Abergavenny Chronicle

CARMARTHENSHIRE'S V.C. I At Tenbv on Monday a presentation was made to Sergeant W. Fuller, V.C., of the Welsh Regiment. Sergeant Fuller is a native of Laugkarne, in Carmarthenshire, and the testimonial was subscribed for by the in- habitants of West Wales. The Mayor of Tenby (Captain Hughes Morgan) presided over the proceedings, and the presentation, -which was in the form of Exchequer bonds, -was made by Mias C. S. Harvey, of Croft IHouee, Tenby.

RED CROSS GOODS STOLEN. I At Southampton Quarter Sessions on Mon- day Albert Morrison, ship's steward, was I sentenced to three years' penal servitude for stealing a quantity of goods, the property of the British Red Cross Society. A large number of articles, it was stated, had been missed from the hospital ship on which the prisoner was employed, and on his house being searched some of the stolen goods were found in his possession. It wae stated that the prisoner, a native of Oxford, had pre. viously been sentenced to penal servitude.

THE COLONEL'S FRIEND. I "In civil life I should call him my friend. and but for the King's regulations I vsopld do so now," said Colonel Ward, M.P., giving evidence at Northampton on Monday at the inquest on his servant, Private Levi Smith, who died from blood poisoning set up by injuries to the hand while starting the colonel's motor-car.

Owing to staff depletion the General Post Office at Yarmouth is closed for two hours claily from twelve to two, and the deliveries of letters have been reduced from five to two. The Belgian newspaper "La Metropole." of Antwerp, which was published as part of the "Standard," has resumed publication as an independent venture from offices at 43, Chancery-lane, London, W.C.

RELIEF FORCE CAPTURES STRONG TURKISH POSITIONS. On Thursday evening the Secretary of the War Office issued the following announce- ment with reference to the progress of the operations in Mesopotamia:— "Sir Percy Lake reports that the Tigris Corps, under the command of Liout.-General Sir G. Gorringe, who has succeeded General Aylmer, attacked the enemy's entrenched position at Umm-al-Hannah at five a.m. on the 5th. "Our trenches had been pushed forward by means of saps to within 100 yards of the enemy's position, and the leading battalions of the 13th Division thence rushed the enemy's first and second lines in quick suc- cession. "The third line was captured by six am under the support of concentrated artillery and machine-gun fire. "The 13th Division continued their vic- torious advance, and by Beven a.m. had driven the enemy out of his fourth and fifth lines. "Aeroplane reconnaissances then reported that the enemy was strongly reinforcing his entrenchments at the Falahiyah and Sanna-i-Yat positions, respectively 6,000 and 12,000 yards from the front trenches at Umm-al-Hannah. "As these positions could only be ap- proached over very open ground, General Gorringe ordered further attack to be de- ferred till the evening. "In the meantime, on the right bank, the 3rd Division, under General Keary, cap- tured the enemy's trenches opposite the Falahiyah position. "During the afternoon the enemy on this bank made a strong counter-attack with in- fantry and cavalry, supported by guns. This oounter-attack was successfully repulsed, and the position won was consolidated. "About eight p.m. General Gorringe con- tinued his forward movement on the left bank, and carried the Falahiyah position. "Reports indicate that the Hannah posi- tion was strongly entrenched, its left flank resting on the Suwaicha Marsh and its right on the river. "The front trenches are stated to be 9ft. deep, and the whole system extended in suc- cessive lines for a depth of 2,500 yards." FURTHER PROGRESS. On Friday night the Secretary of the War Office made the following announce- ment in continuation of the communique issued on Thursday: "It appears that the Falahiyah position, the second position carried by the 13th Division in the course of its determined ad- vance, consisted of several lines of deep trenches, the northern flank of which rested on the Suwaicha swamps, and the southern on the Tigris. "During April 6 and the night of April 6-7 operations on the north (left) bank of the river were confined to close reconnais- sanoe of the Sanna-i-Yat defences, and the execution of the necessary measures, move- ments of artillery, etc., preparatory to the assault of the latter position. On the south (right) bank, the advance of the 3rd Division was continued until positions were reached from which enfilade fire can be brought to bear upon the Tur- kish defences on the opposite bank. "The situation is somewhat complicated by the continuance of stormy weather and the fact that the Tigris floods are increas- uig. ATTACK ON SANNA.I-YAT. On Monday afternoon the Secretary of the War Office issued the following announce- ment: "Sir P. Lake reports that General Gor- ringe's preparations for the attack on the Sanna-i-Yat position are well advanced, though the floods have curtailed the front- age on which an attack can be delivered. "The weather has improved, and has been fine for the last two days. The river has not risen since the 7th." The following further announcement was made on Monday evening: I "No attack on the Sanna-i-Yat position was made on April 6, as reported in the Turkish communique of the 10th. "Sir P. Lake reports that an attack ;was made at dawn on the 9th, but failed to get through the enemy's lines. "The operations were much hampered by the floods, which are extending."

