Abergavenny Chronicle

A HOUSE BLOWN BODILY INTO THE AIR. E ye-Wi messace issue d by "Eye-WibteM," in a message issued by the Press Bureau, gives a splendid account of the recent work around La Bassee. Our artillery, he says, has been active and accu- rate, and the effect of the lyddite shells is terrific. His message, which is dated Feb. ruary 8, is as follows: The last three days have been marked by a success gained on our right, by which we recovered more of the ground lost by us on January 25. On Friday, the 5th, the hostile shelling of our left and centre decreased in intensity; our guns on our left centre, how- ever, were successful in setting light to one of the enemy's observation stations, and in another quarter put two German guns out of action, if they did not destroy them. The day was fine, and the aircraft of both sides were correspondingly active. One of our aviators chased a German aeroplane all the way from a point behind the centre of our line to the neighbourhood of Lille, where, after a fight at close quarters in mid-air, in which both machines were hit several times, the German descended hurriedly some two miles short of the aerodrome. On the night of the 5th-6th we made a uccessful attack on two German sapheads in the brickfields south of La Bassee Canal. From these vantage points a further ad- vance was carried out on the 6th. At two p.m. our artillery and that of the French concentrated their fire upon the German de- fences among the brickstacks and the area beyond. Our heavy howitzers took part in this bombardment, their fire being directed on the railway triangle. I EFFECT OF LYDDITE SHELLS. The boom of the latter pieces and the de- tonations of their shell were audible twenty miles away, above the roar of other artil- lery, while to those close at hand the shrieking of the great projectiles through the air was most impressive, as were éne volume of smoke and debris thrown up. The effect of the lyddite shells was truly terrific, one house being blown bodily into the air; and as they burst among the brick- stacks they created great havoc amongst the enemy. At 2.15 p.m. an assault was launched against a strong position or "keep" among the stacks of bricks held by the Germane. Our storming columns rushed the work from three sides at once, and captured it with very little loss, for-rs prisoners afterwards stated-the noise of bursting shells was so great and the clouds of dust with which the defenders were surrounded were so thick that they did not observe our men advar,?- cing until too late. At the same time the trenches to the north of this point, between it and the canal, were stormed by another party. By seizing these points we were enabled to occupy a continuous line south- wards from our forward post on the canal, which formed an advantageous position in front of the brickfields. We captured nine- teen unwounded prisoners in addition to manv wounded, a trench mortar, and a I machine gun. The Germans left seventy dead on the ground, while our casualties were insignificant. A WORN-OUT TRICK. The Germans, however, showed no inclina- tion to accept this reverse, for in the early hours of the 7th a body of them advanced along the canal bank, shouting out: "Don't shoot, we are Engineers." This form of stratagem, unfortunately for the enemy, has now lost its novelty. Our men held their fire until the supposed Sappers were only a few yards away, and then opened with a machine gun, with a result that the "Engineers" fell back, leaving thirty dead bodies in front of our line. In the afternoon another attack was attempted, but it melted away under our artillery fire, and did not arrive at close quarters. During the day our heavy artillery caused two ex- plosions in a German heavy battery in this part of the field. GOOD ARTILLERY FIRE. I A great feature of the recent fighting has been the accuracy of our artillery fire. both in the action on February 1 and on the 6th and 7th. On the former date our guns accomplished the feat of blowing the Germans out of the trench they were occupying 08 the embank- ment, although it was only forty yards from that which we were holding. On February 6, also, most of the enemy's casualties were due to our shell fire. The whole of the area both behind and imme- diately in front of the trenches we now hold was found to be littered with the corpses of hundreds of Germans killed in the various fights since January 25. So accurate was our fire on the 6th that three direct hits were obtained by our heavy guns on three separate brickstacks. Cux artillery has here obtained such an ascendancy that after the assault on that day our troops were actually able to put up barbed wire entanglements in front of their trenches in broad daylight without being iired at by the enemy's infantry. DEPRESSED PRISONERS. I The prisoners captured here. were despon- dent and much shaken. Nothing of interest occurred on the rest of our line during these two days. The Germans rely very much on incen- diary shell for damaging towns, and in their recent bombardment of