GENERAL WAR NEWS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1761, 6 December 1917, Page 4

GENERAL WAR NEWS.

WHEN AUSTRIA GAVE IN

On June 10th, 1800, the Austrian Emperor had lo send out a manifesto announcing that Prussia was the victor in (he six weeks’ war, and that Napoleon 111. bad .offered to mediate. Bismarck, in a secret despatch to tiie Prussian Ambassador in Paris said:—“The King has only agreed to an armistice with groat reluctance and out of regard for the Emperor Napoleon, and bis consent was made conditional on bis being secured a considerable acquisition of territory in Northern Germany in the event of peace be-

ing concluded. . . . He values above all, annexation of territory

. . . , I send you confidentially, for your personal information and guidance, the following words of His Majesty: ‘I would rather resign than withdraw without acquiring a considerable amount of territory for Prussia.’ ” The Prussian was ever the same. Material gain in the form of money and land made war worth while.

SOLDIERS AND CIGARETTES

The results of an inquiry into the relationship between cigarette smoking and the “soldier’s heart” are given in the Lancet. The immediate effect of cigarette smoking upon the circulatory .system and upon the breathlessness of exertion was observed in 30 smokers, of whom 20 were cases of “soldier’s heart” and 10 were healthy, soldiers. Each subject smoked either four oxfive cigarettes during a period of 40 minutes. A demonstrable effect was recorded in 17 of the 20 patients, but it is interesting to note that the three unaffected were non-inhalers. Nine of the ten controls, all inhalers, were influenced in the same fashion, though not to the same degree. Generally the observations show that in health the smoking of a single cigarette by an habitual smoker usually raises the pulser rate and blood pressure perceptibly; and these effects arc a little more pronounced in cases of “soldier’s heart.” Moreover, the smoking of a few cigarettes can render healthy men more breathless on exertion, as was shown by the ease in a large proportion of the patients under examination. The results show clearly that the soldier should be warned against inhaling, and, of course, he should avoid excess.