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OUR SHORT STORY.I
OUR SHORT STORY. I TM: SUBALTERN'S CHOICE. I By C. S. GOIiDINGHAM. I The subaltern of Marines turned wearily from itd contemplation of the Rock of Gibraltarf-what littLe of it he could see froEi his ca.oin scuttle. He knew it all by heart. For twenty-one* mortal days Lorimer had had no other N-iew of the outer world than that afforded by the porthole of his cabin. As the battleship swung slowly round her buoy he had parsed the tedious hours in watching1 some point on shore or on the Mcle, or perhaps a passing picket boat, and calculating just exactly how soon it would pass out of his line- of vision. He was afraid of his thoughts; he could not always control them, and feared lest they should, run .away with him and shake the resolution ho had made—a resolution taken upon the spur of the moment—and the cost fkee-plng it at first scarcely Tsa?ised. i- b est i ma',e it H? had had plenty of time to estimate it at its true valu ai?ce, but it was onlv in moments of despondency that he regretted the ohoice he had made. It Wéft3 during the l<M;g nights of wakefulness that his resolu- tion begun to fal-ter, and he would call him- self every kind of fool he could lay tongue to. and swear that he would exereise legal—and moral—right at the court- martial (if only they wouW get it over and done with it!), plead "Not guilty," and proy-e his innocence. He could do it. lie put the thought away from him and began feverishly to count the num ber of p on the faces of a pack of cards or the number c.f minutes which had elapsed since h? lwd been placed und<r arrest, or any- thing to keep himself from thinking. He remembered vividly every moment of the interview with the oaptaia of the shir), consequent upon the discovery that a cypher was missing. Norton, the captain of Minnies, had been present, naturally, in his capacity as the subaltern's command- ing effioer. in Nobody suspected for a single instant that it was in his charge that the cypher had been at the time, and that it was through his and not Larimer's negligence that it had been lost. Norton was in charge of all codes and cyphers* in the ship on issuing this par- ticular one to his junior, he had, as the rd of the service prescribed, obtained the signature of the latter for it. The subaltern had returned the cypher when ho had ■finished with it: but h? had omitted to see his signature crossed off. In so far, there- fore, the blame was his; officially he was responsible fcr the cypher, and so he must stand* the racket of its loss. He remember the occasion of his re- turning the book (the captain. of Marines hJAi been in a hurry to catch the boat ashorC), and' he knew at the' interview that Norton remembered it too. He. had seen ttie horror creep into his senior officer's eye. at the realisation of his responsibility; for he had been married a few months only, and this meant dismissal from the Service. la that moment the subaltern had fore- stalled him, acknowledging entire blame to: the loss. Through dry lips, and with beads of cold sweat breaking out upon his fore- head, the captain <1f Marines had once more attempted to speak, to prevent the mon- strous sacrifice which was being made for hi m; but the opportunity had gone by. j After aH, he thougnt, he could remedy the matter later, explaining that Lorimer had made a mistake—not a pleasant thing to have to do, still-- Rut it had been more difficult than he had imagined to say the ward which should condemn himself, and with every hour and day which new passed it became more irnpoosible that he should acknowledge how he had played the coward and a.Howed another to shoulder the b lame walcn. should have fall-en upon himlf. The subaltern was filled with dismay at the risk Norton ran. There was a world of difference bet wean dismissal from the Ser- vice for negligence, and dismissal for con- duct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman. In attempting to shield the captain of Marines from bhe lesser penalty he had ex- posed him to the risk of the infinitely greater. The fact that it was three weeks since he had been placed under arrest, and still no court had been ordered to assem ble to try him,, looked ominous. Inquiry might i&s.ve been instituted, and if' that were so, the truth was baund to come out. Yet, there •was nothing more he could do; he odd cnly wait, a prey to 'd-mot and suspense. There was a knock at the cabin door, and the first lieutenant came in. When court- martialied an officer is allowed the assist- ance either of counsel, or, as he usually pre- fers, of another officer to help him conduct his eaac. Lorimer had chosen the first lieutenant; the request had surprised the latter at the time, although he had just discovered what he believed to be the xeason. ine papers- nave oome, Ila sheet