Armentieres made use of projectiles of this type packed with candles composed of celluloid, phosphorus, and wax, which material is so inflammable that it will ignite if placed in the sun. It has already been mentioned that some of the prisoners captured by us lately have been (If comparatively poor physique. In this connection it is interesting to note that during the last few days a dead Ger- man was found having two medical certifi- cates in his pocket stating that he was suffering from consumption. They are both signed by a doctor, and are accompanied by an application from his father that his son should not be sent on active service, as he was suffering from lung trouble. HAXD-TO-HAD FIGHTING. I Accurate records of hand-to-hand fighting are difficult to obtain, but certain details of the action on January 25 have been estab- lished and are now given, since they convey an idea of the thrilling itature of much of the fighting and of the conduct of our men. It will be remembered that about eight a.m. on that day the Germans broke through our line outside Givenchy and en- tered the village itself, when they were counter-attacked with the bayonet and driven out with great loss. The fighting, however, continued to rage round this place for several hours, the Germans pressing on in swarms, being mowed down, but yet in places reaching our trenches and in others penetrating beyond them. But even when the line was broken por- tions of it continued to resist, and our infantry holding them when assailed from the rear, remained steady, faced about, lined the parades, or back parapet, and met the enemy with rifle and bayonet. Some of those in the village who had been engaged in clearing the enemy out of the houses had got somewhat scattered, until of one party only fifteen remained together. When they saw that some of the enemy were established in one of our fire trenches just outside they at once charged down the communication trench, led by their officer, and killed or captured all the Germans, forty in number. A GALLANT GERMAN. I So many accusations of bad conduct, some only too well-founded, have been brought against the Germans that it is a pleasure to be able to record of one of them an act of humanity. During the engagement at Givenchy one of our officers had been partially buried by the parapet of a trench which had been blown in on top of him. A German officer who saw him, regardless of the fact that he himself was out in the open under a hail of bullets, stopped to dig him out and give him brandy from his flask. To the great regret of those of our men who witnessed this deed of gallantry and self. racrifice and deeply appreciated it the Ger- man was killed by a chance bullet. WRINGING ENGLAND'S NECK. I These two extracts from letters tell of the effect of six months of war upon the Ger- man population. The first is also a good example of the curious self-decBj/tion in- dulged in by the nation- "It won't be long before they 'call up the Landsturm here, then I shall ihave to go, too. They take almost everybody. I hope there will soon be peace; everything suffers now. Switzerland is also against England. Soon all will unite -against ;her, and her neck will be wrung. Work is bad here. Father and I are both on half-time. Soldiers on leave are carefully watched here in Bar- men; they are not allowed in public-houses after 9 p.m." The other, also from Barmen, is dated January 24, 1915:— "Everything is dear 3kxb, the price is almost double; only bread remains the same price; but there is no white bread, always this war bread and margarine. We are get- ting used to that, but unfortunately work is very scarce. Uncle has nothing to do; leather is so dear that people are 'not buy- ing anything made. It is only in things for military use that trade is brisk, particularly the ironworks." AN OLD SOLDIER'S CRITICISMS. I Another letter found on a prisoner is sig- nificant of the tax being levied on the enemy's male population. The prisoner is a volunteer, eighteen years of age, who was in the Obersecunda class at school when the war broke out. The letter is from his brother, who states that the whole of his class has had to join a Jugend-compagnie except one of his comrades and himself, who are excused because they are only fourteen years of age. The following from an old soldier is amus- ing, but its ruthless criticisms can hardly iy;" been encouraging to the recipient. It is dated December 12:- "You have had luck to escape being taken prisoner. That the English have taken so many prisoners is incomprehensible to me as an old soldier. I can only attribute it to your short and bad training, and to many fourth-class shots, who blaze away without hitting anything. Your short training makes me pity you, especially being sent against those hordes. It is, of course, nothing to do with you, and you are doing your duty; but the fault lies with the sys- tem, which is probably no better in the enemy's case. In the matter of leaders we are badly off, as those who know anything are soon killed or wounded."

