OFFICIAL NEWS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2236, 24 August 1914, Page 6

OFFICIAL NEWS

GERMAN MINES IN'THE OPEN

I SEA ROUTES

■ AuV ADMIRALTY PROTEST. Tho following telegrams were received by tho Pnmo Minister from the High Commissioner during the week-end:^

-'London, Aug. 23, 1.20 a.m. "The steamer Maryland, hound for Copenhagen, struck a' mine on Friday, night, on the main trade route, thirty nifles from Jand. Her fate is unknown. Tho steamer Broberg, searching for the crew of the Maryland next, morning,' was mined and sunk, "but her crew were saved. . '.. • . • ■

"Referring to the last message the Admiralty , state that the Germans con-.

tinue to scatter mines indiscriminately /on ordinary trade routes, contrary to ' the .conditions of The. Hague Convention.- Within 24 hours two Danish ships (already reported) and two Dutch ships have been sunk in the Gulf.of Finland. The Admiralty have laid no mines, and are endeavouring to keep tho fade routes open for peaceful commerce, but reserve the right of retaliation against the new form of warfare." '•■'■'

;■' ' ):' (E«c. August 23.)'. "Official.—The Imperial Government ask the public to remember that the present alleged victories are only of comparatively, minor importance. No •achievement of either side deserves the 'name of victory. The prcsent.situatioh, iin a military.'.sense, is. satisfactory,. ■ "The _ French sank the Austrian battleship Zrinyi in tho Adriatic."

London, Aug. 21, 9.40 p.m. . "Official—Germany imposes war contribution of eight millions / upon Brussels" : '

> "Reliable—The French encountered the' Germans.on tho frontier near Basle and repulsed the enemy with 500 dead. ."Germanyjis effecting an important concentration movement in Belgium. After, 20."days' warfare the Germans have not "supceeded in carrying .operations into,sre"nch territory. ~ "Seryia claims to have burned five Austrian ships near Itara. Moldova. London, Aug. 22, 0.35 a:m. . - "Reliable:—-The Germans occupied Alqst-and-Wet tern, midway between Brussels and., Ghent. Their arrival at Ghent, is--.imminent. Crowds are proceeding to Ostend. ■ . ■ * "The Russians, have parsed the Prussian frontier, and occupied l Lyck, and are marching to Lottzen. Twenty army corps, led by the Grand Duke Nicholas, aro participating in tho invasion. : .."Austria .issues a levy'in mass, summoning lior last reserves, i "Women--and,children are leaving Tsing-Fu in anticipation of a bombardment on Sunday, failing' Germany's favourable reply.

; "The French, British, and Russian Ambassadors at Constantinople informed' the Porte that their countries do not. design any interference with the territorial integrity of Turkey.

"An' unconfirmed report states that British and. French warships .-acted in conjunction-with' tho Montenegro batteries at Mount Loween, and bombarded the fortifications of Cattaro. The,fall of the placo is .regarded as imminent."

The German navy appears to have confined itself to the heroic procedure of sending a few ships to scatter deadly mines indiscriminately over the' North Sea, then bolted back to their holes and stayed, there in the hope that, along with the innocent merchant snips of all nations which might go to the- bottom, womon children, and all, thoro might perhaps be-blown up a British troopship or two, and, with good, luck, a Dreadnought; Anglo-Saxons and the military caste in Germany will never he able to appreciato each other's point of view over a matter liko this. To the Germans it. appears merely the ordinary risk which a civilian must accept for. being allowed to live on the samo earth as the German General Staff. To tho Anglo-Saxon it appears that the clique which can hold such views has no place in the twentieth century.— Mornipg Herald..'-'- ~

THE GERMAN CROWN PRINCE IDOL OF THE NATION AN INTERESTING CHARACTER SKETCH Next to tho Kaiser himself, the most uncertain figure in Gorman politics, though ho lias nominally no ri"ht to interfere, is.his eldest son, who has Kone to the front as commander of the ■iirst Division of Guards, and was recently reported to havo been wounded. Uβ is the only man in Europe who dares to set; the Imperial will at defiance, though, as he has frequently found to his cost, even he cannot do so with impunity. . "Another Moltke."

The-real trouble with the Crown innce, as certain Paris dailies saw it, was his military genius. Emperor Wilham once predicted .that tho heir to his throne- would prove another Moltke He inherited a great measure of tlio rare capacity for command , -of his ancestor Frederick the Great. He was the soldier born. German;- to him was auove all else the. armed camp. This was the key to every sensation involvf,™ r , iNofc long ago, last year in tact, the Crown Prince wrote and published a book on "Germany. and War" which attracted widespread attention, furnishing , as it did, the keynote to the royal author's views on German destiny.

