THE RAID ON EAST COAST TOWNS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2337, 19 December 1914, Page 5

THE RAID ON EAST COAST TOWNS

WORTH TWO NEW ARMY CORPS GERMANS RAPIDLY BECOMING DESPERATE London, December 17. The Right Hon. T. P. Macnamara, Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty, addressing a meeting of engineers at Cathcart, said that the Germans were rapidly becoming desperate, and were lannohing venom and hatred at Great Britain. He did not know what military purpose the bombardment hoped to servo, but it was worth two new army corps. BERLIN NEWSPAPERS ENTHUSIASTIC. London, December 17. The "Berliner Tageblatt" says:—-"Once mors our ships have braved the scattered mines and shelled English fortified places." Other German newspapers are enthusiastic over the performance.. HEAVY CASUALTIES AT HARTLEPOOL. London, December 17. Several shells fired' at Hartlepool did not explode. •It is officially stated that fifty-two were killed and 115 wounded at Haitlepool. STUCK TO HIS POST THROUGH A RAIN OF SHELLS, London, December 17. As the result of the raid by German oruisers on the east coast, the casualties were 81 killed and 231 wounded. A shell killed fifteen schoolboys at Hartlepool, A coastguardsman at Scarborough stuck to his post through a rain of shells until his signals reached tbe authorities. The station was blown to atoms after he quitted. . THE OPINIONS OF AN AMERICAN ADMIRAL. Washington, December 17. Admiral Fiske, giving evidence before the Naval Investigating Committee, said that an adequate number of submarines along the English coast' could have prevented the German raid. Germany evidently thought that there would be a string of the British Navy along the English coast in order to prevent raids, and then it could endeavour to destroy the vessels in detail.' If the Gferman cruisers were speedy and kept moving, however, the submarines would be hardly likely to effect much. BRITAIN'S LAND DEFENCES ADEQUATE, (Reo. December 18, .5.45 p.m.) ' London, December 17. "The Times" military correspondent derides the German raid on the coast towns,'which meiely exhibits their wild state of temper on account of their many disappointments. Our unbeaten and greatly superior fleet, backed by 1,300,000 troops, leave no cause for anxiety. Our land defences are adequate. ' "The Times" naval correspondent says the distance from Heligoland to Hartlepool is three hundred miles, and rather less from Borkum. . Vessels doing twenty knots could cover the distance in fifteen hours. It is quite dark now at five o'clock in the afternoon, and if the warships left at tliis hour they would ibe off our coast at eight'o'clock nest morning. We cannot have a superior force at any and every place the enemy selects for a hasty raid, for our eastern coastline is sis hundredmiles lone;, and the Fleet has other duties to perform—"Times" and Sydney "Sun" Services. MANY; CLAIMS AGAINST .UNDERWRITERS. (Reo. December 18, 6.45 p.m.) ...... .. t • London, December 17. The underwriters who acoepted large amounts of insurance on the east coast against bombardment have received many claims..—"Times" and Sydney' "Sun" Services. GERMANS WILL NEVER LAND ON BRITISH SOIL', (Rec. December 18, 8.45 p.m.) Rome, December 18. The newspaper "Messagero" says aviators of the Allies merely flew over Freiburg to bomb military buildings, but the German bombardment of British towns was intended to destroy everything and kill unarmed citizens, proving the hatred that is burning in the hearts of the German people and the Kaiser against the English. Similar action may be repeated, but' the Germans will never land on British soil. > SCATHING COMMENT BY: ITALIAN PAPERS. . (Rec. December 18, D.40 p.m.) Romß, December 18. The newspapers severely consure the bombardment of open towns "not situated in the region of war operations." They quote this latter phrase, it being in the offioial German communication of December 10, in which they protested against bombing the Zeppelin station at Freiburg and Breisgane, in Alsace-Lorraine by French aviators. .COWARDLYi AND MURDEROUS MALICE. i . (Reo. December 18, 9.40 p.m.)' London, December 18. The "Daily Telegraph's" New York correspondent says that a Wall Street journal describes the bombardment of undefended plaoes as an act of cowardly and murderous malice, and will do Germany more harm than good. One of the prevalent views in Amerioa is that confusion is apparently dominating the German military staff, and has'extended to the High Sea Fleet, whose enforced inactivity must have been very galling. • ■ THE NAVAL ENGAGEMENT OFF. HARTLEPOOL; (Reo. December 18,10.5 p.m.)' London, December 18. Ten were killed and eleven wounded during the naval engagement off Hartlepool. AN ORDER TO EAST COAST PATROLS, { (Rec. December 18, 10.5 p.m.)' London,' DecemEer 18. Patrols on the east oost are ordered to shoot prisoners signalling in any manner or exhibiting any. lights visible at sea* ' ' ' A' PLEA OF JUSTIFICATION! BY; GERMAN 'ATTACHE, (Reo. December 18, 10.65 p.m.)' _ New York, December 18. Captain von Papen, the Gsrman attache, has issued a statement that the attacks on the English coast had not infringed The Hague Convention, as Article 1 only prohibits attacks on unfortified or. undefended places,. The English towns were fortified or defended, henoo the attaoks. j_..— DROPPED MINES TO PREVENT PURSUIT, (Rec. December 18, 10.55 p.m.)' . London, December 18,_ The "Morning Post" saya six German vessels were engaged in the raid* It is not known whether the fire of the shore batteries had any effect. The "Daily Express"- says the Germans dropped mines to prevent pursuit* ,THE BRITISH COAST DEFENCE SYSTEM, (Rec. December 19, 0.35 a.m.) London, December 18. The "Times" naval correspondent says that owing to the weather conditions and the distance from which the fired it was difficult to ascertain the number of vessels engaged, but it is likely that five were specially ohosen of heavy armament and great speed, probably the Von derTann, Moltke, Seydlitz, Blucher, and Boon. Our coast defence system is based on the principle that only ports containing resources of national importance ought to be fortified, but other places, such as those unlawfully bombarded, should be protected by their unfortified condition. THEORIES OF HOW THE GERMANS OPERATED '.CASUALTY; LIST SHOWS 515 KILLED AND WOUNDED;' (Rec. December 19, 1.25 a.m.) London, December 18. The Hull trawler Cassandra, which was thirty miles off Scarborough after the bombardments, saw a German Dreadnought and seven other warships rapidly approaching, steaming past Southsea and firing shells which hissed overhead. The British squadron was ten miles to tho rear, and followed, firing for half an hour, hut gradually relinquished tho chase. Correspondents on tho East Coast suggest that the Germans followed British trawlers, knowing they would be in a safe position and bo able to reach England without much danger from minefields, I'lm UHal Mia Kuat Beujjf, bliqii-B 11(1 killed and ■ Ififi.jwuwdoi, tfpludiftg. BartloftQoh S3 Chilians, adljeailors.