CURRENT WAR TOPICS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 29, 10 January 1916, Page 5

CURRENT WAR TOPICS.

is a favorite resort for the Turkish women on Fridays; near it, is the summer palace of .the Sultan. The suburb of.Eyub, also on the north side of the Horn, and called after the lieutenant of the Prophet, who, is supposed to have fallen here at the first siege of Constantinople by the Arabs in 672 A.D., contains a sacred mosque, in which is preserved the sword of 'Osman, the founder of the Empire |of the Osmanli or Ottoman Turks. With this-sword each Sultan invests himself on his accession to the throne, the ceremony being equivalent to the coronation of other sovereigns. The cable i.s not definite as to the arsenal which was damaged. One of the suburbs is known as Top-hane, or the arsenal, while the navi/l arsenal is situate at passim Pasha, also on the north shore.

' The loss" of'the King Edward VII 'which the Admiralty reports owing to the striking of a mine will be deplored by all, but again there is the great satisfaction that the incident was unattended by loss of life. The -' fact that only two of the crew were injured in such a disaster as the abandonment of this great nava] unit affords striking testimony to the efficiency and general- discipline associated with the British Navy in all time. Such an inglorious ending is but an-! .". other instance ; of the .uncertainty of Fate, There would be almost less regret, ,it is certain/ had th'e ship and some: of the complement of 820 officers and men found a grave beneath the .waters? after conflict with, the enemy; indeed, the boys in blue would have, -wished ilo better death. Here is an opportunity for the German Fleet to come out and meet the British Navy, diminished, as it now is by one in the total of her units! The time i s rips, aye rotten ripe, when "the German, Fleet must act," as desired by an angry German newspaper man!

: There is "f uridiis fighting in the Berane district, states a Montenegrin communique. These operations .aro in the south-western corner of Montene&io} on lithe Serbian frontier, and are''on a fairly big scale, the enemy forces comprising twenty battalions. Both sides lost heavily, but the statement's 1 of success or otherwise of the engagement are conflicting.. The Austrians are evidently bent on settling Montenegro, as it is reported that important enemy movements have taken place at Trebinje and Bilek. These towns are in Herzegovina, some distance' from the eastern ' frontier of Montenegro, and are being used as bases of operations threatening Cettinje (pronounced Settinya) the capital of Montenegro, and from which the bases are distant between fifty and sixty miles. Cettihje is Cast-southwest of, and distant twelve miles from Caftaro, which is the nearest port, on the Adriatic. It lies in a narrow plain, sarrrounded by limestone, mountains t the adjacent land being bare and stony and relieved by occasional rich patches of soil among the rocks. Cettinje was thrice burnt by the Turks, in 1683, .1714, and 1785. The'population is about five thousand, and here is the residence of King Nicholas.

The:King Edward VII. was the title ship of Her class, and was launched in 1903. The King Edward class was considered to be the finest homogeneous group of pre-Dreadj noughts in the world. She was a second-class hattleship with a displacement of 16,350 tons, having a length of 425 ft, and engines of 18,000 horse-power, giving a speed of over 19 knots. Her armament consisted of four 12in„ four 9.2 in., ten 6in., twelve 12-pounder , and twelve 3-pounder guns, with four torpedo tuhes. A nine- ' inch armor helt protected the vital parts! The .ships of the King Edward class cost £1,450,000 to' build and equip; It Would he' interesting to know tjbo scene of >the disaster,. hut ; this is a playful way of the Admiralty to keep alive a world-wide, guessing ,'. competition. All that is permissible to state is that the King Edward VII. was the flagship of the, Third Battle Squadron of the Home Fleet under Sir John Jellieoc. and that her position at the time comes under the all-em-bracing and significant phrase, "Somewhere in the North Sea." When the all-wise German naval authorities tell us they cannot find the British Fleet, (. there is little use for surmise here!

Out here (states a writer in the New Zealand Shipping and Commerce in" an article on the prospects of the New Year), we linger in comparative quietude compared with the lively hostilities that beset the Mother Land, but without any undue 'blowing of trumpets our little corner of God's earth has done, and re doing, its best to Uphold the traditions of the race. We have sent our men and given our money unstintingly, and if more men and more money.are wanted, they wiil bo forthcoming. But if appearances count for anything, and without being unduly optimistic, it really seems as if there is a not remote possibility of Germany being "starved out" long before the New Year has reached its "yellowhaired September." W.ar by economics is a surer safeguard to victory than viV by munitions. . . The Dominion has done its noblest and best, and is ■ prepared to "come again whenever asked, but the taxes on our hearth-sides and on our pockets have not by any means diminished our prosoeritv Our stapl? industries have m „-~ r been at a higher flow of prosperity for wool, grain and meat are ail at abnormal price*. But the consequent influx of money is not inereusill(' the immediate wealth of the counfa for it is more than being repaid ;„' and kind in contributions, directly ami indirectly, to the various „ ;M . funds. Still it is satisfactory to know that in this national crisis we are something more than self-supporting Every child of the Empire that can walk'alone is subtractivcly a help to tie mother, and wo are walking alone. With peace at our lintels and prosperity in our pockets, we are far more happily disposed than those at Home and for that reason alone it is up to" everybody to remember that.a taxation on our individual prosperity is We must continue to prfve/ and to give unsparingly of our plenty.

Again some splendid work by a British submarine in enemy waters in the Near East is recorded. This is the second occasion on which our intrepid naval men have recently scared lite inhabitants pf Constantinople. On the first trip the submariners entered the harbor, and after shelling part of the "fortifications, torpedoed a vessel at the wharves, afterwards returning safely to the open sea. The Golden Holm has been entered a second time, the arsenal lieing bombarded and considerable damage done. The report also states that the workmen and inhabitants became panic-stricken. This state of affairs may easily he imagined. Secure in the protection of their fortifications and in the very heart of the capitoL the second intrusion of .an enemy craft, whose reputation for deeds of daring has no, doubt reached them long since, inay vvell.strike terror into the .people. I

The Golden Horn is tlte harbor, of Constantinople, a narrow crescent.sbaped inlot of the Bosphorus about six miles in length, separating the city from its suburb, Galuta and Pera. The* Golden .Mom is the scene of a great shipoing trade.' H is one of, the amplest and safest anchorages m| the world,, and it is so deep that the, largest Warships can nearly everywhere ride at'anchor close'to shore,! -and always there is a great crowd ot. vess4s Iving at anchor. At the northern end of the Golden Horn, where thoj inlet narrows, stretches on both hunks the suburb or Sweet Waters, which, with its beautiful meadows and alleys .