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Although Lieutenant Rene Fonck, the French "ace of aces," has announced his intention of attempting the trans-Atlantic flight, in a big British machine, in March or April, he may not bo the first to fly from Britain to America, or vice versa. It has for years been the great ambition of MajorGeneral Sykes, one of tho creators of the British Air Force, to drive the first aerial express across the Atlantic, and thero are doubtless numerous others, among the almost unknown British heroes of the air, who would take on the adventuro with the greatest willingness. The credit of the feat should, by all rights, belong to a British or American airman.

But if a Frenchman is to be the first to essay it, and succeed, then there is no one better entitled to the distinction than Fonck, whose record during the war was an extremely brilliant and very fortunate, one. The t®tal number ' of enemy aeroplanes that he accounted for has not been stated, but as far back as last May, when he had been in the "chasing division" only twelve months, he had destroyed at least .60, though officially credited with only 42, as the destruction of the othors took place so far back over the enemy lines that it could not be confirmed, as the system of the French air service requires for registration purposes, by French observers. It was he who on one day in May brought down six enemy machines, throe in the morning patrol, and three in the afternoon, the total fightingtime being 90 minutes. It was also Fonck who met and killed \Vissemanri, a few days after the latter had published a boastful letter in the German papers claiming to be invulnerable, as he had killed France's best pilot, Guynemer. Fonck, who is an Alsatian by birth, and in his 24th year, was never wounded in all his fighting, and his machine was never injured by enemy fire, though he was once brought down by French, gunners, who mistook his machine for a German's. On his breast he bears a row of decorations, including the Cross with eighteen or twenty palms, one for each time on which he has been mentioned in despatches.

It was stated in Saturday's cables tliat Marshal Foch when he met the German plenipotentiaries - regarding the extension of the armistice, intended to demand that those responsible for the murder and mutilation of war-prisoners at a camp in Prussia should bo shot. •If the demand was incorporated in the new conditions of the armistice, the acceptance of those conditions by the Germans, as notified to-day, places some of the most inhuman brutos on earth in jeopardy of their lives. In the debate on the treatment of British prisoners in Germany which took place in tho House of Lords in October, Lord Newton, who was in charge of the Prisoners of War Department, said that tho British Government had compiled a list of tho names of many commandants of German prison camps who had been guilty of cruelty to prisoners, and they would be held' personally responsible for their crimes. Sir G. Cave, tho Home Secretary, dealing with the same subject in the House of Commons, spoke to the same effect. "We mean to get hold of them," ho said emphatically, and he refused to make the names public, lest the officers concerned might make off into noutral countries out of reach of Britain's avenging arm. Marshal Fooh has apparently been able to make sure of the punishment, of a few of the worst of these ruffians.

The revolt of 20,000 Montenegrin soldiers against the Serbian troops occupying towns in Montenegro, indicates that, as we suggested some little time ago, any attempt to drag Montenegro into the Jugo-Slav State against her will, or the will of a part of the population, was likely to cause trouble. It has been clear for 6 ome time that there are two parties in the little kingdom, violently opposed to one another, one favouring its inclusion in Jugoslavia, and the other supporting King Nicholas in his defence of its independence. An unnamed correspondent was reported

last week as stating that the Montenegrins had never forgiven thoir old King for his capitulation to Austria at the end of 1915, but that certainly applies only to part of the nation, though possibly to the majority. Precisely what occurred when Nicholas left Montenegro and took refuge in France is still somewhat of a mystery, but the story that he had capitulated to the has been vehemently denied by his party and by Baron Sonnino, the Italian statesman. Efforts were made by the Montenegrin Premier to induce the King to abdicate in 1916, but without success, and he had eventually to be deposed by the party in power. Evidently the Royalists :n Montenegro do not intend to accept as final that act, and the inclusion of the country in the new Southern Slav State.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19190120.2.16

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16425, 20 January 1919, Page 6

Word count
Tapeke kupu
825

Untitled Press, Volume LV, Issue 16425, 20 January 1919, Page 6

Untitled Press, Volume LV, Issue 16425, 20 January 1919, Page 6

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