BRUSSELS SAVED BY RANSOM OF £8,000,000.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2244, 2 September 1914, Page 5

BRUSSELS SAVED BY RANSOM OF £8,000,000.

THREATENED WITH FATE OF LOUVAIN. FOUR BELGIAN MILLIONAIRES GUARANTEE HUGE SUM. (Bcc. SeptomDer2, 1.30 a.m.) . >_~_. London, September 1. The 'Express' l correspondent of The Hague says that four of the richest men in Belgium, M. Solway, the Alkali king, M. Lambert, tho representative of the Rothschilds in Belgium, M. Waroque, mine-owner, and Baron Bmpain, a railway magnate, have guaranteed Germvny the payment of £8,000,000; otherwise Brussels would have been treated as Louvain was. Big guns had already been mounted on the Place Du Congres in front of the Palace of Justice . jThe Palais de Justice was completed in. 1883 at a cost of £2,400,000. It is of grandiose proportions, and is one of the most notable buildings in Brussels. GERMAN DENIAL OF ATROCITIES. (Rec. September 1, 11.55 p.m.) Berlin, September 1. Count von Moltke, Chief of the German General Staff, denies that the German troops committed atrocities. Whore hard measures have been taken i they nave been'provoked by, tho participant!! in hostilities of tho civil popu« ilatujn, includ'uiji wom&n, ' ■- ''' -•" ' ; ' "--"

MORE GERMAN VANDALISM REPORTED. (Rec. September 2,1.5 a.m.) Ostend, September 1. Eye-witnesses state that the natives at Vise, in Belgium, east of the Mouse, who esoaped the shooting are now forced to build a road connecting •Viso with the German base at Aix-la-Ohapelle. The Germans are still burning whole streets in Liege on the slightest provocation. The Germans recently shot the terrified inhabitants of three burning streets, killing fifteen. In one case a boy of 6even was shot because he pointed a toy gun at tho German soldiers. Incidents' frequently arise of drunken Germans firing tlieir rifles, and accusing the inhabitants of shooting. Then the burning and murdering com-' nionce. UNDERGRADUATE'S STORY OF THE SACK OF LOUVAIN. (Rec. September 1, 7.45 p.m.) London, August 31, evening. 'An Oxford undergraduate who was present at tho''sack of Lou vain states tliat when he entered tho town on Friday morning the greater part of tho town was ablaze, houses were tumbling down in tho streets, and tho Germans were looting the ruins. The dead littered the streets. At that time the Hotel de Ville, one of the city's most famous buildings, was intact, the officers stating they intended to preserve it. ■ At Cortenburg he witnessed the systematic burning of houses in,revenge for the inhabitants firing on Uhlans. He saw five civilians shot while escaping from burning dwellings. ' JsORTHERN DISTRICTS CLEAR OF THE ENEMY, Antwerp, August 81. The entire region north of the Demor River, which flows through Hasselt, Diest, and Malines, is clear of Germans. Diest, the scene of tho recent battle, has also been evaonated. The Ghent district is clear of the enemy, and railway and telegraphic communication has been resumed. BELGIANS IN MALINES HIDING IN CELLARS. (Rec. September 1, 5.5 p.m.) London, August 31. The "Daily Chronicle's" Antwerp correspondent says a personal visit to Malines showed that the reports of the damage have been greatly exaggerated. Some thousands of windows have been sniasned, and seventy houses practically destroyed, but despite three days' bombardment this is the extent of the damage. He adds that the streets are deserted, and the remaining inhabitants are taking refuge in underground passages, which extend in all direotions. He found two hundred old men and women in a dark .wet passage, stretched and trembling on mattresses in a veritable frenzy of terror, believing that the Germans were coming to kill them. The German terrorist policy lias been . thoroughly successful. HOW THE LIEGE FORTS WERE TAKEN. Rotterdam, August 81. ' A German officer states that a bomb dropped by a Zeppelin destroyed the cupola of one fort at Liege. General Leiman, tho Belgian Commander at Liege, inspected the forts daily, until falling masonry crushed both his legs. Undaunted he visited the forts in an automobile. A shell dropping in tho magazine destroyed the. Chaudfontaino Fort. General Leiman decided to hold the strong fori of Loncin to the death. The gunners were steadily shot down, and when only a handful remained General Leiman ordered,the gunners to disable tho last three guns, explode the remaining shells, destroy tho food and tho plans, maps, and documenta relating to defence. He attempted -with a hundred men to proceed to another fort, but his retreat was finally cut off by a well-placed shot, which exploded tho Loncin magazine. Tho Germans stormed across the ruins. All within the fort were wounded, and many were unconscious. A corporal with bis arm shattered valiantly tried to reply to the Germans by firing a rifle. Pinned beneath a massive beam lay General Leiman. Recovering consciousness he asked a German officer to insert in his report that he was unconscious. The Germans brought him to General von Emmich, who commanded the German forces. Goneral Leiman offered his sword to General von Emmich, who declined it, and said: "Keep it. To have crossed swords with you is an honour."