and. circumstantial letter." "At last! When will it be?" "To-morrow, nine a.m. You'll sleep aboard the Magnificent to-night." The law of the Service denies to the off.c(>t" I about to be tried by court-martial the srnnll consolation of remaining under arrest in hid own ca,bin once the order convening the court has been issued. "To-morrow? Thank God Lorimer dropped into a chair, his voice betraying the strain of three weeks of waiting and uncer- zliintv. Grayson, another few days of this would" have driven me mad. Why have they been such a devil oi a time about ordering it?" The first lieutenant looked across the bay to Algeciras, where white houses gleawetl. am0¡g the frees at the water's edg-c. "You Ttnow what's going on there,' he remarked, with a jerk of the head in the direction. "Yes." Lorimer knew. It was the month of January, 19C0, and the conference was sitting which was to settle the vexed ques- tion of French rights in Morocco. "The captain sent for mo yesterday—sub rosa, of course, as lie's prosecuting. Ap- parently this eyoher found its way into the hands of a. German agent-you know it s vital to them to know whether v-c'!i back » up France all through—and certain secret orders which were sent to our man there by the Government were intercepted and de- ciphered. That's why they waited so long. It only it had been any other than the l[f )Il ty ,;I Office Foreign Office cyphr" "You mean they thought I-seld the •beastly thing "Yes. at first.- Then-" "But there'» nothing about—about that sort of thing in the oiarge." Lorime* 1. 11 it scrutinised the charge sheet. "t siaipiy says did iooe by neglect.' V\ nv didn t they put in an alternative charge, it tnat s what the 7 thought?" uo. ev i de-,icp. "'rhere was no evidence. "Xaturally," remarked Lorimer "You Kti?ht ha,e added that, Grayscn. I-gnould have, of course." The subaltern looked at him curiously. "What's the matter? You don't believe I sold it, dD you. "Great Caesar, no! What's more, I'm S?oLo? to clear you of the charge of losing it. There's been the devil's own row; I'm sorry for the other fellow. It means the booli-the captain warned me." "The other fellow?" began Lorimer. Then comprehension dawned upon him-yand lie had" thought Gravson so safe thick-headed old g,,iaui, he had never believed him cap- able c-f ^eing what lay beyond, his nose.. no! There's uo other fellow in the case. I've told you I'm g-mlty., ,in gomg to plead guilty-yõu inow that. It always pays in the end. Besides, tnere s nothll1 else to' be done." He turned his head away from the other's curious eyes, and looked out over the waters of the. bay. Away to tho right he could just see the gleaming sands along :which he had so often centered on bathing picnics—with the captain of • Marines; one of them, if ever he rode there again, would do so as a civilian. And that one must be himself—it must be. "After what I've discovered? I think not. Lorimer." The subaltern turned his head quickly. "What d'yoa. mean?" he asked apprehen- 1 sively. "The cypher was in Norton's charge whelj it went adrift." "o!" Lorimer broke in vehemently. "No, it wasn't." His eyes fell before the '.first lieutenant's searching looi. "No," he re- peated mechanically. < "I have some proofs—enough to convince the court." "Have you been speaking to him?" Lori- mer felt he must know that, though he realised how the gave him away. "Who—Norton? No. But "It waziL 't. I tell you it wasn't. Don't look at me like that, Grayson." Lorimer turned his head away again be- fore the other man's gaze. Outside tho water lapped softly against the battleship's siue. and from deep down in the dynamo room a. throbbing vibration penetrated to the siience of the cabin. Grayson's voice cut suddenly upon the stillness. "Why ere you. shielding -him?" "I don't understand what you mean," the 3ubalrern flung defiantly over his shoulder. "You're a bad liar, Lorimer. Shall I give you chapter and verse?" "No! Oh, I thought "Thought I was such a dull-witted old buffer I'd never find out, eh? That's why you asked me to be prisoner's friend, when everyone knows Deakin's the man for the job. Am I right?" .< "Yes." 1 "Won't you be frank with me?" Th> ere was no reproof in the first lieutenant's voioe, only a sincere desire to. save the subaltern from ruining himself for some quixotic scruple. "I have the right; after ail, you did ask me to be prisoner's friend." "Yes. I'm sorry, Number One. I must seen: beastly m¡gÄ>teiuL" Then Lorimer's voice changed and rang hopefully. "You see, it was my fault, after all; I was too lazy to see my signature crossed off when I returned the book." "T. seem to remember telling you you were a bad liar, Lorimer," remarked the first lieutenant dryly. "Try again." You're a sticker Lorimer tried to laugh, but the effort ended in hopeless failure. He glanced at a..framed photo- graph which was screwed te