THE WAR

Horowhenua Chronicle, 19 October 1916, Page 3

THE WAR

[ELECTRIC TELBGItAI'H - COPYRIGHT.] (Au»tralia-Ne\v Zealand Cable Service.) THE WEST FRONT. London October 18. Sir Douglas Haig reports We bombarded; tlio enemy in the •neighbourhood of Nouville St. Vaast and Wytschaete and north-eastward of Ypres. Our aeroplanes bombed the enemy's railway lines, stations, billets, factories and depots. Three enemy machines were destroyed and another was driven down. Anti-aircraft guns brought down a British aeroplane. Sis aeroplanes have not returned. Paris October 18. A communique states :— Two fresh attacks eastward of Bclloy wero completely repulsed with heavy enemy Isres. Aeroplanes bombed Amiens without doing military damage. | BRITAIN'S FOOD SUPPLY. London, Oct. 17. In the House of Commons the Rt. Hon. W. Runeiman said that the Gtverment was prepared to take any steps to prevent the exploitation of food. He pointed out that raised prices were due to munition and other well-paid workers demanding the best tens of meat and the best of other loodi. The consuming capacity of the people l had been largely increased. Trawlers wero trawling for mines instead of fish, and oggs, which wore formerly imparted from Russia, had by the cutting off of supplies increased in prieo. He was .making arrangements with the War Office to provide the farmers with sufficient milkers. He would take steps to make dt a criminal offence to wilfully destroy milk. The Government had taken steps to keep down the price of meat and had made arrangements for the retail trade better than before. The Government purchases already amounted to £16,000,000. AVe were supplying the Italian nnd French armies in addition to the British. We had eliminated the middleman's profit and 1 had strictly limited the mer-

chants' profit. We had: taken steps to keep the necessary margin of wheat.

Continuing, Mr Runciman said thai the beet way to ensure the quickest despatch was to pay for wheat carriage on the basis of voyage, the charter giving an incentive to all concerned to run vessels quickly. Out of the total freight bf 10,000 vessels only 1100 oefan-goers were free to conduct their own operations. The Admiralty had agreed that many direct oris should utilize fewer vessels. The great bulk of the mercantile marine was under control. Only a

small fraction of the mercantile marine was running on free rates and only sixty thereof were bringing foodstuff* These facts ought to be known in view of the hubbub outside. Freights liadi Tory little to do with the increased cost of food. As an example /Canadian cheese was fou.rpence to Jivepence higher, and freights were only halfpenny higher. The. real cause was the shortage of shipping. The Government was doing its best «o assist in the construction of new vessels will all 1 possible rapidity. We had lost in the war period as a result of enemy action' and ordinary marine risks, ships of two million gross tonnage, more than the mercantile marine of France, Spain or Italy, in prewar times. Our Allies' losses had also been heavy. He believed that tlie .Government had dealt with these problems on right lines, but we must avoid putting ourselves in tlie position of a blockaded* people. Bread tickets and ment cards were, all artificial amm foments and harmful to those the least able to boar them.