UNKNOWN

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 161, 22 April 1915, Page 2

UNKNOWN

HOW THE GERMANS MEANT TO I2T7ADS SNGLA2TO. Sir Robert Ba lea- Powell reveals himself i:> a news :vpeet in his book. "My Adventures as a ■• ■;••,>'." just published. There are, lie tells us, three orders of spies—t-'ie "diplomatic," the military." aad the "field"—am! in his time "8.-P." has acted as -ill thr.?* in addition to foiling the manoeuvres of hostile agents. He says that years ago the British Government discovered that a foreign Povvor was preparing gun emplacements in Ore.;'; Britain. Ho tolls of German spies travelling through Keni to look at "old Roman roins," and lie relates a plan for invading oar shor devised by the Germans .six years ago. •jv.-.r discovered by him from their spy Qsehaugc in Belgium. They intended to blosh the Strnir.s of Dover with submarines, and to r\\:~: their transports ncross the North Se to effect a landing in Yorkshire. "They hud in Germany nine embarking stations, with piers and platforms all ready made, and steel lighters for disembarkation purposes or for actual traversing of the ocean in ease of fine weather. "The spies stationed in England were to cut all telephone and telegraph wires, and, where possible, to blow np important bridges and hianels, • .-.■' thus to interrupt cominurdcatio::* ar.l create confusion. "Their theory was that if thoy'eoe> ■' rush an army of even 00,000 men into Leeds. Sheffield, ILibnix, Manchester, ami Liverpool without great opposition in the first few hours. ;

they eould then establish themselves i' : such strength thatit would require f» powerful arrey to drive them out again. '"'Brjiiginj; •> week's provisions with them, j\ml it-h'-ig nil tne looal provisions, the ■'•o;:l'l have enough to sustain them for a considerable time-, the first stei' of their oeenpation would be to ex;.e; every inhabitant — man, woman, an' l child —from the neighbourhood ncd destroy the towns. Thus, within v, few hours, some fourteen millions of people would be starving and wandering; witho-.-.f ;;helter over the faee of the country." A prettv story indeed! Sir Robert '-.< stories of his ov.;; adventures abroad are exciting readir.g. Ke lias posed s : — •esfully s>s :> botnn'st. ri fish«rmr>r,, i wandering painter, pad has bluffed lis way to mr.ch useful knowleflgro. He explains how ;< harmless ske'.-di if a butterfly may hide the plans of i fort, and how the seeker for inform;:- j ion has to adopt disguises and u.--i ngenious rusfes. I

The spy must he brave, and lie ■• j have almost infinite reaouive unci tar*. j We arc apt to reyrd f'jn as a bud 1ir«(1 at spyinji. Inf. r-'-i-.oM- j in* to "I>.-P.." ,••!!• nnt?r.:>sl rep-.t?-j ti<m for stupdity i.< of ineHlewlable v: 1 :- \'.o to t)i<> sci'rct <■<•! vice nsjont. and lias ! given the War Offire, Admiralty,] and the Foreign Office ra«r-y useful items of news'.