TWO MILLION VOLUNTEERS -——< -—— STATED TO HAVE CEEN ENROLLED IN GERMANY. Professor Pares, the authorised correspondent at the Russian Headquarters, states that in his talks with wounded officers of the enemy he has been able to gauge the mental attitude of Germans towards the war. He writes:— This attitude is very different from ours. I see no trace of religious enthusiasm and little of nationality in the wider sense. The Germans have the greatest confidence and pride in their Army. Iney tell me that two million volun- teers were inscribed at the beginning of the war-an enormous fact, if correct. The atti- tude of the German woman is such that no man who can serve dares to remain at home. My informants fuly realise that for Germany the war is a matter of life and death. They have served on the Western front and described the French fortresses as extremely strong. The Bavarians are terrible in warfare and spread alarm among the population. The losses of the first move through Belgium were enormous. The Belgians are described as ex- celent soldiers; and large German losses are put down to the Belgians. In the march on Paris the reserves and the commissariat could not kfep up. The retreat is accepted as an un- pleasant necessity. There was a certain pedantry in my informants in insisting on the need of turning the Allied right wing, whatever happened elsewhere. They claimed that the Germans were now in Calais in their second attempt. RUSSIAN WINTER LACKING. I A curious point brought out by Professor Pares is that the mildness-for Russia—of the winter has to some extent operated in favour of the Germans. brge losses against the Russians were ad- mitted, but it was claimed, without any real evidence, that the Russians had lost more. Again, there was a kind of machine-like in- sistence on the need of attack in columns with reserves close up—as this was "our tactics." The Germans had so far been saved by the default of any real Russian winter (nothing like the present winter has been known in this part); a Russian winter would have ruined the German transport and artillery and robbed their operations of all effects. What struck-me most was the absence of any real intelligence as to the granting of the political issues in debate. My informants were, for reasons of humanity, in favour of a status quo peace. Some Austrians gave an interesting account of the origin of the war. The Austro-Serbian quarrel was not political but personal. The Serbian dynasty, failing to obtain any satis- factory recognition from Austria, was credited with a personal hostility against the late Arch- duke, who (in spite of his obvious anti-Russian policy) was described as in general a friend o fthe Slavs. Proof in support of this view of his end had been widely circulated in Austria in December. The personal quarrel between the reigning Houses of Austria and Serbia had been turned by the insistence of the Emperor William into an occasion for a European war, specially directed against Russia, into which Austria had been hurried aganst her will. Her position now was described as very precarious. I should add that my informants were Austrian Germans.

BOGUS V.C. HERO SENTENCED. I Bombardier Lancelot Dickinson Chapman, a bogus V.C. hero, has been sentenced to ten months' imprisonment at Bow-street Police. court. Chapman was charged with being a deserter from the R.F.A., and with obtaining money by false pretences. Wearing a Victoria Crosa and a Belgian decoration, the prisoner, it was asserted, had appeared in music-hall tableaux. Evidence was given that he had been "filmed," for which he was paid a fee of five guineas. He also obtained money from a coffee-house He also obtained mon ei imself as a V. C hero. keeper by representing himself as a V.C. hero. An engraver at Elephant-road, S.E., said prisoner ordered him to engrave a medal with the words "For valour, Lille, 1914, L. Chap- man. Thomas Henry Egan, warrant officer at- tached to the War Office, said that the prisoner had never been awarded a Victoria Cross. Witness was shown the decoration said to have been worn by the prisoner, and said that two of them were bad imitations of. the Vic- toria Cross. Even the ribbons were wrong. Major Lord Athlumney said prisoner was dig. charged from the Yorkshire Light Infantry in December 1911, as he was dirty and inefficient. The magistrate passed sentence of six months' hard labour in the first case of ob- taining money by false pretences, and four months' in the second—the sentences to be consecutive-or ten- months' in all.

