SCENE OF DEVASTATION.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 118, 20 January 1915, Page 3

SCENE OF DEVASTATION.

... • Tiefere leaving' the' Continent Dean Reghault visiter! Serilis; which bore • many-traces of the havce wrought bj ! 4 tliß Germans. The railway st it ion he hyt,3*«L it: i>ruinsy and- in place if'the La l C;i:-;es' f .iKhop3? j i .churches', etc., that Iki kiWiy, were: only wails and''chimneys ; ,:iv--usii)g liHrjieivdHy : ,amenace to [ The j who- still" re-main. Tiie. ~fcwhcle™ of The"unvin street, from the -: railway station at one end to the hos--pital.- atr..the other, with the exception i of three or four houses, was in abso- | lue r.u-ins; --Fire had been deliberately | set to all the houses thus mentioned by means.,of ther hamd-grenades whiol: ,tlu3 us. employed for [bis work J of .destruction.and they and everything I ;.n. them, had been totally-destroyed, j Shells wei;e directed at the cathedral ; but fortunately.this was nut. very badly .damaged. Dean Regnault visited the hospital, and. found if true that this had been, apparently deliberately ishelled There, were many marks of bullets having come right through the i walls. Two miles away frcm this he visited the field,,where the .Germans camped Tor about a week, and saw there,markjed.by their hats, seven graves, that of j the Mayor and six hostages. It appears 'j that after the town was taken by the M'i&efm'ahs' the Mayor, who, with the •j'priests who have' remained there, were \ irnable" to produce the treasure, de- r ;-m::mled; offered to go' to'a neighbour-j Ting town' and toy to" arrange the-.mat-V'tof with a banker friend. This he wa« • r)'e?mit't'ed to 'do under an escort of -, German' soldiers. The banker, it was fpund, however, -had"fled'his"'post, and the Germans; declaring that the Mayor •had'purposely made fools of tlmm.took •'him prisoner and marched him back j 'o the"'camp with eleven hostages. All ;■. ere kept" there for thirty-six hours. !"hc Mayor'and six of die hostages .be-j-ffig* marched out- at._ II o'clock one j night and shot, before the ether.'', and pinn'ied in .a field. '-- ■ ; I". Tiie'"'re/hfafnmg"n : ie'h i onV of vhopi I fold Dean Reg'naailt the'story, spent a i.ll p;lit;--of:absolute""'terror;"H 3 was ov- : Tie'dewm'en ih'e irrou-vl by j'he Germans;' and "o.H'ftcTeff -it; o-.cry ] T "om,'ent: to be caHed i'n 'e be ?li'ot.i ...■-,. g .i,. - witness ■ | the death of-'their friends; and the t which; Jhivi< uM no: tut- I

. j ,cu with jo;;:\:\i (c '.}■:.::■:.■>.:•!\ toge-diicf-il ii .;;:t !i - i : [or i <i s -1■ ii•- ii'.aik- bj qi:e •>! .Insrri \yas rnet by a tiar 1 ?!" '■'•n.s.il. Svv"al nViitir:?*:! civilians in tJii-j place were kiliftti, -the 'five 1ro"sta":;> :-n cj-vs'irn' being unexpectedly marched a shrrt distance from camp one morning and fold 10 "get out."