the bulkhead of the cabin, and Grayson's eyes followed the glance. It was the photograph of a girl, .1 girl with fiL,,n k stea sy hotograph of a -irl, a girl with fiank, steady eyes which looked straight out of the ftrame at him, so that stand as he might in different cciners of 4he cabin, her eyas looked always full into his cat-in, "I knew her before she was married." he said as lie turned .way. Known her all my life. Then be -N,orrton--bntt.,d in. I'm not grousing at her choice. It doesn't matter a tinker's curse what happens to me -my parents are dead. They've only been married a few months. Imagine having to tell your wife you'd been pushed out of the Service. Oh, heavens! Get out But Grayson had alrealy left the cabin. Five minutes plater Norton and anotuei officer came into the wardroom as the first lieutenant was busy burning some papers at the stove. "Hullo. Tubby!" exclaimed the other offi- cer, "Burning your love lafcters?" No. Evidence for the court-martial," re- plied Grayson curtly, as h% rose and looked Norton in the face. s
ABOUT MONITORS. 1
ABOUT MONITORS. The ships known as monitors, three of rvhieh were used during the coast battle ol., Belgium, are, so to speak, flat-bottomed warships. The name monitor came into use during the Civil War in America, ..whn the ,F,ed erillz; fought the Confederates. The Federals heard that their opponents were buitding an armoured ship—the Merri.,nje- and as they had only wooden vessels, a ship was constructed specially to fight her. This ship, which they called the Moiiitor, was armoursd in mwch the same way as the Merriinac, but quite a new idea was intro- duced. Instead of having guns mounted on the sides, as in the old ships, a revolving armoured turret was fixed in the centre of kthe boat, and from this two 11-inch guns protruded. The two vessels met oa March 9th, 1862, and though. neither of thorn really won, the superiority of the turret ship wal.;q unmistakably shown. This fight marked a new era in the construction of warships. Nowadays, ships built after the style of this first turret warship are called monitors. 'j)h-e three that were engaged off the Belgian coast were used because their flat bottoms enabled them to get close in. shore, and so bombard the Germans on the coast. They carry two 6-inch guns, besides several smaller weapons, and as they have only small engines, to make them light, their speed is consequently low.
I SOLDIERS' SUPERSTITIONS.…
I SOLDIERS' SUPERSTITIONS. '1 German and Austrian soldier3 are among the most superstitious in the world. Nearly every man in both armies carries on his person some sort of charm or token that he firmly believes will keep him safe from harm. There are many kinls- of charm3, of course, but they are all worn in the hope that the wearer will not be killed or wounded. Soldiers who oome from Witrtem- burg, for instance, fully believe that by carrying a quantity of the pollen from ferns in a small linen bag next to the skill they will be bullet-proof. <:> For the same reason Austrian soldiers sew into their undercloth- ing the wings of bats. Before a Bavarian soldier goes into action he performs a solemn little rite. Selecting a birch-tree, he cuts a small hole in it, aud also pricks or cuts himself so as to draw blood. Hav- ing dropped a few drops of his blood into the hole in the birch ttee the soldier then goes way quite happily, being fully con- vinced that any wounds he may receive will heal as soon as the bark of the tree closes up.
( LIQUORICE ROOT.
( LIQUORICE ROOT. Northern Syria is famed for its liquorice toot, which grows wild- in large quantities, generally in great stretches of open country where tW soil is more or less damp. The liquorice of commerce is obtained by evapor- ating an infusion of the sliced roots, This solidified substance is used for flavouring con- fectionery and beer, as we>ll as entering into the make-up of most of the brands of to- bac,o. The roots are dug up and piled in great stacks, .where they remain until they are thoroughly dry. They are then taken to the factory and pressed by machinery into bales convenient for shipment. Some idea of the extent of the industry may be gathered when it is stated that, on an average, 8,000 tons of dry liquor ice root are shipped from Aleppo annually," while Bagdad yields another 6,000 tons, Antioeh 4,000 tons, and Damascus 3(j() tons. With the exception of the Damascus output the whole trade- was, prior to the war, in the hands -of an American firm.
[No title]
at A iare dpi(>g:rlion r"pre'("lhng orga:ti.d I L?bf?r ?r?d on t'!? Canadian Government at Ottawa thp a?o?t?n of eld ag« pensions, o?:rp).j!sory ?ickioss in.?u-?n(?, hi?Mr ?!id taxes, pensions for widowed mothers and de- serted wives, and minimum wage regula- tions. Rev. H. L. C. formerly "V^icar oi Clifton, Bristol, was installed Cancn of Westminster. ?