WOUNDED AGAIN FIT FOR SERVICE. I In the House of Commons, in reply to Sir C. Scott Robertson, who asked how many out of the 104,000 casualties in the Expeditionary Force had returned to duty, Mr. Asquith said: "I do not consider it would be in the public interest to give exact figures, but my hou. friend and the House will be glad to know that about sixty per cent, of the wounded have recovered and are now fit for service."

I MORE WAR NEWS. I The public are to have more war news. The Prime Minister, replying to Lord Robert Cecil in the House of Commons, said: "Arrangements have been made and will shortly be put into practice whereby com- munications will be received twice a week from Sir J. French, giving a summary of the opera- tions. They will be published immediately Sir J. French, will bby e t ?o War Offioe. they are received by the War Office." a

The Amsterdam "TeJegraaf" learns that over 200 Germans are missing from various houses in Antwerp. A search was made in which several citizens joined, and a num- ber of persons were arrested at premises in which discarded German uniforniis were found.

I IN THE PUBLIC EYE. A BRILLIANT AIRMAN. Commander Charles Rumney Samson, who led the remarkable air raid upon the Ger- man positions on the Belgian coast, has struck so many shrewd blows at the enemy since the war broke out that it is reported the Kaiser has set a price on his; head. A few weeks ago there came a report from German sources that Commander Samson and his machine had been lost during a raid over the German lines. The wish was pro- bably father to the thought, and the Ger- mans now know to their cost that the bril- liant airman is very much alive. Com- mander Samson has performed many daring feats since the beginning of the war. He has done splendid service on land as well as in the air, and when not flying over the German lines he is harassing the enemy in an armoured motor-car. He was promoted to commander in September. :o: NEW ROYAL ACADEMICIAN. Mr. Arnesby Brown, who has been elected a Royal Academician, has been an A.R.A. since 1903. He was born at Nottingham in 1866, and is the son of the late J. H. Brown, of Ruddington. He began his art study with the late Andrew M'Callum, and .later attended the Herkomer School at Bushay. His first exhibition at the Royal Academy was in 1890, and his work is done almost entirely in East Anglia and Cornwall. Pic- tures by him are hung in the Tate Gallery (Chantrey Collection),- the Guildhall Perma- nent collection, and in the galleries of Man- chester, Liverpool, Nottingham, Preston. Worcester. Aberdeen, and those of several colonial cities. ;0;- MARQUIS OF LONDONDERRY. "A pedigree of full twenty-four descents, a great territorial inheritance, and a name interwoven with the historic events of the counties of York and Durham combine," says Sir Bernard Burke, "to entitle the Tempests to a very high place on the roll of the nobility of Eng- land." That place is filled by the new Marquis of Londonderry, son of the late peer. The new Marquis, as Viscount Castlereagh, has represented M a i d. stone 'since 1S06. He is a captain in the Royal Horse Guards. Born in 1878, ha was educated at Eton and Sandhurst. He married in 1899 the daughter of Mr. Henry Chaplin. The Marquis of Londonderry is one of the greatest territorial magnates in the North of England, and in the North of Ireland also. -:0:- A PIONEER. In the list of airmen who took part in tho g-reat raid upon the Belgian coast the name of Flight-Commander Grahame-White is projpably best known to the general public. Mr. Grahame-White, who had a sensational fall of 7,000 feet into the sea, has done much to encourage and develop flying in this country. He was among the pioneers, and in the early days of flying he ran Paulhan close in the London to Manchester race. Since then he has won many suc- cesses, both in this country and in America. He