KIEL CANAL ENTERED.

Taihape Daily Times, 13 December 1918, Page 5

KIEL CANAL ENTERED.

| BRITAIN’S INTENTIONS. ■A GENERAL’S LETTER. LONDON. Dec 11. following the Coalition declaration fof the Government’s policy to influence the Peace Conference in favour of world-wide abolition of conscription, coupled with Mr. Lloyd George’s denial that Britain intends to retain an army of four million young men for four years, Mr. J. H. Thomas, secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen, speaking at Manchester, read a letter, the authenticity of which he was prepared to vouch for, from a general of the War Office to a colleague, stating that it was intended to maintain a National Army of twenty divisions, hut nothing would be disclosed until after the elections and not till the League of Nations had been discussed. KAISER’S DEFENCE. RESERVED TILL HIS TRIAL. LONDON, Dec 11. The ex-Kaiser, in response to the “Daily Express” Amerongen corre'•/spondent’s invitation, through Count ’ Bentinck, sept the following message: “Tell the correspondent that if there is a possibility of ray becoming a defendant, I prefer, deferring a statement until then. I do not desire to compromise any member of the Government existing at the outbreak of the war.” RUSSIAN PRISONERS. TERRIBLE SUFFERINGS. LONDON, Dec 11. Polish newspapers record the terrible sufferings of Russian prisoners returning to Poland from Germany. They travel in trucks, often without food, numbers dying from cold and hunger. The men loot peasants’ homes in ord§r to get food. BRITISH AT COLOGNE Received 9 a.m. AMSTERDAM, Dec. 12 Thirty-two thousand British troops have arrived at Cologne. AMERICAN FLEET TO ESCORT. WILSON. Received 9 a.m. LONDON, December 12 The American fleet, under Admiral Sims, sailed from a British port to escort President Wilson into Brest. FRENCH ESPIONAGE CASES Received 9 a.m. PARIS, December 11 De Silva was sentenced to death, the woman Duport to twenty years, the student Garte to fifteen years, all for espionage. BUKOVTNA AND ROUMANIA. UNITED. Reeeeived 10.10 a.m, PARIS, December 12. >- The National Council of Bukovina has proclaimed her union With Rouznania. THE REPATRIATION BOARD. DIRECTOR AND SECRETARY APPOINTED. WELLINGTON, this day. The Repatriation Board held Its preliminary meeting, but the chairman, Mr. Herries, has not divulged what was do&o. It Is understood the Director of Repatriation will be Mr. J. R, Samson, Secretary of the Discharged Soldiers’ Information Department, and that Mr. J. D. Gray, lately secretary of the Recruiting Board, will be Secretary to the Repatriation Board.

BY BRITISH WARSHIPS. German Troops Return Home. J, ~ . »■ i«/~\ Greeted as Conquerors by People. Prussian Guards Swear Allegiance To the New Government. \

VALUABLE STORES LEFT AT COBLENTZ. Received 10.10 a.m." LONDON, December 12. A corespondent with the American army says the Germans left behind at Coblentz stores worth two million sterling. Mounted German soldiers patrol the streets. GERMAN SPIES DURING THE WAR TWELVE SHOT IN THE TOWER. TWO WOMEN RECEIVE LIFE SENTENCE. Received 9.10 a.m. LONDON, Dec 11. Newspapers reveal that twelve spies were shot in the Tower during the war; another suicided in the cell and others were sentenced to penal servitude. The third shot was Carl Lody, who possessed great nerve and resource; he obtained accurate information, but latterly his letters and telegrams were intercepted by special functions. He and another spy, Derysdach, were to ascertain the sailings of transports for the information of submarines, also the location of munition factories in London and Home counties for aerial raiders. Two women spies were sentenced to penal servitude. One owned a fast motorcar, with which she frequently visited Rosyth, obtaining information as to the movements of British warships, but the information was intercepted, and never reached Germany. AGGRIEVED AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS. TO BE REPATRIATED. Received 10.10 a.m. LONDON, Dec 11. The aggrieved -Australians at Dcvonport are men who enlisted in 1915. They complain that whereas 1914 men were given numerous privileges, they ■ only had a periodical short leave. They have now been embarked from Prance to Dcvonport for immediate repatriation. They state many enlisted in January and February, 1915, as soon as they became of military age, The matter has been referred to the authorities. 1 The Somali left Plymouth to-day; there were no refusals to sail. Burma is also embarking a contingent. RUSSIAN BOLSHEVIKS REFUSED A PASSAGE. , Received 10.45 a.m. BERLIN, December 12 The Lokal Anzieger states the Executive of the Soviet has withdrawn the invitation to the Bolshevist delegation, as troops on the Eastern front have refused them a passage through the German lines. The Executive decided to deprive the troops in Berlin of ammunition. BRITISH ENTER KIEL CANAL. Received 10.45 a.m. AMSTERDAM, Dec. 12 Kiel advices state that the battleship Hercules, with the British naval delegation aboard, entered the Kiel Canal and w r as expected to reach Kiel last evening. GERMAN PROPAGANDA IN AMERICA. WASHINGTON, Dec. 11. Senator Hitchcock, addressing the Senate, explained that his name was .used in German propaganda without his He admitted seeking to place an embargo on the export of munitions to the Allies, but he did so purely from the viewpoint of American neutrality. When neutrality, was officially abandoned by the United States he changed his opinions accordingly-

