Shocking Stories.

Hokitika Guardian, 26 March 1917, Page 1

Shocking Stories.

(Australia & N.Z. Cable Association.) LONDON, March 23. Paris newspapers relate heartrending storioa of famished children found wandering in the ghostlike ruins of tlicir homes. The soldiers supplied the inhabitants in some districts at first with food for some days, but they had no meat since September, and no milk for a year, and they never received a quarter of the rations supplied by the American Relief fund. There is appalling devastation everywhere in the line of the German retreat. At Chaunv eighteen hundred out of 2500 houses,were destroyed, including churches and public buildings. All males between 14 and 00 >"■>» carried off, and the enemy herded the. women and children and the feeblest of the inhabitants into thirteen surrounding communes in a certain quarter of the town, and then trained guns on this quarter, killing and wounding many. It is officially confirmed that the Germans are poisoning wells with arsenic.

Haig’3 Report. LONDON, March 23. Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig re-ports':-—Our patrol encounters in strength at a number of points between Etriefreirs. Beaumetzle, Cambrai and •Beaurains wore successful. There was raiding eastward of Arras and bombardmet of enemy trenches south-east of Loos and east of A erjn files.