established an aeroplane factory and school of flying at the London aerodrome, Hendou. On the declaration of war he offered his services to the Admiralty, and was appointed to the Royal Naval Air Service. -:0:- A SUCCESSFUL PILOT. Squadron Commander Arthur Murray fjongmore, another of our air heroes, was promoted to lieutenant in 1906. In March, 1911, he was selected for training in avia- tion at the Royal Aero Club ground, East- church, where he very soon passed success- fully through the tests for a pilot's certifi- rate. On March 11, 1912, he won the Mortimer Singer prize of .£500 offered for the longest distance flight by a Naval or Marine officer with a passenger, his record being 172 miles on a Short tractor biplane. Tn May, 1912, he was appointed to the staff of the Central flying School on Salisbury Plain, and graded as Squadron Commander in the Royal Flying Corps. Since January Df last year he had been in command of the Calshot Naval Air Station. o: COLONEL OF THE WELSH GUARDS. I Lieut.-Colonel William Murray Thrcip- land, who has been authorised to raise a battalion of Welsh Guards, is the second 601 of the late Mr. Wlliam Scott-Kerr, D.L., of Chatto, Roxburghshire. He took the name of Murray-Threipland on inheriting estates in Perthshire and Caithness from his kinsman, the late Sir Murray-Threipland. Educated at Fettes Col- lege, he ob- tained his first commission in the 3rd (Militia) B a t t a- lion of the Black Watch in 1885. Two years later he was gazetted secon d lieu- tenant in the Grenadier Guards. With that corps h e served in the Soudan campaign, 1898, being present at the battle of Khartoum. He again saw active service in the Boer War, 1899-1902, among the actions at< which he fought being those of Buddulphsburg and Wittebergen. For this campaign he holds both medals, with five clasps. He retired with the rank of captain in 1902 and formed the Reserve of Officers. Subsequently he was appointed to command the 4th (Border) Battalion King's Own Scottish Borderers, Territorial Force. This command he relinquished in order to rejoin his own regiment in the present cam- paign. In October last he was gazetted temporary major in the 4th (Reserve) Battalion of the Grenadier Guards. -:0:- EARL'S SON WOUNDED. Major George Glamis, of the Black Watch, who has been wounded, is the eldest son of the Earl and Countess of Strath- more, and takes his title from the historic castle in 'Forfarshire, whioh for centuries has been the principal seat of the family. Born in 1884, Lord Glamis, after going to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, joined the Scots Guards, but soon after- wards, in 1909, he entered the Reserve of Officers with the rank of lieutenant. In the following year he became a major in the 5th Battalion (Dundee and Angus Terri- torials) of the Black Watch. He went to the front with that celebrated regiment. Lord Glamis married, in 1908, Lady Dorothy Osborne, daughter of the Duke of Leeds. It may be mentioned that, accord- ing to local tradition, Lord Glamis is one of the three persons living who hold the secret of the mysterious room which is supposed to exist in Glamis Castle. o: SURGEON LIFEGUARDSMAN. Surgeon Major Robert Macnamara Cowie, 1st Life, Guards, who has been wounded, is forty-four years of age. He studied at King's College Hospital, of which he was afterwards the Surgeon-Regis- trar. He is a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, England, and Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians, London; has been with his t regiment for about fifteen years, and attained his present rank in 1911. Surgeon-Major Cowie served in the South African War, taking part in the action on Tugela heights .and the Relief of Ladysmith, and was present, as well, at several other engagements in the course of the campaign. For his services he was awarded the Queen's medal with five clasps.

