian troops at a certain village, where they had been forced to retire. The order oarne to the Eng- lish regiments to retake the place," said Mr. Snrrw, but the officer commanding the' darkiœ: on hearing of this, said, 'The Indian-, retired from the village; let them retake it.' Accordingly at dead of night the Indian troops advanced, the English being held in reserve. Anxiously the latter waited the whole night through, but not a 9ound was heard till suddenly through the silence two rang out. The English then ftdvanced in skirmishing order, and hearing a most unearthly din, they crawled up on hands and knees to see all the Germans lying stabbed on the ground end the Indians dancing a fear- ) ul war dance around the Rktin! It had been a silent struggle, the Indians using their knives the whol e time. The Ger- mans are terribly afraid of the Indians, and make every possible enquiry in ordtr to avoid them, their knirea doing such terrible damage." A Run for Life. Private tt-arry lovell. of the South Wales Borderers, whose home is at Carl- ton-te.rrace, Swansea, is now home, in- valided, and his story of his experiences reads like a page out of romance. Sent down with prisoners, he and two mmrail" -eturned to their trenches at Ypres, to find it in the hands of Germans who had rushed it and captured it in thedr absence. Reinforcements soon ar- rived, and the luckless party found them- selves in the hands of the enemy and under the fire of their French comrades. The experience is best told in bis. own simple story. "On October olst three of us volunteered to take down -lib German prisoners, who had given themeelves up," i he said. While we were away the enemy rushed our trenches, and ozi our roturn ( we got right T!p before we discovered T-t. It wif no good to run, fpr we should have beep bowled over, so we mado tiro bt hof it j Before long reinforcements oarae up, and a pal and I decided to cut for it. lie got caught by a bullet in the head. I crawled to him, but he was dead. The Freec-h spotted me by this time, amd thought I was a German, I etippose, be- cause they started popping at me. While lying here, he had a very narrow squeak, for a piece of shrapnel penetrated his overcoat, also his breeches—which he received from a cavalry man some time before—but did Dot break the skin. I lay down in the ridge in a ploughed field, and later the French cam out a.nd brought me in. They seemed to think tliat I was a German prisoner in English uniform. Only one of them oould speak English, and that was very poor, so [ oould not make my&eli understood very well. Finally, I waet sent down to R,mwo. bruge, and then escorted to Dnnkirk, &Il the time being treated as a prisoner. U At Dunkirk I was taken before Ospt. CFaudo Brandon. R.N., on November 3rd, and he explained the position, and I was sent to Boulogne, as I was found to be suffering from enteric. From there I was sent home io Newcastle, and I am just about to rejoin my regiment." This as not by any means Privato Lovell's first campaign. He went through, the South African War. and wias wounded in the etoinech, eye, and arm. He also went through the Zacca campaign of 1908. Describing the battle of the Aisne, in which he took part. he paid a tribute to the German artillery, of which he alio had experience a.t Ypres. At the latter he described the accurate fire of three German guns, which with three shells silenced ix French guns. On tho, other hand, at the Aisne one English howatzer proved a thorn in the flesh of the Germans for over three weeks, and though the enemy's artillery located it each time, thev could not stop its bark. The secret was explained by Pro. Loveil. The gun," be said, was ran into an adjacent hole in the earth each time tho eitemy's artillery became active, then run out again to continue its work." He has a unique souvenir of his extra- ordinary experience with the French in the shape of his passport, which he naturally treasures greatly. This, issued from Genoml D'Urban'a headquarters, gives his story as told to his captors," and describes his atpe&Tance and address. Explicit instructions, in French, of course, are given to his guards, with instructions to mark in red ink any signs of refractory or dangerous conduct. The Christmas Trace. Gunner Fitzgerald, of the Royal Field Artillery, whose home is at 34, Vernon- street. Hafod, Swansea, writes a spirited lotter to his friends. Our battery was in action on this new line," he says, for about a month. We had no casualties, so you can guess we had a very good posi- tion. and did some splendid work." Gunner Fitzgerald goes on to describe a narrow escape from death which befell him on Christmas Eve. A chum and myself were running a wire out. We were in sight of the German snipers, who had a good try to pot us, but failed, though they came very near. Shortly afterwards, when we had finished running out, we heard a J ack Johnson' coming. 16 seemed to burst right over TIB; Oh! Some Indian infantry near us turned white. We were surprised when we saw each othei not bit. We were bound to laugh, but it, did not take ns long to clear. They sent another after us that went over, so wo got k to the battery all right. CM Christmas morning an officer from North Wales, my chum, and myself, had to go to the Gurkha trenches. The Ger- mans had got a pump to work, flooding our fellows out, so our battery had tc stop it. We put the pump out of action. Things were quiet, unusually quiet. We were preparing to return, when we heard some shouting from the German tranches, about SO yards away. A German infantry* man was standing up over the trench shouting, Don't shoot; it's Christmas Day to-day. We want to hAve ? eoo? time." Our chaps took thP!n at ?KM word, so they got out of the trenches and met each other half way, exchanging cigarettes. All got singing. It was, indeed, a merry time, and a sight wortfc seeing. On Boxing Day. we were in action until mid-dav, then shifted hack for a rest, where we are at present getting our- selves and horses ready again to meet the foe. This is a grand idea, and one that is bound to tell. as we are con. sequently always fresh and roady fOt anything. Welsh Regiment Complimented. Writing to a mend at Abera-t-on, Quai* termaster-Sergt. Wolsey, cKf the 2nd Bat. talion Welsh Regiment, a native of Swan- sea, stales that he has been in hospital suffering from a wound in the arm, but o« now sufficiently recovered to return ta the fighting line. Whilst. I was in has- pital. the 1st Division bad been wiih. drawn from the tinng line for a much- needed rest (one month). I had. only been back a week, when we received the order to pack up again for the trenches, to sup- port. tbe. Indian troops, who were being hard pressed, as the Germans werp making a strong attack with the intention of breaking through to Calais. a We got into action, and retook the trenches wh(.h had been lost. We lost a large number of men in the engagement. Our general complimented the Weldl Regiment for their ikis work on that par-

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