jTHINGS THOUGHTFUL, 41-
j THINGS THOUGHTFUL, 41- What would a blind man give to see the pleasant rivers and meadows and flowers aad fountains.; and this and many other' like blessiilga We enjoy dall-y.-Isaak Wal- j ton. Believe me when I tell you that thrift of time will repay you in after life with a usury of profit beyond your most sanguine dreams, and" that the waste of it will make you dwindle, alike in intellectual and in moral stature, beyond your darkest reckon- ings.—W. E. Gladstone. The desire of appearing clever often pre- vents our becoming so.—La Rochefoucauld. I THE BLESSED COUNTRYMAN. Give fools their gold and knaves their power, Let fortune's bubble rise and fall; Who sows a field or trains a flower, Or- plants a tree, is more than all. For lire w'ho blesses IDQSt is blest, And God and man shall own his worth. Who toils to leavo as his bequest An added beauty to the earth. —Whittier. The run is ever beautiful and noble, and brings a cheerfulness out of heaven itself into the humblest apartment, if we have but the spirit to welcome it.—Leigh Hunt. I THE POWER OF PROTEST. I How shall we act when our friends insist on doing what we think is wrong? We can- not always leave their company when they are doing wrong. And perhaps they seem determined to go on with what they are doing, regardless of our protests. Yet pro- test -we must; that is tlle least we can do. Occasionally a tactful objection, wheh re- peated the third or fourth time, will win, though it may have seemed to fail before. And there is an additional reason for pro- testing; every protest, even one Hot obeyed, is a step toward nobler living for all who hear it. It becomes part of their experience, and they are better and more evenly balanced men and women thereafter because of it. One writer put this still more strongly: "The future of the world depends net so much on what is done, as on what is sanctioned." Every tactful protest of ours, whether it is hearkened to or not, helps to make the world better. Time is often said to be money, but it ia moTe—it is life; and yet many who would cling desperately to life, think nothing of wasting time-—Sir John Lubbock. I THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS. I Love is the great creator of happiness. The supreme, the insuperable tragedy of life is to find oneself alone and iinbelovetl, with no power of spreading happiness. The supreme good fortune of life is not health, or wealth, or fame, or success. Supreme happiness is finding oneself the centre of wide-ranging, beneficent relations to many people. Let all the people you meet "and know love and trust you, and then try to be unhappy. It cannot be done, it is impos- sible.—Louise Collier Willcox. I THE PASSING OF YOUTH. I I- 1 .1 ..1 .1 I I We mind not now tne sun in tne mia-eity Is hastening on; but when the golden orb Strikes the extrcme of earth, and when tne gulfs Of air and ocean open to receive him, Dampness and gloom invade us; then we think Ah thus it is with Youth. Too fast his feet Run on for eight; hour follows hour; fair maid Succeeds fair maid; bright eyas beslur hit coach; The cheerful horn .awakens him; the feast, The revel, the entangling dance, allure, And voices mellower than the Muse's own Heave up his buoyant bosom on their wave. A little while, and then—Ah Youth! Youth' Youth! Listen not to my words—but .stay with me! When thou art gone, Life may go too; the sigh That rises is for thee, and not for Life. T—W S. Land or. I THE COMMAND OF THE SEA. Surely, at this day, with us of Europe, the varita^ge of sttength at sea (which is one -of the principal dowries, of this kingdom oi Great Britain) is grgat; both because mos* of the kingdoms of Europe are not merely inland, "but girt with the sea. most part-of their compass; and because the wealth of both Indks seems, in great part, but an aectssory to the command of the seas.— Bacon. A wise imagination is one of the best aids for living, and in no way is it likdy to be more useful than in anticipating regrets. All regrets may be avoided, if only we will think ahead faF enough and clearly enough "If I had only known!" we cry; but W1 might have known. Green Earth forgets. The gay. young generations mask her grief; Where "bled her children hangs the loaded ijheaf. Forgetful is green Earth. The gods alcne Bensember everlastingly; they strike Rømo.rsele8t31y than ever like for like; By their great memories the gods arE Known. —Meredith. I RICH IN SPITE OF LOSSES. I We can Ipse a .grèat deal and yet be rich. Life's best things can never be taken from us without our consent. What does it rflatfcer, 'then, how many lesser things Nvi lose? It is -a sign of the world's growing better that there are so many now who realise that they can have God's unchanging best, and who are indifferent to all else— "unspoiled men and women, as indifferent to the fashion of the World aud tho foUy of the hour as the stars- to the impalpable mist of the clouds: men. and women who spoke the truth, and lived the right; to whom love and" faith and high hopes were more real than the crowns of which they had been despoiled and the kingdoms from which they had been rejected." The man wh o holds fast all that God asks him to hold can ill afford to waste time or feeling over other losses. It is -rather in oilr moments of pro- sperity than in a time of sorrow that we need to set a guard over ourselves. Ciia- racters that resist -hardship are often known to collapse under success. For nations "as for individuals this is a salutary thought— God tests us by the good things as well as, or more than, by the bad things He sends u;.—Berkeley. I SIMPLICITY. 1 Be simple, be unaffected, be honest in youi epeaking and writing. Never use a long word where a short one will do. Call a etpad-o a spade, not a well-known oblong in- strument of mauual husbandry; let home be .home, not a residence; a pkoe a place, not a lenity; and so of the Mst. Elegance of bnguage may not be in the power oi a!l of ?us, but simplicity and. 6traightforwai-due?s —Pean Alford.