BRITAIN’S FUTURE POLICY. \ SPEECH BY THE PREMIER GERMANY TO PAY WAR COSTS. HOHENZOLLERN CRIMINALS TO BE PUNISHED. GERMAN ALIENS TO BE FIRED OUT. LONDON, December 11. Mr. Lloyd George, at Bristol, said that conscription was introduced in Britain to meet an emergency. When the need passed, the Act would lapse. There was no intention to renew it. The Peace Conference would be urged to abolish Continental conscript armies in order to prevent the horrors of war and secure permanent peace. Any peace conference perpetuating European conscription would be a farce and a sham. The B'ritish Navy was a defensive, not an offensive weapon. Therefore we did not mean to give it up. (Cheers.) The Premier reiterated that as far as Germany’s capacity admitted, she must pay the costs of the war to the last penny. The Allies’ war bill was twenty-four thousand millions sterling. It was inconvcivablc that the losers, who were in the wrong, should pay less than the winners, who were in the right. The Premier here pointed out that owing to our naval naval expenditure, and the way Britain paid and treated her soldiers, our war bills were immensely heavier than Germany’s. The European Allies were unanimous that the cx-Kaiscr and his accomplices must be held responsible for the war' crimes. He hoped that President Wilson had decided similarly Information in the possession of the Government showed that the ex-Crown Prince was probably the prime instigator of the war. Mr Lloyd George deprecated Germany paying the indemnities by dumping sweated goods. He was against . keeping for a long time a large standing army of occupation in Germany, which would be bad business industrially. German aliens would not remain long in Britain; they were going to be fired out, and there would bo no more coming in. (Loud Chcrs.) AN . . BRITISH ELECTIONS. CAMPAIGN IN FULL SWING. LONDON, Dec 11. The general election campaign Is how in its final week. Both pace and 1 interest have quickened. Contests where there are more than two candidates are unprecedented. Three-cor-nered fights are the rule rather than the exception. This is generally accountable by the disappearance, to a large extent, of old party distinctions, also to doubling the electorates by the Reform Bill and a great change in the boundaries of constituencies. It is useless for any/ne to protend to know how the women’s and soldiers’ | votes will go. Altogether there arc 471 Coalition candidates (comprising 322 Unionists, 131 Liberals and 18 National Democrats), and 1047 nonCoalition candidates (comprising 75 Unionists, 253 Liberals, 376 Labourites, 12 Socialists, 23 Federation of Discharged Soldiers, 24 National Partyites, 78 Sinn Peiners, 59 Irish Nationalists, 120 Independents, and those unclassified. There are also seven of j the Agricultural Party. The balance I is represented by various small sections. The general feeling in Britain is that Mr. Lloyd George will come back with an immense majority. Voting takes place on Saturday, but votes will not he counted until two weeks later, owing to oversea soldiers’ votes. Mr. Asquith, speaking at Nottingham, favoured the exaction of the uttermost farthing from the wrong-doer. He condemned an aggressive economic boycott. There must he a clean slate. When repatriation was obtained, conscription in Great Britain I must be abolished, in accordance with the understanding when it was introduced. AUSTRALIANS GOING HOME. LONDON, December 11. Twenty-six transports with Australian troops are expected to sail homeward irt January. Some trouble has arisen at Dcvonport. where a large number of Australians refused to embark on a transport. The reason is unknown. FATE OF RUSSIAN GENERALS Received 10.45 a.m. STOCKHOLM, Dec. 12. Petrograd advices state that according to official Ukraine .sources Generals Russia and Radkodmitregf were shot by order of the town of Piapiagersk. AMERICANS ON THE RHINE, Received 10.45 a.m. LONDON, Dec 12. An American communique states: We occupied Coblentz, and hold the west hank of the Rhine from Rolandsbeck, south of Bonn, to Frichtingshausen.