CURRENT WAR TOPICS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 97, 30 March 1916, Page 5

CURRENT WAR TOPICS.

The meaning of the landings at several points on, Greek soil by Allied forces, which has called forth a protest from the.-'Greek' Government, is stated to be simply that the Admiralty is pursuing its policy of relentlessly running down enemy submarines, and seeking the sources of sup* ply of oil and provisions for the units, ' operating in the ' Mediterranean. In the present reported state of the two countries, there does not seem to bo much fear that individual friction in . communities—which, by the way, in one case, reached the length of blank a gunfire at two British merchantmen —will grow, to more serious proportions. At the same time it is unfortunate, and probably was the outcome 1 of pro-German leanings on the part, of the Greek officer in charge. The institution of naval blockade as rniti-.» ated at Suda Bay and the Gulf of Canea, will no doubt bring the au' thorities at Canea, which is the capital of Crete (or Candia) to a sense of their position before very long. Cahea is situate at the neck of the peninsula which is lapped on the eastern side by the waters of Suda Bay and, on the west by the Gulf of Canea. The administrative authority for Crete is the high commissioner, whose residence is at Canea, and who is proposed by the King of Greece, the right to which has been recognised by the Powers since 1906. Crete is the principal island of the chain which divides the Greek Archipelago from the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea, and has an area of 3400 «quare miles its long coast4ine, affording plenty of scope for the operations of enemy submarines. The ■population is estimated at about 320,000, of whom some 35,000 are Mussulmans, the rest being Christians. The picturesque Levantine dress—soft cap with tassel, short jacket, wide trousers, and hig;h-top boots—is still , commonly worn, even in the towns. The Cretans'are poor sailors and the • fishery and spongeTdiving industries are in the hands of Anatolian or Hel-

lenic. Greeks. Carriage-drives, roads, and bridges are almost unknown; the bridle "paths are often impassable, and / intercourse between the towns is al- ; -most wholly by water. The island has an interesting history, dating back to over 2000 years 8.C., and is extremely rich in archaeology, although research in connection therewith was commenced as late as 1883. The artificial harbor for the capital is small and much silted, and the total trade, of which the most important articles are soap and oil, is less than half a million sterling annually.

Pursuing the movements of the Allied operations, we find that a ring of landings was effected in the kingox.a. Men were landed at Patras, wnicn is a fortified seaport on the Gulf or Patras on the west coast of Greece. ' Patras, too, has a history, being one . of the twelve cities of the Aciiean confederacy in ancient Greece, a little west of the entrance to the Corinthian Gulf. It is one of the principal ports of the country. Now, passing the lonian Islands, we steam through the Sea of Candia, with Crete on our right, aad proceeding north-easteriy to the Guif of Aegina, we call at■Pir- ' aeus, the port,of the most renowned city'in antiquity, namely, Athens, where already the naval men have installed themselves.

Resuming the voyage, we puss round Cape Colonna at the bottom extremity or" Aeotia, and avoiding inc perils of the Cytlades, turn northward again through the channel of Egripos to Chaleis (or Egripo), the chief to.vn of the island of Euboea, Egnpos, or Negropont (Italian. ,f or -'Black Bridge")- This is the largest island of Greece on the Aegean Sea, and is from the mainland by the Straits of Euripus, which are here *'- only 120 feet wide. The north part of the Straits is known as the Atlanta Channel, and the south part as the Egripos Channel and the Gulf of Petalioli. From a fort on the Gulf blank

shots were fired at two British merchantmen, who were engaged in searching the coast for submarine depots. The island of Euboea is 110 miles long with a maximum breadth of 33 miles. During most of the sth Century 8.C., the island belonged to Athens. Its subjugation by Philip of Macedon (338 8.C.). its possession by the Venetians (1351), its conquest by the Turks (1470), its desperate but unsuccessful attempt to regain its independence (1688), and its incorporation (1830) in the kingdom of Greece are the chief landmarks in its history.

The voyage round Greece was very interesting in itself, but the receipt of the latest news explains why such important strategical'points were touched at. Most of the talk about hunting submarines appears to be "gag" when ,it ; is recalled that the British cruisers were filled with troops when off the capital of Crete, and ten more Allied warships were sighted in the offing. The imprisonment of a member of the British Consular service, is centajnly a serious affair, but, then, the presence of troops in large numbers can have but one ending. Why the ring of landings ? Is Greece showing a. M-ow of rotten pro-German teeth?-. ;,

The authoritative writer of war notes in the New Zealand Times, re* feitring to the German submarine policy and the indiscriminate sowing of mines fftt sea, says:—Between the destruction by mine H and the des* truction by torpedoes there is in international law no difference. The sowing of the sea with mines is an unwarrantable and illegal obstruction of the highway of nations. In the case of Germany the offence is worse, because Germany poses as the champion of the freedom of the sea. The sea is free to all nations. Its freedom is subject to the rights of belligerents. But those rights are limited (1) to warfare on belligerents; (2) to the search for contraband on board neutrals. There is no right of obstructing the highway of all, for the ■purpose-.-of injuring the interests ot some. Neutral Powers have in the case of vessels lost by mines indiscriminately planted, as in the case ot ships sunk by deliberate torpedo practice the same grievance. Belligerents have no right to touch neutral ships by either mine or torpedo. They are not at war with neutrals. The position is simple enough. Deliberate and deliberately accidental-as by the sowing of mines-destruction ot neutrals by belligerents is an act ot war against the flag those neutrals carry. To persist in such acts is high-handed tyranny of the most aggressive order. How long will the neutrals stand it?