PROGRESS OP THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2770, 13 May 1916, Page 6

PROGRESS OP THE WAR

The prominence given in recant cable news to the "Anzacs" and their doings in France and in London would seem almost sufficient to turn the heads of any but the most phlegmatic. It is of course very gratifying to npte the Kindly, not to say flattering interest displayed in our men by the London Press and others, and it is perhaps natural that much should be made of them, on their first appearance '' on the . Western front. will be most apprcci-

a tec! however, is the practical concern shown for their welfare while on leave' in .England. It may be assumed that Irom time to time leave will be given to our men at the front to spend a lew days in England, just as is done with the English troops, and it will mean a great deal to our men, unfamiliar as most of • them must be with London and tjie other great cities, to be able to make use of the information bureaux established for their benefit. Cheap and at the same time, satisfactory lodgings arc - always a difficult thing to discover in a strange city, and our men on leave will no doubt benefit materially by the arrangements made to safeguard their interests in this respect. _ All the news points to the men being • in excellent spirits and well pleased with their transfer to Franco. After the terrible conditions at Gallipoli, and the inconveniences and discomforts of desert life in, Egypt, the "Anzacs" would naturally appreciate a change to something, approaching what they arc pleased :to term Home life. Of course, their spoils in the trenches are bad enough at times, 'but they arc given regular and frequent rehefs from the front line positions and between whiles are comfortably placed in billets well to the rear V'lioro . they, have a, ■ comparatively easy. time.

It will uo noted that the equipment of , our ,men .is being changed slightly-to meet the needs of conditions on the Western front. They now wear steel helmets to protect them from shrapnel fire and the stray bullets of snipers; thigh boots protect them from the worst discomforts of the swampy -ground.---; Incidentally, this latter change'supports the view that our men arc' stationed somewhere along tho low-lying country to tho south of Ypres. There is also mention of a change in tho style of tunic. These alterations in no way rcflect on our Defence Department's ghqice of an-outfit. It is merely that experience Has - shown' that on. tho Western front, and under the conditions in which our men are operating there, tho changes stated aro desirable. It may be also that so far as the tunics are concerned, the change is being made to suit the convcnicnce .of the-.Supplics: Department, and to secure a. uniformity which is desirable for other reasons as well.

* i * '.'. Foe what i.t is iv.br.th the story from Berne relating the alleged substance of the German Chancellor's sp.ecci» at a secret session of the Reichstaf; held in connection with the questior of submarine policy might pass as being corre.ct enough.. It is at, least a reasbnable supposition that it. fair--Ijr represents the German official view of the p'olicy to be ' adopted towards America, The Chancellor naturally would like to be in a position to tell America to; goi about itsbusiness but, ..unhappily, he has to coiifcss, it' would' not pay,.' A complete'breach' with the United States might have very 'nasty' consequences, which would far'outweigh tile. advantages .which might -be derived from a policy of unrestricted submarine piracy. This is easy t-o understand.' It is not the morality of the-'issue that 'counts; not the in humanity of'-the'wholenoL „,„vder of nori-belligerents;• nothing' of that nature.is worth consideration. -It is merely fear of the-consequences that governs German policy in the matter—it would not pay.

( But there is more than this in tho .German. .Chancellor; s, reported "secrfc't. .utterance..' Ther6'is aft - adniission of failure. The naval experts now admit that tho attempt to-starve England by means of submarine and murder is an impossibility. The .value of the submarine, -.the .Chancellor is said to have .slated, ' had been overestimated (presumably by the Chancellor's political antagonist, the, discredited Geand-Adjiieal von :Tirpitz)V and - the Fatherland had been misled. So it is that Germany decided to. jncet the demands of President' Wilson; But how very German is tho concluding portion of thci Chancellor's apo'lop to ; the Reichstag ifor-'a- discontinuance-'of the submarine murder, campaign. How delightfully cynicaUs his gentle reminder that. ; if-.at -any time they find they are in a position to make unrestricted murder and piracy on the high seas pay, then they can cancel the agreement thej have made with America: It is but another scrap of paper. . ..

_ The.outbreak of feeling respecting 'tie treatment of the rebel leaders in Ireland will occasion no surprise-. There are 41.wa.ys people prone toforget.the. crime and the victims, and eager to_ extend their sympathy to the criminal facing the just punishment of his misdeeds. Particularly might this be expected under the circumstance's and' conditions which exist in Ireland. No one, we should imagine, would desire to see the rank and file of .the unhappy people who were ; led to take up arms punished with any great severity; but the leaders of these men who have been responsible for the loss of: hundreds of lives and who have spread ruin and desolation through Dublin—what claim havo'they to these appeals for mercy; -these' wild and ' unbalanced outbursts of passionate protest? Mb. Asquitii's explanation of the policy pursued in the punishment of the rebels is surely one to satisfy reasonably. men. The Government lias to consider its duty to the country; the misplaced leniency -might easjly lead to a recrudescence of this ghastly business. Stern justice must be done if the law is to be upheld and the lives and property of law-abiding citizcns protected. At the same time no one would wish to see the punishment of the rebels pursued in-a vindictive spirit or with undue harshness and the fact that Mr. Asquitii has decided to make a personal visit to Ireland to confer with the civil authorities there will do much to reassure those who might fear the extremity to which the prosecutions might be carried.

Of actual fighting there is little to record at time of writing. . General B.aig records the failure of the German attack at Ovvillers to the north of Albert and a mutual artillery bombardment at the Hohenzollern redoubt. The French have hud a small success near Talutre, in tha Champagne district, and ■have repulsed another German attack near Vaux. The bombing by French aeroplanes of the railway stations at Damyillers at Etain suggests that tluy'e were signs of undue enemy activity at the points mentioned; possibly indicating another attempt against some of the northern Verdun positions. Both the ' towns named have become in the hands of the enemy railway centres of some importance. Damvillers to the north and Etain to the east of Verdun arc both connected up with, lines of railway "designed to facilitate the passage of German troops to points along the Verdun front. • ....Etain is situated afc a point where-several im-

portanfc roads running east and west and north and south meet. The damage done by the bombers is not stated but these excursions usually hamper the. enemy's transport arrangements more or less.