MATCH-TAX DIFFICULTY. — *—- I SALES AND DELIVERIES SUSPENDED. A meeting of the match manufacturers of Great Britain and Ireland, held in London, resolved: "That as the proposed match tax is unworkable from the point of view of finance, and as it is impracticable to fix prices under the proposed meth)d of calcu- lating the tax, the manufacturers find them- selves compelled to suspend sales and de- liveries." A director of Messm. Bryant and May states that the new taxation has brought the match trade of the country to a stand- still. He said not a match had been de- livered since Tuesday afternoon. Manufac- turers could not move because they did not know how to fix the price. The Government had taken a basis which bore no relation to any trade unit, and it was quite impossible to fix prices. They did not deal in thou- sands of matches, but in boxes. Complaint was made that the tax was working to the advantage of the foreign im- porters, whose stocks in import warehouses were duty free, because they had passed through the Customs. Home manufacturers had to pay on the stuff they had in stock.

SUCCESS IN EAST AFRICL SURRENDER OF GERMANS WHO WERE SURPRISED. The War Office announces:— East Africa.—Telegraphing on April 6, General Smuts reports that, as a result of a movement commenced during the after- noon of April 3, a portion of his mounted troops, under General Vanderveiner, suc- cessfully surprised a German force which, with machine-guns, was stationed in a mountain stronghold in the Arusha district. This force was surrounded in the course of April 4, and surrendered on the morning of April 6. IMPORTANT CAPTURES. The Secretary of the War Office issued the following statement on Saturday: East Africa.—Further reports received from General Smuts indicate that General Venderventer's success in the Arusha dis- trict, which formed the subject of a com. munique issued yesterday, was more exten- sive than at first appeared. The German force surrounded and com- pelled to capitulate waa a considerable one. The German casualties were numerous, already seventeea Europeans and 404 native soldiers have surrendered, with machine suns and large quantities of ammu- nition, while more prisoners yet remain to be brought in.

General Joffre has replied to General Cadorna's telegram thanking him for his good wishes and for his visit to the French Front. "Our soldiers' hearts," he added, "beat in unison with those of their brothers in arms in Italy." The "Zuercher Post" states that Germany will shortly deliver the first instalment of Switzerland's order for new 15-centimetre mortars, together with a supply of ammuni- tion. An Imperial order authorises young Rus- sians residing in Allied countries and liable to perform their military service this year as conscripts, to. do their service in the armies of the respective Allies. Sir Douglas Haig has written to the Race- course Association to thank them for the cinematograph film of the race for the sub- stitute "Grand National" steeplechase at Gatwick, which will be shown in all the sol- diers' cinemas in France. A similar film has also been sent to the Grand Fleet.