IIN THE POULTRY YARD. I
I IN THE POULTRY YARD. I I BY COCKCROW. I I FOWLS AND THE WEATHER. I It is a dull time of year, this, from the point of view of weather. I wonder whether there is anything in those old weather- signs after all. When the coal and gas rations were first announced we were told on all hands that we were in for a very thin time, because it was going to be a particu- larly severe winter. Lots of people wrote to the papers to say that they had never seen the trees so plentifully berried since the year Dot, when thtl river was frozen over for miles and miiesand weeks and weeks, and an ox was roasted on the village pond and sold at a penny a slice, and nobody was asked to produce a coupon. Those were times. Mdny berries, they said, were an infallible sign of a hard winter. I have seen the berries myself, but the hard winter haa' not yet arrived. Do iaot niistai-e me; I am not anxious that it should, and I am quite conscious t-hat the weather may have changed before these Enes are read; but at present the weather se-ems of the usual end- of-November-beginning of December pat- terns—mild and muggy and damp. Some people, I understand, like this sort of weather. I hope they are making the DANGEROUS DAMPNESS. most of it and enjoying t'hcm?<'Iv<?. For my part, I. I like fresh, crisp, bracing weather. I have nothing to say against rain, in reason, but if I could have my way it should fall when I am in bed and asleep. However, what I think of the weather is of no particular import- ance; the thing that matters is ,c.:yhat the fowls, yours and mine, think of it', how they, are affected by it, and how they may be, protected from the allpervading dampness. At this time of year, when everything is soppy and muddy and unpleasant, those w hens whose owner takes some thought for, their comfort have reason to be very grate- f-ul Those that have the other kind of owner are of all hens most miserable. They catch cold from paddling in the mud on the .floors of badlv-built poultry-houses, they give up laying, they fall ill, and they die. Even under the best conditions of housing and general care, slight colds are fairlv com- SLIGHT COLDS COMMON. mon among the fowls at I this season. The poultry- keeper who keeps a close eye on his 'birds will notice one here and there with a I discharge from the nostrils. This must be attended to. Twice a day the nostrils should lie .squeezed on both sides. Roup powder should also be" given in the mash. Every- body who k"eeps fov/ls should always have roup powder handy at this tirac of year. Given promptly 2,s soon as iiny untoward symptom manifests itself, it will often pre- vent slight ailments from devofep? ng into something more serious. • » About those poultry-house floors. la this i I respect poultry-keepers are more sensible I • No MORB' COLD FEET. than they used to be, but there are still people, and particularly, I am sorry to sa.y, back-yarders," who! never seem to realise that for hens to paddle about all day long in mud and slush may be extremely uncomfortable for them. The wonder is that they ever get any eggs at all from their fowls. It really is important, [ if eggs are expected in winter, that the floors of the hoiises should be kopt clean and dry. Hens with wet and cold feet are not likely to bo good layers. A good plan for making the hens more cemfortahlo dur- ing the wet season is to get a few poles, of ash or other wood, split them, and nail them, flat side down, a few-inches apart, to eide pieces of the same materia,1 but rather stouter. You then have a sort of grating which, when laid down in the house, will be raised an' inch or so from tho floor, so that air may circulate freely. The frame- work should not touch thf sides of- the h oft so by a few inches. The fowls will bo quite happy on the rounded surface of the poles, which should be placed at such a distance apart as to allow them to walk with ease. Some of the illnesses which puzile poultry-keepers may be traced to the fact TAINTED GROUND. that the ground where they run has become tainted. There is no cure for this ex- cept to. give ..the birds a I fresh* run, and a new no use, it possiule, or at any rate one which has been recently cleaned. But of course the ground should never be allowed to get into such a coudi- tion. If there is sufficient area the run should be changed from place to place, and the old site thoroughly dug over and sweetened. Much may be done by occasional treatment of this sort even' where the space i so limited that to -allot fresh ground for the run is impossible. A question repeatedly asked is, "Which are the