THE PATRIOTIC FUNDS.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2301, 7 November 1914, Page 8

THE PATRIOTIC FUNDS.

DISTRESS RELIEF FUND FOR THE POOR OF. GREAT BR.II TAIN, IRELAND, & BELGIUM. The Wellington' Committee of the 1 oor of Great Britain and Ireland and Belgium Relief Fund acknowledges receipt of the following donations to the Fund:— Already acknowledged 5515 16 11 Per Mrs. J.P.Luke (Mayoress)— P. and T. Department "2 16 "a Sympathiser" 0 10 0 new Zealand Consolidated Dental Co.. Ltd 5 0 0 "E.J.," Petone 0 5 0 Campbell and Burke 50 0 0 ".'■; '-•..' £5573 13 5 SCHOOL CHILDREN'S CONTRIBUTION. • , The Mayor of Petone has received the following contributions towards the Belgian Relief Fund collected by the school children'of Petone:— Petone Main School „. 27 5 0 Petone West School 20 2 11 "A Little Girl" 0 3 7 V Total '. 47 a 6 MAYOR'S WAR DISTRESS FUND. ' £ s. d. Amount previously acknowledged '.:..' 2384 12 2 Newtown Lawn Tennis Club 8 2 9 £2392 14 11 "THE DOMINION" LISTS. The following are the donations to' The Dominion's War Fund lists to date:— BELCIAN RELIEF FUND. ' Contributions to the fund for the relief of the Belgians in. distress will subsequently be forwarded to the authorities in Belgium for, distribution. ■•.."■" ■ & a. d. Amount previously acknowledged ..'. ....V.......:.. 3705 10 10 Collection from Karori residents . by Mesdames F. v Barclay, M'Lennan, R. Waters, and Miss Davies (second instalment) .'. 14 13 6 "Nydia Bay" 5 10 0 "G.W."'....... 5 0 0 '•R" • ,3 2 6 Johnsonvillo- School' Guy Fawkes Day collection ... 18 6 "E.N," 10 0 J Joyce Aldoue ' 0 15 7 ; "J.F." 0 5 0 "A.M.G."- :...'. 0 5.0 Total 3797 10 11 BLANKET FUND. Contributions to the Blanket Fund in aid of the distressed '.-.in England, France, and Belgium, are:— £ s. d. Amount previously acknowledged , 132 2 0 "Anonymous" 0 10 0 Total ,:.,...... 132 12 0 GERMAN AVOWAL OF ATROCITIES

BOASTINGS .OF SOLDIERS. . The following communication was issued by the Press Bureau in September :— . -. '■■...' Among the not infrequent German pamphlets seized by the Customs Houeo authorities fi\ 3 aliens at ports of landing, some are printed in English (or what is exiiected to pass for English), others are in the original tongue. Among the'latter is .a little volume called "Grieg-s-Clironik," consisting partly of q highly untrustworthy chronicle of the war, partly of soldiers' letters from the. front. As showing the methods of thought of the enemy these last have considerable value. It is npt the truth or falsehood of the tales in them that matters, but the ■ applause and self-congratula-tion of the writers on deeds of gross treachery and cruelty claimed to liave been done by the writers themselves or their comrades. .-

The- following may serve as examples: (1) '"Bold exploit of two dragoons from Duisburg" (page 27). A patrol of German dragoons, entering a village incautiously, were euiprised to find it occupied by the French. The majority escaped, but the two leading men were ■• surrounded by eight French infantry soldiers. They pretended, to surrender • (Sie ergeben sich anscheinend), but, when a French sergeant came forward to receive their carbines,. one of the dragoons, purporting to hand over his weapon, shot the man through the head and then galloped off with, his comrade. The other seven Frenchmen, who had grounded their rifles'and were quite off their guard, failed to hit them as they rode off. ":

This is called Ein kuhnes Reiterstuckcheil (a. dashing cavalry exploit), and spoken of as_ "a gallant strageni." (2) Extermination of a Belgian village. Narrative of an artillery officer (page 26). The <xmntryside was full of our troop 6 nevertheless the stupid peasants must needs shoot at our men as they marched by, from lurking places. The day before yesterday morning Prussian troops surrounded the village at 4 a.m., put women, children, and old people aside, and shot all the men; the village was then burnt to the ground. (3) Guerilla war in the Vosge's.' A traitor has just been shot, a little .French lad (Ein Franzosling) belonging to one ' of. those, gymnaetic societies which wear tricolour ribbons (i.e., the Eolaireurs or Boy Scouts), a poor young fellow who, Jit his infatuation, wanted to be a. hero. The German column was passing along a wooded defile and he was caught and asked whether the Ijrench were about. ' He refused to give information. Fifty yards further on there was fire from the cover of a wood. Ihe prisoner wits asked in French if ho had known that the enemy was in the wrest, and did not deny it. He went with firm step to a telegraph post and stood up against it, with the green vineyard at his back, and received the volley of the firing party with a proud smile on his face. Infatuated wretch I It was a pity to see such wasted courage. This is the sort of material on which Germany is at present" beinj: fed.