-—- -—- ENEMY SHELLING TRENCHES AT ST. ELOI. On Saturday night the Press Bureau issued the following despatch from the British General Headquarters in France:— "Last night and to-day there has been some mining activity about Hulluch Quar- ries, Giyenchy, and south-east of Roclin- court, Bellacourt. Souchez, Lorette Ridge, and Wulverghem. "About St. Eloi enemy shelled our trenches heavily this afternoon. We re- taliated." On Sunday night the Press Bureau issued the following:— "Yesterday a Fokker monoplane came down in our lines. The pilot was taken pri- soner, and is unwounded. "To-day there has been artillery activity about Neuvelle St. Vaast, Souchez, the Hohenzollern Redoubt, Haisnes, and Wyte- chaete. "Enemy sprang a mine in the Hohenzol- lern sector. "At St. Eloi our troops hold a consider- able portion of the ground gained on March 27, including three of the four main mine craters." GERMAN TRENCHES TAKEN. J Monday night's despatch was as follows: "Last night, at St. Eloi, our troops at- tacked and captured the mine crater re- maining in German hands, and by a further attack succeeded in establishing themselves in the German trenches running south-west from the above crater. "To-day there has been artillery activity about La Boisselle, Angres, Yierstraat, St. Eloi, and Yprés. "Some mining activity about La Boisselle, Roclincourt, and Givenchy." FIGHT FOR THE CRATERS. I On Tuesday night the following despatch was issued:— "Grenade lighting in the craters east of St. Eloi continued last night. The struggle there continues with varying fortunes. We hold three of the craters, but not the other two at present. "To-day the enemy exploded mines north-east of Vermelles, damaging a portion of an old crater, but without altering the situation. "There was considerable artillery activity opposite W-ftmhmte. and an unimportant artillery engagement near Souchez and east of Ypres. "In the course cf eight fights in the air yesterday our machines drove down one of the enemy's without sustaining any low. During the day, however, one of our aeroplanes was brought down by gun-fire."

SOLDIER'S SUICIDE IN PRISON. An inquest was held at Pentonville Prison on Monday on the body of Edward Tongue, who, whilst undergoing two months' im- prisonment, was found dead in his cell. The mother said her son was a private in the 6th Royal Fusiliers. He was invalided from France in November, and after recover- ing from his wounds was ordered to return in January. He got into trouble, however, and was then ordered to return in March. On March 1 he told her that his time was up, and bade her good-bye before returning to France. At times he suffered from pains in his head, especially after he had been drinking. Warder White said that on Thursday morning, the 6th inst., prisoner was locked in his cell for breakfast, but when witness went in about an hour later he found him hanging by a string from one of the bars outside the window. He was dead. The bars could be easily reached by standing on a stool. A verdict of "Suicide whilst of unsound Bind" was returned.

JOURNALIST FINED. At the Mansion House Police-court, before the Lord Mayor, Mr. William Thomas Palmer, thirty-eight, a journalist, living at Kendal, was charged with an infringement of the Defence of the Realm Consolidated Regulations in having unlawfully and with- out lawful authority procured to be pub- lished certain information with respect to the disposition of the ships of his Majesty and conduct of certain naval operations by such ships. Mr. C. Myles Mathews, solicitor, appeared for the defence. On the case being called on, Mr. Bodkin, who represented the Director of Public Prosecutions, applied that it might be heard in camera. To that the Lord Mayor assented, and the court was cleared. On the public being readmitted, the Lord Mayor imposed upon the defendant a fine of with ..£10 costs, allowing him twenty- eight days in which to pay it. In default of distress, he would be imprisoned for fifty- Bine days.

I CIGARETTES OR TORCH? At Eastbourne Police-court, on Monday, Patrick Persia Morse and Carlo De Luigi, youths learning to be waiters at a local hotel, were summoned for showing lights visible from the sea. Evidence was given by Captain Cookson that on the night y of March 31, when all lights were out owing to enemy aircraft being over England, he saw three bright flashes and a circular light near the pier. He spoke to defen- dants, who were smoking cigarettes. The cigarettes could not have caused the flashes He took the youths to the police-station. Luigi, who is a Swiss, had a torch in his pocket, but he did not use it. The case was dismissed. An Enfield newsagent named Odell, who was summoned on Monday under the light- ing regulations, said his shop was the darkest in the town, and people did not know whether it .was open or shut. A fine of £ 5 2s. was imposed, a magistrate remark- ing that he thought the fine was quite in- adequate.