best breeds for laving rich, brown, BMEns 'FOR BROWN EGGS gcod-quality eggs," Rich- ness only affects the shell (savs a writer in the "Daily Telegraph"), and when pro- perly fed on nourishing food the quality of a wliite-shelled egg is equal to and often excels that of the brown colour. The Orpingtcn family occupy a pro- minent position in this matter. When fully matured all lay la brown eggr), and are prolific layers if a gbod- strain is Selected. The White Orpington lays an exceedingly rich-eolonired egg. The Wyandotte all lay good-coloured eggs, also the Rhode Island Red, barred, BuS Plymouth Rocks, or, Sussex, although tho shade is somewhat lighter. The Langshan lays the richest- colour egg of all 'fowls, although many varieties and strains of Orpingtons run the Asiatic breed very close. The Croad type of Langshan is recommended, as it possesses undoubted egg and flesb. producing quali- ties. Chickens grow rapidly if hatched in March or April. Those who desire a non- sitting fowl to lay brown eggs are informed that only by crossing with a heavy or sit- tiiiz breed, is thiq attainable, whilst by a judicious cross the brooding propensities [ are reduced considerably. Leghorns crossed with the Croad Langshan or Buff Orpington make an excellent combination, producing pullets which lay large-sized brown-shelled egg", and if mated up again to the' White Leghorn sire the result desired will be prob- ably attained, although the eggs will be of a. paler shade. The colour of the yolk is much, improved when hens have rich pastur- age or grass runs, with plenty of natural food, whilst a dajJy liberal feed of succulent green food will prove very beneficial in this respect. During. the winter months the out- side leaves of cabbage should be utilised in thev-poultry feed.
I.fc60 ,U-BOATS SUNK. I
I fc60 U-BOATS SUNK. I Information obtained by the Admiralty in connection with the surrender of German I submarines has removed all doubt that prior to the. conclusion of the armistice as many as 200 German submarines were sunk by U8. The total number of submarines built by the Germans from the earliest to the latest ¡ types was about 360.
W——HI WIIIUNM—" I MARGARINE…
W——HI WIIIUNM—" I MARGARINE FROM COAL! i Professor Spooner, at the Fuel Economy Exhibition in Trafalgar-square, said that J coal contained as many treasures as Pan- dora's box. It was likely that in the future we should use its by-products of edible oils and fats to make margarine. Holding up a small piece of coal, weighing OJie pound, tbe professor said that it contained sufficient energy, if that energy could be used without waste, to lift 550 people to the top of. the Nelson. Column. Fogs were not nearly so bad as they were when he was a boy, but London's chimneys were still projecting 600 tons of smuts and 2,000 tons of tar and other by-products of j coal every day. j
IWHEN WE MOBILISED. I
I WHEN WE MOBILISED. I t I Lord \Haldane ha3 now told the story of ) the secret mobilisation of the British Army on August 3, 1914. Speaking at Bedford College, he said:—1 "I do .not think people know when we mobilised. I will tell you. There is no need to keep it a secret now. We mobilised at 11 o'clock on Monday, August 3, thirty-six hours before we declared war. "We were then all ready, and within a* few hours after we declared war the British Expeditionary FGr.ce were, with' the aid of our splendid Navy, right across the Channel. I The concentration was made in nine days."
SHOPllFTER'S HAUL.1
SHOPllFTER'S HAUL. 1 Arrested at the premises of William WTiiteley, Ltd., in Queen's-road, Bays- water, with a large black bag in her pos- session containing four eggs, silk scarf, two pairs socles, one pair lady's hose, two tins potted meat, one cake of soap, three tins sardine.s, two cakes, one box of cigar- ettes, a tobacco pouch, four ladies' collars,' ,two books, one" silver frame, four plated articles, a china soali dish, a brush, and a pair of eyeglasses, Louisa Mortlock, fifty-six, a widow, living in Cambridge-terrace, Hyde. Park, was at Marylebone sentenced to three months' hard labour.
BOYS TOO HIGHLY PAID.- I
BOYS TOO HIGHLY PAID. I Alderman Sir John Bell, dealing with two f bovs of sixteen, described as carmen, em- j ployed by a railway company, who were charged at the London Guildhall with steal- I ing two dead rabbits, said:— "The amount of wages boys are receiving is monstrous. It leads them into being foolish, extravagant, and discontented. Then they become wicked and steal. These boys of sixteen were getting 36s. 9d. a week each. I think 12s. to 14s. would be a better wage for boys of that age."