Mr. H. W. Thornton, the superintendent of the Great Eastern Railway, who came recently from America, hrs been sworn in as a special constable of the railway police. Mr. William Redmond, M.P., brother of Mr. John Redmond, M.P., has informed his constituents in East Clare that he has re- ceived a commission in the Royal Irish Regriir«nt.

VICEROY'S DEPARTURE, I VICEROY'S DEPARTURE. I FAREWELL SCENES IN DUBLIN. I The official- departure of Lord and' Lady Aberdeen from Dublin took place on Monday. The event was made the occasion of an im- posing military display. Troops drawn from Dublin Garrison lined the route of the pro- cession. The streets were filled with spectators and flags were displayed from public build- ings and business premises. A prominent feature was a number of tableaux illustrative of their Excellencies' work during the period of their Viceroyalty in Ireland. Voluntary aid detachments of the City of Dublin Branch of the* Red Cross Society were placed in a position nearest to the Castle Hos- pital. As a central figure a Red Cross nurse held the Red Cross Standard, and she was sur- rounded by nurses in uniform. In descriptive i-croll was embodied the motto of Lady Aber- deen's family, "Advance with Courage." Close to the Bank of Ireland schoolchildren were allotted a prominent place around a May- ]>ole, from which fluttered streamers in the colours of the Allies. A travelling escort for their Excellenci es was furnished by the Royal Irish Lancers, behind which rode Captain Neville Wilkinson, Ulster King of Arms. Lord Aberdeen on horseback and wearing the jewel and cross of the Order of the Thistle,. was accompanied by General Friend, General Officer Commanding the troops in Ireland. Captain Johnston and Lord Dudley Gordon acted as aides-de-camp to his Excellency. In an open carriage Lady Aber- deen was accompanied by the Countess of Carrick, Lieut.-Colonel Sir Anthony Weldon, &nd Lord Haddo. Lady Aberdeen accepted an address and bouquet from the Red Cross nurses. Near the Bank of Ireland the band of the Artane In- dustrial School played "Come back to Erin," and their ExcePencies acknowledged the cheers which the sentiment of the air evoked. At the entrance to the railway station their Excellencies were received by the Lord Mayor, Lord Mayor-elect, chairman of public boards, and the chairman, directors, and officials of the Dublin and South-Eastern Railway Company. A bouquet having been presented to Lady Aberdeen, their Excellencies walked to the platform, where a special train was in waiting to convey the Viceregal party to Kingstown. Lord Aberdeen, in reply to an address, said he was delighted that the postponement from Saturday had enabled them more fulJy to ap- preciate the warm way in which the people expressed the send-off. lie concluded by quoting the motto of the city of Aberdeen, Happy to meet, sorry to depart, but hope to meet again."

I FIRST BULLETIN. I FURTHER BRITISH PROGRESS AT LA BASSEE. The first of the twice-a-week bulletins from Sir John French which were promised by Mr. Asquith was published on Tuesday. It is as follows:— 1. Since our successes near La Bassee at the beginning of last week there has been less activity in that area. We have, never- theless, made some further progress in this quarter, and on the 13th a valuable point was secured without loss. 2. We have consolidated our hold on the ground gained, and conclusive evidence has been obtained that the enemy's losses in the Tecent fighting thereabouts have been severe. 3. In the Ypres district the enemy attacked our lines on the 14th inst. and succeeded at first in gaining possession of a few trenches. Counter-attacks were made by us and the ground lost was recovered, some prisoners being captured. of the front there has 4,. On the remainder of the front there has beet! some increase of intensity in the artil- lery duel, in which we have shown marked superiority. Direct hits have in several in- stances been secured on the enemy's guns and nwch damage has been done to his de- fences. 5. In spite of bad weather, our aircraft have carried out their accustomed tasks with conspicuous success. An aviator discovered a hostile ammunition column near La Bassee and dropped a bomb on it, blowing up an ammunition waggon. ,#

VERDICT FOR MILLINER SET ASIDE. I Mr. Justice Lush in the King's Bench Division gave judgment for the defendant on Monday in the action brought by Miss Minnie Quirk, milliner, against the estate of the late Mr. Arthur William .1 Thomas, who died leaving between < £ 40,000 and X50,000, to recover damages for breach of promi se of marriage. Sir Griffith Thomas, brother and executor of Mr. A. W. Thomas, resisted the claim. The jury had found that a promise of mar- riage was made in July 1909 and also in June 1910, that the plaintiff gave up her business in consequence of the promise, and that the plaintiff had sustained damage to the extent of £350. Mr. Justice Lush, in giving judgment, said he failed to see how the fact that one of the parties had suffered pecuniary loss or damage could impose a liability on the executor of the party who broke it. The contract could not be stated in the way the plaintiff had presented it. A con- tract by a man to marry was not a contract of a commercial character but was founded on mutual agreement, and it was impossible to treat the plaintiff and Mr. Thomas as if they had entered into a commercial or busi- ness transaction when they made the con- tract. His lordship felt himself compelled to say that a pecuniary loss sustained by a woman by giving up employment or busi- ness in contemplation of marriage or any similar loss could not be properly treated as special damage flowing from the breach of promise to marry. Further, his lordship thought that the contract was too vague to be enforced. There was this further answer to the plain- tiff's contention, that she was claiming in addition to the sums she had received the whole value of the business she gave up. That could not represent the damage she had suffered owing to Mr. Thomas's refusal to marry her. The fact was that the plain- tiff, under the guise of a claim for special damage, was really seeking to recover part of the ordinary exemplary damages which the jury could have given her if the de- ceased man had lived. Under these circum- stances he entered judgment for the defen- dant with costs. Stay of execution with, a view to an ap- peal was granted on terms.