I LAST SINGLE MEN. Proclamation have been posted in London during the week-end calling up single men, attested and unattested, of the age of eighteen years. They are required to report on May 10 for training and service at home until they attain the age of nineteen. The men are a* Group 1 under the Derby scheme and Class 1 under the Military Service Act, and the proclama- tions apply to "all men of the first group who have not attained nineteen years of age," and under the Military Service Act to "all men born in 1897, but prior to August 15 of that year." ♦ >-

EARL'S SISTERS "BAY OFF." Ltdy Mabel Smith, Earl Fitzwilliam's sister, has set an example to the women of Yorkshire by taking a situation on a farm. in m letter which was read on Monday at a Meeting of the Rotherham Board of Guar- dians of which she is a member. Lady wrote:- "I have iust taken a situation on a farm for six weeks, and this eeems to be the beet way I can aerve my country at the present juncture. Should there be anything really important needing my presence, I could, nf doubt, get a day off."

I GIFTS TO THE ARMY. An Army Order issued on Monday relating to gifts in kind received during the war for Army servioe, states that all such gifts should be brought on charge in the depot or units accounts, and all gifts of the estimated value of JB100 or over should be reported to the headquarters of the command and the War Office at the end of the financial year for the information of Parliament. Only gifts to units of a minor and personal kind need not be taken on charge in a public account.

COMPENSATION ACT APPEAL I The Lord Chancellor and Lords Lorebum, Atkinson, and Shaw on Tuesday delivered judg- ment in the House of Lords in an appeal from the Irish Courts raising a question of the position of Civil Servants under the provisions of the Workmen's Compensation Act. The re- spondent, an attendant in the Central Asylum, Dundrum, Dublin, was injured by an insane patient, and under the Compensation Act he va-s awarded 9s. 6d. a week. He claimed that the arbitrator who made the award was not entitled to take into consideration the fact that he had a pension. This claim the Irish Court of Appeal upheld, but their lordships now reversed this decision, and restored the award of the arbitrator.

"A PERFECT MUDILE." I At Kingston Police-court, on Tuesday, a curious case was heard, when John James Hooper, twenty-four, was charged with being a deserter from the Royal Army Medical Corps at Aldershot. It was shown in evidence that the prisoner, who was subject to fits, had been rejected from the R.A.M.C., and had later en- listed in the Royal Engineers, from which he had also been discharged. The police said the prisoner's arrest had been ordered by the com- manding officer in the R.A.M.C., and an escort was being sent. The Mayor, who said it was a perfect muddle, and that a lot of public money was being wasted, discharged the man.

COUNTESS ROBBED. I At the Central Criminal Court, Rene Jean Bondon, Louis Davies, Lucien Georges Jacob, George Simon, and Louis Alexander Francois Richer were charged with robbing the Coun- tess Beauregard at her residence, Oxford- square, Hyde Park, London, W., on February 15. Jacob was acquitted. Bondon and Davies were each sentenced to twelve months' hard labour, the former also being recommended for deportation. Simon and Richer were acquitted on the charge of robbery, and in regard to a charge of receiving against them the jury disagreed.

LABOURER TO FORTUNE TELLER. I When Wm. Price, a labourer, who claims to bo a medium for fortune-telling, was tried at Merthyr Police-court, on Tuesday, he swooned in the dock. Three married women testified that Price received them separately. He held their rings, turned the lights down, went into a trance, and groaned. He obtained Is. from two of them, and 6d. from another. The Stipendiary said the law must protect fools as well as catch rogues, and imposed a fine of X10, or forty-one days' imprisonment. ♦

LORD FRENCH S THANKS. Viscount French inspected the Eastbourne Convalescent Camp on Tuesday, and presented the D.C.M. to Corporal H. W. Webb, Somerset Light Infantry, who removed wounded under a heavy fire for four days and nights con- tinuously at the battle of Hooge. Lord French, in the course of an address to the soldiers, said:—"I want to take this opportunity of thanking, on my own behalf, you men who have served under me in the field for the splendid work you did, and for the way you helped me in many a trying situa- tion."