Our country is obliged more • than any other country," he Tk-roto, "to place all its confidence in its armaments. Set in the centre of Europe, it is badly protected by its geographic frontiers and is regarded by many nations without affection. .-, Upon the German Empire, therefore, is imposed more emphatically than upon any other pecple of the earth the sacred duty of waiqhing earnfully that its army and its navy be always prepared to meet any attack, from, the outside. It is only by reliance upon our brave sword that we. shall be able to maintain that place in the sunlight which we ought to occupy and which the world does not seem very willing to accord us." Again: "Anyone who has taken part, at a review, in a cavalry charge feels that there is- nothing in the world more beautiful, and" yet tho horseman under these.circumstances feels tliat there is Bomothing- lacking. Ho feels that he ought to have at the end of this wild charge an. enemy to contend with, and the struggle for which we are all being trained, the struggle for life. "How many times 'during such' a ehargo have I heard with' my ears the appeal of a, comrade galloping by my sidei'Doniierwetter! If only this time we were, doing something real.' You see there the .--pint xif tho .cavalryman". All those who are genuine true soldiers feel in their-hearts and.say the truth ■of the axiom, 'Duke est pro patria mori.'" . •■•...

It' is penerally known (writes Mr; Richard. Thirsk in the "Daily Mail") that the: relations between the heir-ap-parent and the Emperor are not always of the'most amicable character! His "banishment" to Dantzig is accepted as an evidence of this. They are too much alike in disposition and temperament to be- close friends. The same traits appear in both, with only this difference, ■ that the younger is physically energetic, whije the elder'is mentally active. The one complains of the irksoinenoss of being the son of a clever father] "tlio other, finding a too impulsive son a thorn in the flesh, is full of misgivings, and is doing his best to'put <an old head on young shoulders. .This" led.,to fric'tion arid filial disobedienco.

In spite of filial restrictions, or peihaps it is because of them, the Crown Prince has contrived to pack. away a ma'titude of activities into his 31 years.He has been "employed" in all the civil administrative offices; the army,' to which all Princes of the Eoyal Hons~e belong from their ninth'year; tho navy, and the aerial'fleet. For it- is his

father's express intention to instruct him in the business of government from the foundation. Being a man.with a will.of his oivn, and the courage to express his opinions, he has gone through all the thrills of popularity and the miseries of distrust. At one time he has'been the idol of. the nation; a few months later he has fallen foul of one class' after : another until ho lias. been almost friendless. . . . ; A Headstrong Prince.

His fortunes in this respect were at a low ebb at the time of his marriage. But the charm of the Crown Princess succeeded in winning all hearts,, and restoring her husband to popularity. There have been numerous ups and downs since theni A section of society turned against him after he was instrumental in bringing about the exposure of the Camarilla, .culminating in tho Court scandal, which led,to the downfall ,of princes and generals who'had until then enjoyed the Kaiser's confidence and friendship. > A distrust, of Socialism has alienated the sympathies of that party permanently. His.antiEhglish outburst in the Reichstag two years ago, his more recent bellicose writ-

ings, interpreted'as an insult to Franco, and'the present attack on his brother-in-law are accepted as so ; many proofs that he has thrown in! his lot with the Pan-German party. For this reason the more moderate section of public opinion is becoming somewhat afraid of him, and dreads the day he may become Kaiser. It must bo admitted that his association with the views of> the headstrong war party is no good augury for the continued peace of the world. ■ That, however, is futnro history. - As he, approaches years of discretion his views-are likely to undergo a chango similar to those of his father, and it is to bo hoped that much water will flow under the- Spree bridges before thi» Crown Prince- is called upon to preside in the castle on its bank. ■ ■ ,■'

A Fearless Sportsman. It is as a fearless sportsman that the Prince has won his most cherished laurels. He is suoh an all-round adept, such a keen enthusiast for all kinds of healthy outdoor exercise, that it might be easier to recount the sports in which he is not interested than those in which he excells. '

From this it may bo gathered that tho'Crown Prince does not take life too seriously as yet. That, he often says, will come soon enough./ Meantime ho is taking all the enjoyment lie can out of his irresponsible days. He has none of the austerity of his father, and is greeted wherever ho goes with that spirit of camaraderie which ho himself cultivates. Though he has not inherited very much enthusiasm for tho navy,he is tho most popular officer in ■ tho army, enjoying the reputation of being a good soidier. :

.A correspondent' who wrote recently to on Australian paper to ask whether this was was a "capitalists' war," was answered 'that no doubt there are a few people- who always talk in these catc'li phrases, and who are not likely to leave off doing so simply because it is obvious to anyone,' who uses his sense at all, that capitalists are tremendous losers by this war.. To talk of "a capitalists' war" at this juncture, it was added, is merely to utter sounds without meaning. "The capitalist has always feared this' particular war moro than anything else, in the world, except perhaps, Socialism. The first breach of it shut down the StockExchanges throughout the world, closed the banks in some foreign countries, scared business to a standstill. Scores of. capitalists have already b.eeii broken by the war, some have shot themselves; thousands will be broken before it is finished. If anything is , clear in• the world, it is that this war is the outcome of racial differences, which have nothing whatever to do with wealth or Üb.o absence, of it,'*