SEVENTEEN LIVES LOST IN THE BAY OF BISCAY. Captain ran dem Gient and five members of the crew of the Belgian steamer Morinier were landed at Swansea on Monday evening, having been picked up in th-i Bay of Biscay on Saturday after their ship had foundered in a gale. The survivors say their vessel ex- perienced terrible weather, and eventually turned turtle. They clung to floating wreckage, and were picked up an hour afterwards by the Portuguese steamer Vasco da Gama. The captain's wife and sixteen of the crew of the Morinier were drowned. ————— ————-

Mr. Algernon Syms, late of the Britannia Theatre, Hoxton, London, who made his first appearance on the stage in the days of George Conquest, and is said to have played more leading parts than any other actor of the day, has died at Newington Green. When adjourning a divorce case brought under the Poor Persons Rules, Mr. Justice Bargrave Deane said he thought that some people were taking advantage of the rules in a way which looked like fraud. A Bristol to Birmingham express on the Great Western Railway collided at Ponty- pool Station with a rail motor-car which was on the same metals. The driver and attendant saw the express coming and jumped safely off, but the fireman was car- ried with the car a hundred yards and suffered severe internal injuries and a broken nose. No one in the express was hurt.

GREATER AIR RAID. I FORTY PLANES BOMBARD GERMAN POSITIONS. The air raid on German positions on the Belgian coast last week, in which thirty-four aeroplanes and seaplanes took part, was said to have been the greatest in history. It was, however, surpassed by one which took place on Tuesday, forty machines being engaged. The Secretary of the Admiralty made the following announcement on Tuesday night:- The air operations of the Naval Wing against the Bruges-Ostend-Zeebrugge district have been continued. This afternoon forty aeroplanes and sea- planes bombarded Ostend, Middelkerke, Ghis- telles, and Zeebrugge. Bombs were dropped on the heavy batteries situated on the east and west sides of Ostend Harbour; on the gun positions at Middelkerke on transport wagons on the Ostend-Ghistelles road; on the mole at Zeebrugge, to widen the breach damaged in former attacks; on the locks at Zeebrugge; on barges outside Blanken- berghe and on trawlers outside Zeebrugge. Eight French areoplanes assisted the Naval machines by making a vigorous attack on the Ghistelles aerodrome, thus effectively prevent- ing the German aircraft from cutting off our machines. It is reported that good results were obtained. Instructions are always issued to confine the attacks to points of military importance, and every effort is made by the flying officers to avoid dropping bombs on any residential por- tion of the towns.