OUR FUTURE PAPER SUPPLY. Sir Daniel Morris, Botanical Adviser to the Colonial Office, lecturing at the Royal Society of Arts on Tuesday on "The Forest Resources of Newfoundland," said that there were altogether about 10,000 equare miles of wooded lands in the colony. He claimed that the dependence of the English paper mills upon foreign supplies could be obviated to some pxtent by tapping the enormous resources of Canada and Newfoundland. Canada was credited with forest areas of 800 million acres.

I SORRY-YOUR BIRD!' A correspondent of the "Manchester Guar- dian tells a great story of the fight be- tween the liner Aleanta-ra and the German raider Greif. The Greif was badly smashed when she torpedoed the Alcantara, and the British ship also began to sink. The British cruiser which came up, and, firing a shot over the Alcantara, completed the sinking of the Greif, sent this wireless mes- sage to the Alcantara, which was read as the ship was sinking: "Sorry—your bird."

THREE SISTERS' GOLDEN WEDDINGS Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Scrimshaw, of Sutton St. Edmunds, have just celebrated their golden wedding, and it is interesting to note that Mrs. Scrimshaw's two sisters have also had golden wedding anniversaries. Mr. Scrimshaw has been a carrier travelling to and from Spalding and Wisbech for forty-two years, and during that time has made 2,184 journeys to Spaldmg, only missing Spalding market twice owing to bad weather.

I A PRO-GERMAN. At West London Police-court, on Tuesday, Henry Snook, thirty, flower seller, North Ken- sington, was charged with failing to report himself for military service. When arrested the prisoner was reported to have said, "Why should I report? I hope the Germans will win." He was fined 40s., and handed over to an escort.

LAMBS BORN IN A POLICE CELL. A black-faced ewe was found wandering in Dunfermline streets early on Monday morning, and a policeman took her to the police- station, where she was put in a cell till claimed. Soon after she gave birth to two fine lambs. Mother and lambs are quite happy in their novel fold, and the policemen are doing every- thing for their comfort.

SPY SHOT. The Secretary of the War Office on Tuesday made the following announcement:— "A prisoner who was charged with espionage and tried by general court-martial at the Westminster Guildhall on March 20 and following days was found guilty and sentenced to death. The sentence was duly confirmed and was carried out this morning.

I NO SUPERIOR PERSONS. "There is no such thing as a superior person, and if any one thinks himself above others it shows a distinct sign of stupidity," said Mr. Cecil Chapman, the Tower Bridge magistrate, presiding at the thirty-sixth anniversary of the Bermondsey Ragged School Band of Hope on Monday evening.

I EYESIGHT. Defective eyesight is difficult to define, but assuming you have average eight you can, with the naked eye, see the whites of people's eyes at thirty yardb. At eighty yards you can just see their eyes. When all parts of people's bodies are distinguishable they should be, if your sight is correct, 100 yards away. When the outlines of their faces are only just visible, the distance is 200 yards; and when the face appears as a separate dot the man, with good sight, will probably be 400 yards off. At 600 yards away a group of people should be distinguished singly; but farther off than this no detail of the human form can, as a rule, be noted. Yet at 1,200 yards a man with good sight should be able to tell a man on horseback from a man on foot, and the watcher's eyes are not necessarily defective if at a distance of 2,000 yards the object man seems simply a dot on the landscape.

