GENERAL WAR NEWS

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIII, Issue 52, 30 October 1915, Page 3

GENERAL WAR NEWS

United Peess Association. Amsterdam, October 27. A court martini at Liege has conI victed nine more Belgians of espionage, and sentenced four, including a woman, to death, New York, October 27. The German parcel post throughout the United States has been suspended. The cause is not known. London, October 27. Underwriters hav£ accepted a rate of five guineas against King Ferdinand remaining on the throne till the thirtieth of June next. King Peter of Serbia has issued an army order in which he says:—"J have no longer the strength to lead you to death or victory. I am but a frail grey-headed man, and can only ask God to bless our arms, but I swear that should defeat or disgrace be our lot I will not survive the fall of our dear land." A correspondent of the Echo de Paris publishes a description of the battle of Loos, supplementing Mr Buchan's censored dispatch. Ho declares that advantage was not taken of the results achieved owing to the impetuous advance of the Scottish division which was ordered to take Loos and Hill 70. It was exhausted after its great efforts and if fresh troops had come up and a fresh attack been delivered the German front would have been pierced like a piece of cardboard. The brigade made a patch and reinforcements could have captured the whole of the Douai plain. The day wore on and there was no sign of the reserves, which were only reported at nightfall. London, October 27.

Mr McKenna has accepted an amendment extending the margin of profits from £IOO to £2OO before excess profits are taxed. Lord Charles. Beresford, in letter to The. Times, denounces the Government's conduct of the war. The country wants a Government that will govern. Owing to the indews.on and vacillation of the Government on every important occasion it has been too late. The mismanagement is partly the result of amateur strategy and the political control of the executive. He instances the Dardanelles. Only one members of the Cabinet understands anything about the war. 1 Lord Derby is enrolling helpers for his scheme as canvassers and classifiers. The idea is that every citizen shall personally assist, He points out that it is essential that all men show willingness to serve. Difficult cases willbe decided by an impartial tribunal. Recruiting has already vastly increased. Replying to the allegations of .the emigration of males of military age to avoid service, Mr Runcknan stated that for the year ended September 30 36,594 males of twelve years and upwards left for permanent residences outside 'Europe, compared . with 101,663 in the previous year. Only 7911 emigrated in July, August and September. Extracts published from the diary of Private Becker, who was a professor of Latin at the Bonn Gymnasium, testify to the brutalities of German officers towards the soldiers. Becker states that both on the Russian and Western fronts the men were badly fed and uncared for, while the officers fared well. He does not disguise the fact that during attacks officers disappear until danger is Papers smuggled rom Germany detail a plot to enrol Irish prisoners in a German-Irish brigade. General Sir Jan Hamilton, in his farewell order, thanked all ranks at the Dardanelles for the wonderful way they had seconded his efforts to lead them towards a decisive victory, which he had implicit confidence they would receive under General Monro. The Prize Court has condemned Krupp's yacht Germania, which cost forty-five thousand sterling, despite defendants' counsel's plea that the Court should regard it as a plaything, and it wisiagainst the comity of nations to size the toys of private individuals. I

Mr Aslimeal Bartlett, in a special interview '.with the Sun's London correspondent/said it wa s impossible for the fleet alone to pierce the Dardanelles, and. the attempt was a silly .one. -Tlie original. Expeditionary Force was also too small. The troops ;!were in " .sufficient, and anything further ' than a landing in the hills* -vou'ld have been wiser. They should never have landed at Auzac, and alter the failure of the Achi Baba iinal attack on May Bth," the whole expedition should have been seriously reconsidered, having learnt the lighting strength of the Turks, but the staff seemed to desire to avoid facing the facts. Subsequent attacks on Achi Baba, involving tremendous loss, should never have been made. Even if we had taken Achi Baba we were faced with an even stronger position at the Kalid Bahr salient. Of all the troops engaged he specially praised the Australasians. Bulgaria, he considered, had entirely changed the situation. It is futile to try and save Serbia by a few scratch divisions at Salonika. The great danger of these Balkan aventures is the the huge distances from the bases, whereas the enemy has the advantage of the interior lines.

I New York, October 29. At San Francisco, Italph Blair, a doctor, and Thomas Addis were found guilty of conspiring to enlist Britons for military service in the British army. The cases against two others (one of whom was a British army officer) were dismissed. The penalty is a line of two thousand pounds, or two years' imprisonment. Appeals were entered.