General

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVII, Issue 32, 8 June 1915, Page 6

General

. ; ' ,7- I *■ a t 1 1 ag ?; ; ; ■ • ■ SYDNEY AND EMDEN. ?■>: ' - . n - , ,-i VON MULLER AT MALTA., ■ 'A ■ v 'V ■■ *’ « ■ , ■■.. . Mr Hiiumaun, a . through passenger, for Melbourne by the R.M.S. Egypt, had the very interesting experience of being a fellmy; prisoner with Com- . mander von Muller and the officers and -crew of the German cruiser Emden, ■,Mis- Baumann, through some paper bungling,. was, taken off the Moldavia at Malta, and interned in the German detention camp there. When he took up his quarters at the barracks, he found that lie had a fellow prisoners, ’ von Muller, Prince Franz Joseph (the Kaiser’s nephew), and- other officers, as well as members of the; crew of- tire raiding cruiser, which fell; a victim to the straight shooting of the Sydney. Mr Haunt aim has a lasting admiration for the' commander of the' enemy ship. Several months, of intimate association sufficed to make the traveller an enthusiastic fulfinrer of‘the man’s personal .qualities, as well us of his prowess at tennis.

“The outstanding characteristic of von Muller,” said Mr Hauinann, “is his great modesty. He could seldom he induced to talk of his exploits during - those element .which followed tire declaration •of war. Von Muller states that .on that fateful morning when his ship was put out of action hy the Sydney he did'not think it was an Australian cruiser that was looking for an engagement. As socin as the discovery was made, howcvep, he knew that In's hour fhad come. A warning whistle was ' blown , signalling to. those who had' comprised the landing party at Cocos Island that danger way near. His first idea was to draw the Sydney in close so that torpedoes.could be lauuchedT but when he found that the Australian crifiser was long range he decided to. make a run for 'it. It was soon re- ' cognised that the chase could only end in one way, and he, therefore, ran his. vessel ashore. The Emden, he admits, was completely outclassed, and he was surprised to find how little damage i had been done to the Sydney in the short 'engagement. During his cruise, von Mullet paid a'call on a lone British possession- far removed from finy means'of communication and found-. that its elderly and sole official had not heard that the war was. on. ..This appealed to the German's sense of humor, and he decided to leave the old man in a state of blissful ignorance. . Asked if there was anything stirring,-von Muller replied that the only •thing of note was that the Pope was de;j.d, and when questioned as to the reason of his presence, replied that he was part’in some manoeuvres with the British Navy. The official 'showed him every hospitality, and pressed, him to prolong his stay. Von Muller, however, said he had to c6mplete manoeuvres, aild left after repairing tffe Britisher's broken launch for him.

Once, before he encountered the Sydney, von Muller thought his game was ended. He found himself in the Bay of Bengal, and. through intercepted messages, knew that a small fleet of Japanese, French, and British cruisers Was awaiting him outside. A careiul study of the map, however, showed him a way out, and by hugging the shore'all the way, he managed to make the open sea unobserved.