NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16151, 4 March 1918, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

THE DEFENCE OF VENICE. Although the Au-tro-German drivo at Venice failed, in face of the heroic defence of the Italian army on the Piave, the enemy are exacting a lamentable revenge on the beautiful city. r J he only consolation is that if they been ablo to get through to it by land and water as well as in the air, the damage they would have done would have been much greater. The defence of Venice itself was most ingenious, and was calculated to defy the worst thrust that could have been made against it. Tho methods employed to defend the "Queen of tho Seas" in November and December last wore truly described as unique oven in this war 'of novelties. Nature had placed a barrier in the path of the invader apparently more insurmountable even than the mountains which ho has fought his way across, and those natural obstacles were fortilied as probably no other place in Europe. "Human ingenuity has outdone itself," wrote one correspondent, "to provide floating fortroises anned with huge guns which, camouflaged and concealed cunningly from spying can slip froni point to point, never ottering a mark for the invaders, and yet always able to bombard the enemy as ho attempts nightly to build pontoon bridges across tho River Piave. '•Skilled engineers have ferreted out every bit of solid mainland in tho vast swampy area north of Venice where batteries, large and small, accord ng to the distance from the Austrian lines, liave been established. They never relax their vigilance in watching for the enemy. They have cut away ihe dikes that formerly controlled the water to irrigate the fertile Italian plains, creating a vast bke. The inundation has made a thousand peasants homeless, but it presents an almost insurmountable barrier to the Austrian artillery y from its scores of vantage points, and frustrates every attempt of the Austrians to steal across unnoticed. Finally, in addition to the foremost infantry lines in tho inundated sei-tion bier and little batteries are scattered everywhere, and floating monitors constantly arc ou patrol. The enemy has thus been prevented from bringing his big guns up to a position from whence he might bombard Venice." WHERE ATTILA'S HUNS FOUGHT. Tho inundations converted the whole system of the Venetian lagoons into ail inland sea. dotted with marshy islands and isolated from the Adriatic Gulf by minefields at all the entrances. F fteen centuries ago. as Mr Henry Wood has pointed out, Attila and his Huns reached exactly tho same spot between the Piave and the Sile Rivers that the modern Iluns reached a month, or two ago. "Fifteen hundred years ago the original inhabitants of this section fled from the mainland and on tho gulfs and Bats of the lagoons founded the island polonies which eventually became Venice. Over the same intervening canals, marshes, lagoons, and lakes by ivhich Attila and his Huns were checkBd, the Italian forces to-day are checking the modern-day Hun.?."' THE TREASURES OF VENICE. Up to a few weeks ago Venice had been bombarded 29 times, and 400 bombs had fallen on it. As at that time comparatively few buildings had been destroyed, much of tho great damage that has been done to ihe city, as described in to-day's cables, must have been the result of quite recent attacks. Fortunately many of the priceless prb treasures of Venice have been removed, or else so protected as to incur little danger from aeroplane bombings. The work of removing the principal treasures from the city ,and tho immediate neighbourhood was started, it is said, as far back as April, 1915, but was interrupted a fortnight later through hostile pressure being brought to bear upon the Government l>y local corporations red political magnates. Amon» the first things taken away were the famous bronze horses over the facade of St. Mark's Basilica and the Tintoretto paintings in the school of San Itocco; also a Titian from Treviso, a Cima from Conegliano, and a Giorgione from Pastelfranco. The bronze horses and probably the paintings mentioned were removed to Rome. St. Mark's itself, as well as the Ducal Palace, and other famous buildings, were covered by huge scaffoldings encfosing tier upon tire of sandbags and mattresses stuffed with seaweed, and they must bo l'aii'ly safe from injury. IN THE VENETIAN PLAIN. ■Unfortunately as it happened all attention was at first concentrated on tho treasures of Venice, and no steps were takan to save from theft or robbery those of the villages of the Alpine valleys and the plain, of Venetia until, the great Austrian attack of tho summer of 1916. Then the- Italian Supreme Command so facilitated the task sf packing and transport that after Lwo months' incessant labour the bulk af the public treasures from the museums, libraries, churches, and squares of tho towns and villages in the Alpine valleys of Valtellina, Val:amonica. and those above Verona, is also from the Friuli province right lown to the Tagliamento river and Pordonene. had been borne away to safety beyond the Apennines. Nearlv all the Government 'art experts of Northern Italy lent _ willing lands in this colossal undertaking, and jut for the obstinate obstructive campaigns of local bumbledom the elcarmce would have been completed. Still, t is believed that such treasure as Las unhappily fallen into the enemy's dutches was mostly derived from tho mmerous private or semi-private colections, or else was lost because, notwithstanding the rigorous Italian iaw or tho protection of national art, no :eal official inventory was ever made. During tho memorable retreat from :he Isonzo 42 truck loads of treasure vpre got away safely to the west side )f the Piave by dint of feverish toil vept up all day and all night through;ut a week. The fate of the'Udinc :rcasurcs which fell into the invaders' lands, was due to the opposition of he Town Council. A most regrettable Joss was that of :he precious collection of illuminated nanuscripts, historical parr minia- : tires. and codices preserved in i] e ibrary of Count Manin's family palace lenr Campoformido. As showing the difference between :he Italian methods and those of "he •nemv, it is mentioned that the Italians, during their long occupation of jorizia, Monfalcone, and Aquileia, and ither Austrian towns, finished cataoguing the archives and museums, rhev carefully stored away underground in about a thousand packing- i :ases the manuscripts, precious gems rlass. vases, potteries, and "terra Sottas, to avert destruction from bomjardment, and they allowed nothing vhatever to be pillaged from the war sons."