ALLOWANCE FOR DEAD CHILD.…
ALLOWANCE FOR DEAD CHILD. I A remarkable story of the way a soldier's widow defrauded tbe Ministry of Pensions was related at Liverpool; when Harriett White was sentenced to two months' im- 1 prisonment. While her husband was alive the woman claimed an allowance for a child which had been dead five years. To obtain the neces- sary signature to the certificate, she took her sister's child to school, stating that it was her own. The allowance had been paid j; for four years.
I GRAVES OF OUR HEROES. I
GRAVES OF OUR HEROES. I The Imperial War Graves Commission met recently, under the presidency of the Prince of Wales, and considered the bringing into the eenvet&ries of bodies buried in isolated graves on the battlefields, and the exhuma- tion of bodies, whethe* in isolated graves or in cemeteries, in order to transfer them to their native countries. Over .150,000 scattered graves are known in France and Belgium. In certain dis- tricts, notably those of Ypres and the Sommo battlefields, they are thickly strewn over areas measuring several miles in length and breadth. Tho.? areas will shortly 00 re- stored to cultivation, or possibly afforested. and the bodies cannot remain undisturbed, They must, therefore, be removed to ceme- teries, where they can be reverently caroo for. I I' I The Commission accordingly resolved to apply to the French Government for per- mission to gather these bodies into ceme- teries as close as may h'1 to the places where they lie. The Army was arranging for this wajfk to »b e done by volunteers from among comrades of the fallen. With regard to' the Temoval of bodies to their native countries, the Commission point out that to empty some 400,000 identified graves would be a colossal work and would be opposed to the spirit in which the Em- pire had accepted the >offers of France, Bel- gium, Italy, and Greece to provide land in perpetuity for our cemeteries and to "adopt" our dead: The Commission felt that this view would commend itself to the majority of the British people.
.I-OUR AIR CASUALTIES. ',1
I OUR AIR CASUALTIES. ,1 Casualties to officers and men of the Royal I Air Force from April 1, 1918, to November 11, 1918, are given by the Secretary to the I Air Ministry as below. The casualties of the R.N.A.S., and R.F.C. from the outbreak of war to April 1 this year, the date of the amalgamation of the two services, have been included in the figures already published by the Admi- I ralty and War Offi.se. As soon1 as they can be extracted, these casualties will be pub- 'j lished separately, in 'order that the total casualties of the flying services during the war may be on record. Other <' Officers. ranks. Killed (and died) 1,551 1,129 W o u n de d. 2,3:)7 631 Mis sin 1,612 225 I n t. e r n e d 45 39 5,503 2,024 I a 'Includes 377 officers- and' GS other ranks I reported to have been taken prisoners.
I COALITION CANDIDATE'S .DEATH.…
I COALITION CANDIDATE'S DEATH. I Sir Charles Nicholson, Bt., who has re- I presented Doc easier for the past twelve I Yars, anad was again contesting the seat ae Liberal Coalition candidate, died suddenly j at the Damm Hetd, Donc-ister, on Friday I night, where he had been staying ditrinl- the campaign. I He was taken ill on the previous morning with influenza and bronchial pneumonia, and died in the presence of Lady I^icholson j and his brother. j Born in July, 1857, Sir Charles Nicholson was a barrister. His son, Captain Nichol- son, who was private secretary to General Seely when he was at the. War 'Office, .was killed in an aeroplane accident two years I ago. I
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 Applications from discharged 6!)ld:rs and I Bailors who want petro! lic?u-??s for business purposes will be sympathetically considered ■ by the Control Department In several Sheffield localities the output of coal is being seriously restricted by the absence of men down with influenza. In I man- mines a third of the men are ill.
| NOTES ON NEWS. tNGTESONNEWS.