GEtMAN DOCTORS LEFT THEM TO I DIE OF TYPHUS. A terrible story of the sufferings of British prisoner of war in Germany is told in the report of the Government Committee as to the conditions which prevailed in the camp at Wittenberg during an epidemic of typhus. The report is based upon information given by Major Priestley, Captain Vidal, and Cap- tain Lauder, who were in the camp and have been permitted to return to this country. The report shows that the food supplied lo the prisoners was bad and insufficient; that one mattress only was supplied to every three prisoners; that infected men were huddled together instead of being separated; that German spectators jeered when dead British were carried away in ooffins; that insufficient clothing and covering were given the victims; that savage dogs were regularly employed to terrorise the prisoners; that flog- ging with a rubber whip was frequent. t The British prisoners in the camp num- bered between 700 and 800, but, says tho report, it is believed that during the pro- gress of the typhus there were at least 15,000 prisoners, and there inay have been 16,000 or 17,000—an enormous population for so re- stricted an area as lOj- acres. Added to this, the winter of 1914-15 was extremely severe, and the cold at Wittenberg intense, but the heating arrangements for the camp were alto- gether inadequate. Their overcoats were taken from most of the British prisoners when captured, and none were given in exchange. Their remaining clothes were often in rags, and many had neither boots nor socks, and others had- their feet wrapped in straw. When Major Priestley arrived at the camp the allowance of bread was one kilo (21b.) loaf for ten men. Breakfast for the men, he says, consisted of black (acorn?) coffee and bread. and the bread contained a high percentage of potato, and was most unpalatable. I COWARDLY GERMAN DOCTORS. I When the epidemic broke out in December, 1914, the German staff, military and medical, precipitately left the camp, and no medical attention during the whole time was provided by the German staff. The three British officers mentioned had been wrongfully detained at Halle for three months, and they only heard of the typhus outbreak by accident, and upon arrival at Wittenberg they were marched to the camp, where they were received in apathetic silence. The rooms were unlighted; the men were aim- lessly marching up and down; some were lying on the floor, probably sickening for typhus. When they got into the open air again Major Fry, who afterwards died, broke down. The horror of it all was too much to bear. Apart from three men being forced to share one mattress, there was the inevitable result of uninfected men catching typhus through having to sleep on an infected mattress. And more, the Germans compelled uninfected pri- soners to share with those already suffering. During the first month the food ration for each patient was half a small roll and half a cUfI of milk each day. The only soup was from the camp kitchen. It came in a wooden tub without a cover, and arrived full of dust and dirt. It was. hopeless diet for patients in a fever. In truth the ration was not a ration at all, it was a pr-etence. Major Fry, Captain Sutcliffe, and Captain Field (medical officers) sickened and died, and, says the report, "there is no doubt that the conditions to which the authorities had re- duced the camp and the prisoners they had abandoned was directly responsible for the deaths of these devoted men." The three officers were splendidly supported by many English prisoners who volunteered as nurses. But many of these devoted men caught the infection and died. I THE IRON CROSS. On one occasion only during the epidemic did a German medical man visit the camp. This was Dr. Aschenbach, who came attired in a complete suit of protective clothing, in- cluding a mask and rubber gloves. His in- spection was brief and rapid. For his services in combating the epidemic Dr. Aschenbach has been awarded the Iron Cross. What the prisoners found hardest to bear. were the jeers with which the coffins were fre- quently greeted by the inhabitants of Witten- berg, who stood outside the wire and were per- mitted to insult their dead.

I THE FIGHTING GENERALS. —— —— I BRITISH, FRENCH, AND GERMAN AGES COMPARED. There has been much talk of younger gene- rals being necessary to lead our armies in the field. It is interesting to compare the ages of generals of the Allied Armies with those of German generals. General Sir Douglas Haig i.3 55, and General Keir, the oldest of our senior generals, is 60. The youngest senior general is General Gough, who is only 46. The average age of British senior generals works out at 53.9 years. Among the French senior generals, General Langle de Cary is the oldest, being 67 years of age. General Joffre is 64, General Castelnau 65, and General Petain, the gallant defender of Verdun, is 59. The youngest senior general in the French Army is General Gouraud, who is 47 years of age. The average in our Allies Army is 60.5 years. In the German Army Von Falkenhausen, who is opposed to Petain at Verdun, boasts the most years, he being 72. Field Marshal von Mac- kensen is 71, Von Kluck, Prince Leopold of Bavaria, and Von Bulow tie, each being 70 years of age. The youngest general in the German Army is the Crown Prince, who is only 34. The average age in the enemy's Army is 63.5, nearly 10 years greater than that of the British Army. If the royal Ger- man generals are excluded the average of the rest of the ages is 65.66. The average of the Allies is 57.2 years.