SNIPER'S ADVENTURE. I CANADIAN OFFICER'S EXCITING EXPERIENCE. A Canadian officer on service ia Franco, writing from the firing line, gives a thrill- ing account of a sniping encounter in a. letter which is printed in the "Daily Tele- graph." He says: Off I went, crawlino, through the sodden clay and branches, going about a yard P, minute, listening and looking; I went out to the right of our lines, where the Ger- mans were nearest. It took about thirty minutes to do thirty yards. Then I saw the Hun trench, and waited for a long time, but could see or hear nothing. It was about ten yards from me. Then I heard some Germans talking, and saw one put his head up over some bushes about ten yards behind the trench. I could not get a shot at him, as I was too low down. Of course, I could not get up, so I crawled on again, very slowly, to the parapet of their trench. It was exciting. I was not sure that there might not have been somebody there, or a little farther along the trench. I peered through their loophole, saw nobody in the trench, then the German behind put up his head again. He was laughing and talking. I saw his teeth glisten against my foresight, and I pulled the trigger. He just gave a grunt and crumpled up. The others got up and whispered to each other. I do not know who were most frightened, they or 1. There were five of them. They could not place the shot. I was flat behind their parapet and hidden. I just had the nerve not to move a muscle and stay there; my heart was fairly hammering. They did not come forward. I could not see them, as they were behind some bushes and trees, so I crept back, inch by inch. The next day, just before dawn, I crawled out there again, and found it empty again. Then a single German came through the- woods towards the trench. I saw him fifty yards off. He was coming along upright,. quite carelessly, making a great noise. I heard him before I saw him. I let him get within twenty-five yards and shot him in the heart. He never made a sound. Nothing happened for ten minutes. Then there was noise and talking, and a lot of Germans came along through the wood behind the trench, about forty yards from me. I counted about twenty, and there were more coming. They halted in front. S picked out the one I thought was the officer. He stood facing the other way, and I had a steady shot at him between the shoul- ders. He went down, and that was all I saw. I went back at a sort of galloping crawl to our lines and sent a message that the Germans were moving in a certain direc- tion in some numbers. Half an hour after- wards they attacked the right, in massed formation, advancing slowly to within ten yards of the trenches. We simply mowed' them down. It was rather horrible. They counted 200 dead in a little bit of a line,. and we only lost ten. 4 They were pleased about the stalking | and getting the message through. It was up to someone to do it, instead of leaving it all to the Germans, and losing two officers a day through snipers. All our men have started it now. It is quite a popular amusement. |

COAST BOMBARDMENT. -—- so.- BRITISH FLEET BETWEEN MEUPORT AND OSTEND. = An interestiiig account of scenes he wit- nessed at divisional headquarters at Ostend and other places in German occupation has been given to the "Telegraph" correspcn- J dent by a neutral who visited the German Ij front. He heard the roll-call of several j regiments returning from the fighting be- tween Westende and Lombaertzyde, and d others from Woumen, where trenches are only fifty metres apart, and practically water only separates the combatants, and noticed a large number of names to which no response was made. Describing the in- spection of the division before they left for- the trenches, the writer says: "The men. were asked, before they left, Are you ready to die?' to which, in solemn tones, they re- plied, Yes,' and then broke out into & patriotic song." On the Digue, at Ostend, everything is in readiness to receive an English landing. All lights are put out at six o'clock, especially on the front. At Roulers the Germans allow the people to go about quite freely. At Meenen, an endless amount of ammunition, troops, guns, etc., regularly pass through. Nume- rous sentinels hold you up, demand your papers, and search you. The thunder of naval guns bombarding German positions on the Belgian coast is. louder than ever before (says the correspon- dent). The Sluis correspondent of the "Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant wires: Heavy fighting is again going on along the Yser front, a large number of German- wounded are arrivin.g at Bruges. Another proof that a new action has commenced is the flight of the inhabitants from the coast villages to Bruges. There are arriving now. the populations of Westende and Middel- kerke. The English Fleet, however, has only been active between Nieuport and Ostend. Zeebrugge has not been bombarded for a* long time past, and the heavy firino, of the- German coast batteries has been against aeroplanes. The situation at Ostend is one- of great tension, because both the Germans and the civilian population fear the town- will soon be the centre of fighting.

Willesden Labour Party have passed a- resolution protesting against the action of the Government in repeatedly discharging: medically unfit soldiers without monetary recompense for services rendered, and calling. attention to a series of applications by such men for Poor Relief and also for help from the various war relief committees. -.Ae son of tlie Archduke Karl Franz Joseph, heir to the Austrian throne, has j been christened at the Castle of Sehoen- brunn, in the presence of the Emperor, re- ceiving the names of Robert Karl Ludwig. The British Goat Society has presented to the 15th (Service) Battalion Welsh Regi- ment the pure white he-goat, Champion Copthorne Ghost, winner of numerous prizes, and probably the largest goat ever br'.d in this country.