| NOTES ON NEWS. t NGTES ON NEWS. A iI 0 The question as to what is to be done with the ex-Kaiser is still unsettled. It I, ALLIES I AND THE KAISER. I makes an attractive text for our writers and speakers, and will pro- bably continue to do so for some time to come. Meanwhile tho criminal in question is making himself as comfortable as he is able to do in Holland. More or less inspired j statements have appeared in the Press, to the effect that the Allies will call upon Holland to, hand him over, and many people expect that he will thereupon be brought -to trial.. Indeed, some news- papers have read that interpretation into Mr. Lloyd George's speech at Newcastle, to which they put up headlines such as "The Kaiser to be tried," "Tho Kaiser to be brought to trial," ajid so on. That being so, it will be a3 well to seo exactly what the Prime Minister did say. He said that the question of the responsibility for the invasion of Belgium alid the con- duct of the war had been referred to some cf the greatest jurists in the country. "They had investigated it, said the Pre- mier, "and have come finally to the con- clusion quite unanimously that in their judgment the Kaiser was guilty of an in- dictable offence for which he ought to be held responsible." "Ought to be held responsible, be it noted. Millions of people in this country "FETCH HIM OUT." and in others had already decided that question for themselves. and if the great jurists have got no further than that they have not made any very considerable progress. There docs not seem to be any justification in the .statement for the headline. But perhaps it is to be found in a mora definite state- ment by Mr. Lloyd George. He had been talking about the responsibility of "Some- body for the war that had taken the lives of millions of the best young men in Europe. He said that if no one was to be made responsible for that then there I was one law for poor, wretched criminals, and another for Kings and Emperors. Surely, he said, "the man who planned and plotted the war ought to be held re- sponsible. "A Voice called out "Fetch him out." And Mr. Lloyd George retorted "We will get him out.- So non- we shall see. But it is to be noted that. there is as yet no definite undertaking -that the ex- Kaiser shall be brought to trial by the Allies or his own pCQP10, or anybody else. Aether difficult question will be that of the indemnities to be exacted from Ger- SBALL GER- MANY PAY ? many. It is already de- cided that sho must pay for the damage done to the property of the Allied nations,by laiid, sea, ind air. That in it- Eelf represents a yasf amount of money, a sum which" to quote tho late President Kru ger, would have "staggered humanity" before the war had dulled humanity's capacity for being staggered. But beyond th^t, there is the matter of the war costs ()f the Allies, which will run into an in- credible number of thousands of millions. Whether we shall take measures to get f this amount of money out of Germany is the question." Most people are of opinion that to make Germany pay would be no more than simple justice; but there are divided views on the point as to whether she is able to do so. While some declare that she can pay and must pay to tho uttermost farthing, others contend that she cannot possibly do it, and that a large pro- po:uon of the sum we havo spent will h?vo to be written off as irrecoverablo. The Prime Minister's word on the subject is "that Germany must pay tho costs of the, war up to the limit of her capacity to do so." • It is probably too much to expect that the transition stage of our industries from FROM WAR TO PEACE. a war to a pence footing < should be passed With perfect smoothness, and without displacing for a time, at 'any rate, a considerable number of workers. But already the change has begun, and it will proceed with all possible speed. Plans should have long been ready, and so far as organisation is concerned [ nothing should be lacking. It is a hope- ful sign -that a number of factories aro already busily employed in ways of peace so soon after the cessation of hostilities. Some very interesting information on this, matter has been published!" What was a munition firm until a few weefc ago is now manufacturing locomotives. An aero- plane firm is turning out furniture; another is busy with electric fittings, while others are making the needles used in hosiery machines. Tho change from war to peace could not be better illustrated than by the statement that the machinery used in manufacturing aeroplanes is adapt- able- for toy-making. The war has at any rate given our factories such an equipment of' new and up-to-date machinery as they never had before, and we are producing many things, and are ready to produce many more, which before the war were largely or entirely German monopolies. It does not appear as yet that the end- ing of the wartlwllgh, by the way, it i3 COAT. AND THE RAILWAYS. not yet "oiffcially n ended — will make the household coal and light- ing position any easier. The Coal Controller ia still rging ?conomy, and the rations are still in force, and likely to remain so The pttbkc are I throughout the wintei;. ti? .ive l dvi-ing the also being advise not to travel during the holiday season, though some of the rail- way companies are hopeful of making such arrangements with regard to rolling stock that undue restrictions will not be neces- sary. But if the shortage of coal is still as serious at Christmas as it is at present, the additional rolling stock, it is to be feared, will not .roll. The transfer of miners from the Army to the mines, deter- mined upon as soon as the .armistice was signed. is proceeding very slowly,' and at the present rate it will take a long time to get 100,000 miners back into the pits. While the fighting was on, and every man was of importance in the firing line, people submitted willingly enough to inconveni- ences in the mattor of coal and light, but now that the fighting is over, surely the miners should be brought back with all possible speed. Harking back to Christ- mas, travelling, it is to be noted that noth- ing has yet been said Ts to when we may expect to see fares com ing down to the old level-if ever. Is this one of the war- time changes that are to be permanent?
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Two German prisoners who escaped from Ca&t.le Brcinwich Internment Chimp on Friday have been recaptured. Deptford Borough Council haa passed a resolution' demanding that steps should be taken to hand over tie Kaiser for trial.