I LORD SELBORNE AND FARMERS. I The need of filling the gaps in agricultural labour with women was again impressed on English farmers by Lord Selborne, Minister for Agriculture, in a speech at Ipswich. He said we had still our pledged task before us, to turn the invader out of France and Bel- gium. The war had got to be won in England on the farm and in the factories, just as much as on the ships and in the trenches. Every extra bushel of corn, every single additional pound of meat produced by them was a direct contribution to the strength of England in carrying through this war. There never was a more harassed set of men, but they were 'of the same stuff as the men in the Army and in the Fleet, and they could accomplish equally wonderful things. = year Lord Kitchener helped them with military labour to a certain extent, and the Secretary of State for War was more anxious than ever to help them in this coming season, because he knew the farmers' difficulties would be still greater as the weeks passed. An attempt was being made to revise arrange- ments. He strongly appealed to war agricultural committees to give facilities to train women in the existing emergency, and to multiply the training centres for them.

Owing to the lighting restrictions and the high cost of coal, all five of London municipal electricity undertakings record losses for the past year, including Wool- wich, which has a deficit of £ 65,000. A company from the British naval men interned at Groningen, states the "Gazette d'Hollande," are appearing at the Hague iu the "Mikado," the women's parts being played by Dutch girls. Liverpool City Council have decided that the resolution to make up the salaries of civil officers and servants who join the forces shall not apply to those compelled under the Military Service Act. The Board of Trade have decided to hold the British Industries Fair in London next yea.r from Monday, February 26, to Friday, March 9 inclusive. Dr. Addison answers in the negative in Parliamentary papers a question as to whether any of the "deportees from Glas- gow have since been employed in a Govern- ment munition factory in Edinburgh.

