CURRENT WAR TOPICS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 20, 28 April 1916, Page 5

CURRENT WAR TOPICS.

*' The unfortunate rebellion in Ireland is still the all-absorbing topic to-day, and as the news comes to •*" hand the seriousness of the movement is accentuated. No stone has been left 'unturned by the promoters—the 'cleverest'in the secret service and intrigue department of Germany—to make the path of the Empire a little "bit harder to follow. The main trouble has been confined to Dublin, but mention of Tralee and Drogheda shows that efforts had been organised to make the movement as widespread as possible. Tralee is near the head of Tralee Bay, in the county of Kerry, 21 miles north-west of Killarney, and is connected with Tralee Bay by a ship canal permitting the passage of vessels: of 200'tons burden. This is,> of course, in the south-west corner of the coimtfy. On th'e other side of the island, there is Drogheda, m the county of Louth, on the Boyne, 81 mil.es..north, of. Dublin. .It .isan interesting place, with historical memories of some importance. Parts of the ancient j walls which had been erected , there are; still' to be seen. Drogheda was the chief military station in Leinster between, the.. 14th ; and I.7th. *' [ centuries, but all that now remains of its ancient fortifications is the gateway of St. Lawrence, which is nearly in perfect: condition, and the rums of the West, or Butler, Gate. The town was stormed by Cromwell in when the notorious "massacre" took ,>, place. In, 1690, after the battle of the t Boyne, it surrendered to William : .III* ; '' '"' ''"'* '" .'.;' .. . ',' '■ ■' ..■ ', 'lt will be noted, therefore, that up- '." risings have taken place at three wide-, ly-separated centres, but with the, ex,* ception of the really serious situation "in the capital, there 1 is every reason: to believe that the trouble is now at an fend.' Mr Asquith, in the House of '' Cpnlinons, admitted the gravity of the situation, and explained that the Government had every hope that the rebels would soon be put in their proper place. It is satisfactory to learn that Sir Edward Carson and Mr Redmond are firm in their expressions of. detestation and horror at the work of irresponsible units. Care has been taken to emphasise that fact, and also that no recognised political body in the Empire has the least sympathy -■ with the rebels.

This is the fourth time that the Germans have crossed the North Sea to attack the British coast, and so far the balance of results is greatly on the side of the'British. The first raid occurred on November 3, 1914, and ended iu a fiasco. The enemy ships destroyed the British submarine D 5, two, or three trawlers, and a tramp steamer. But the Germans suffered a heavier loss. On her way into Cuxhaven one of the most powerful of the cruisers, the Yprck, was sunk by collision with a German mine. A second and more serious attack on the East Coast was made on December 16. The enemy's raiding squadron was made up of four heavy battle cruisers and four light cruisers. They worked in two detachments. There was heavy loss of life at Hartlepool and Scarborough. At the former place 82 were killed and 250 wounded. Of these, 21 killed and wounded vo - casualties in' the coast battery whi >■ engaged the enemy. "At Searboro'igJ. there were 17 killed and 50 wound.-;! and at Whitby two were killed and two wounded by the few shells fired at i lie signal station. In the early hours ol

Sunday! January 24th; the German cruiser squadron set out for another raid on the East Coast. The force employed was made up of the battle cruisers Seydlitz, Dorfflinger Moltke, nci Blucher, with four light cruisers and a number of torpedo-boats. This engagement Vas.' the memorable Dogger Bank affair, in which the Blucher was sunk.. The result of the battle was that the German fast cruiser squadron was crippled for months to come, and further raids on the East Coast were impossible. Tuesday's was the first attempt eince that memorable failure.

Much controversy has followed the arrest of the arch-traitor, Sir Roger Casement, concerning his nationality. On the authority of Sir H. L. Galway, Governor of South Australia, who was with Casement in Southern Nigeria in the nineties, there seems; to be no doubt that Casement was ofIrish birth,, as he was known amongst; ihis friends as the "Wild; Irishman." ,AH references that .have been consulted are silent, on. thp matter, but"; the Governor's; personal, knowledge of: him. may be taken as reliable. , Caser ment crossed over to Germany, by way of-Norway in the: e?,r,ly stages of the 'war, ■ and • was received with open 'arms'by i the, Kaiser. He .began a campaign of treachery against his people which is now in a fair way to end fittingly. Sir Roger Casement imagined that he had a mission to redeem Ireland, and that its redemption was to be won through Germany, and'he'accordingly instituted i 'opagarida with the object of raising the standard of rebellion in Ireland. He visited a British prison camp, and endeavoured to persuade the' Irishmen there to form an Irish brigade to fight'with the Germans: He met with a very chilling response, some of the men casting his treachery in his teeth, and not minding their words in the process. A few, tempted by the comparatively enormous sums and preferential treatment offered them, joined Casement's battalion, but so far as was ascertainable the number enlisting was under forty. In a recent boastful article in a Munich newspaper Casement explained that his visit to Germany was undertaken to obtain for the benefit of the Irish an assurance of German goodwill, in order to preserve "his*' people from participation in a great crime. Sir Roger Casement has been at loggerheads with the Irish party for many years, and he > has shown himself 'to be a bitter opponent of Mr John Redmond. , Prior to the war, when the National Volunteer Association was in course of formation, Mr Redmond determined that the Irish party should participate in its formation and control, and that bri no account should the work be left in the hands of irresponsible Irishmen. Great opposition was shown to Mr Redmond, one of his greatest opponents being Sir Roger Casement,,' but finally Mr Redmond triumphed. Sir Roger, who is 52 years of age, did good work in exposing the horrors of the Congo and Peru. For these services he was knighted in 1911. It lias boon suggested that Sir Roger was menially unsound when he went to Germany,

but there is nothing to support the belief that he is suffering from any more serious mental condition than megalomania ("swelled head").