GENERAL MONRO TELLS WHY IT WAS EVACUATED. A despatch from General Sir C. C. Monro,, published on Monday, gives an account of the operations from October 28, 1915, to January 9, 1915, in the eastern Mediterranean, includ- ing the evacuation of Gallipoli and the land- ing at Salonica and firat operations over the Serb frontier. The despatch begins with the situation on General Monro's assumption (October 28, 1915) of the command of the Medi- terranean Expeditionary Force. The impressions General Monro gathered on a visit to the Peninsula were, he says, as fol- lows The poritions occupied by our troops pro. sented a military situation unique in history. The mere fringe of the coast-line had been secured. The beaches and piers upon which they depended for all requirements in per- sonnel and material were exposed to registered and observed artillery fire. Our entrench- ments were dominated almost throughout by the Turks. The possible artillery position were insufficient and defective. The force. in short, held a line possessing every po^ible military defect. The position was without depth, the communications were insecure and dependent on the weather. No means existed for the concealment and deployment of fresh troops destined for the offensive—while the Turks enjoyed full powers of observation, abundant artillery positions, and they had been given time to supplement tho natural advant- ages which the position presented by all the devices at the disposal of the field engineer. Other arguments, irrefutable in their conclu- sions, convinced me that a complete evacua- tion was the only wise course to pursue. SUVLA TO SALONICA. Early in October the 10th Division, under Lieut.-General Sir B. Mahon, K.C.B., was transferred from Suvla to Salonica, and fully concentrated there. The arrival of the 10th Division had been preceded by two French Divisions under Gene- ral Sarrail, whose Foroe was subsequently augmented by another Division. These three- Divisions were then moved into Serbia under the understanding arranged between the Allies' Governments, which was to the effect that the French Forces were to protect the railway between Krivolak and Veles, and to ensure communication with the Serbian Army. while the British were to maintain the posi- tion from Salonica to Krivolak, and to support the French right. If communication with the Serbian Army could not be opened and main- tained, the Allied Forces were to be with- drawn. With this object, two Battalions of the 10th Division were moved from Salonica on October 27, and took' over the French front from Kos- turino to Lake Doiran. The remainder of the Division was sent to Serbia on November 12 and following days, and took over the French front eastwards from Kosturino. The task of moving troops into Serbia and maintaining them there presented many diffi- culties. During November and the early part of December the 10th Division was holding its position in Serbia, and the disembarkation of other divisions was prooeeding with diffi- culty. It had been evident for some time that the power of resistance of the Serbian armies was broken, and that the Allied forces could afford them no material assistance. It was also clear from all information re- ceived that the position of our troops waer becoming daily more precarious owing to a large German-Bulgarian concentration in the Strumniza. Valley. I therefore again p General Sarrail to proceed with his with- drawal from the positions he was holding. The British Division, operating as it was, as the- Pjjgflrt upon which the withdrawal was effected, was compelled to hold its ground until the French 'left was brought back. Before our withdrawal was completed the 10th Division was heavily attacked on December 6th, 7th, and 8th by superior Bul- garian forces. The troops had suffered con- siderably from the cold in the Highlands of Macedonia, and in the circumstances con- ducted themselves very creditably in being able to extricate themselves from a difficult position with no great losses. I LAST DAYS IN GALLIPOLI. On November 21st Gallipoli was visited by a storm said to be nearly unprecedented for the time of the year. The 9th Corps suffered very heavily. "I regret to announce that there were 20ft deaths from exposure and over 10,000 sick evacuated during the first few days of Decem- ber. From reports given by deserters it ig probable that the Turks suffered even to a greater degree." Most of the essential facts about the opera- tions have already been published. At Anzac four 18-pounder guns, two 5-inch, howitzers, one 4.7 naval gun, one anti-aircraft and two 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns were left, but they were destroyed before the troops finally embarked. At Suvla every gun, vehicle, and animal was embarked, and all that re- mained was a small stock of supplies, which were burnt. On December 28th a telegram ordering the evacuation of Helles was received. The situa- tion on the peninsula had not materially changed owing to the withdrawal from Suvla and Anzac. "The most apparent factor wa& that the number of heavy guns on the Euro- pean and Asiatic shores had been considerably augmented, and that these guns were more, liberally supplied with German ammunition, the result of which was that our beaches were continuously shelled, especially from the Aisiatic shore." Early in the evening (of January 8) reports. had been received from the right flank that a hostile submarine was believed to be moving- down the straits, and about midnight H.M.S. Prince George, which had embarked 2,000 men, and was sailing for Mudros, reported she was struck by a torpedo which failed to explode. Apart from four unserviceable 15-pounders which had been destroyed earlier in the month, ten worn-out 15-pounders, one 6-inch Mark VII. gun and six old French heavy guns, all of which were previously blown up, were left on the peninsula. In addition, 508 animals, most of which were destroyed, and a number of vehicles and considerable quantities of stores, material and supplies, all of which were de- stroyed by burning, had to be abandoned. <

I KHAKI THE LEVELLER. I Bishop Frodsham, Canon-Residentiary of Gloucester, speaking at Bow Church, on Tues- day, said that khaki had levelled the manhood of the country upwards and downwards, and officers and men, wounded soldiers and nurses,, had aJike learned the lesson of respect and. comradeship. The effect upon the soldiers themselves could be seen already. Rough slouching lads from the lanes and the street corners had been taught self-discipline and self- respect. The dilution of labour, he went on, was surrounded with the gravest dangers, not. only for the men, but for the women and the future of the race. None the less, the woman movement was fraught with hopefulness. The women had come into their own in this coun- try, and in the place of the sex strife that pre- vailed before the war there were signs of far- better things.

THE DUMMY GUN. In a reply to Mr. Billing, in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Mr. Tennant said that if a dummy gun was erected on the roof of a.. foundry in an East Coast city, it was placed there with the object of deceiving the enemy and enemy air scouts, and not the civil popu- lation. As to where such devices were used, it was not always wise to draw aside the veil. Mr. Billing: Will he assure the House that. as this trick of war has been exposed, he will" i refrain from (Cries of "Order!"). Mr. MacVeagh: Does it not help the enemy to have those discussions on the floor- of the House?

Every available man in the island of Lewis is serving either in the Army or Navy,. or is called up for service. The London County Council reoently ratified the decision of the Education Com- mittee to regard children of alien enemies as. ineligible for scholarships. Owing to the dearth of steam tonnage,. wool is now being brought to this country in., large quantities by sailing ships.