WAR NOTES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 170, 24 December 1914, Page 7

WAR NOTES.

A X0151.K PRIEST'S SACRIFICE. One of the finest actions related in connection with the war is told about a brave old pricl. The incident happened at a village near Franoorohamp, occupied by the Germans. Some of them were lii'ed on as they entered the village one night, presumably by their ow'n count!'Ymen. They accused the vila warning'. A similar incident happeii- | ed the next night, and for which some of the villagers were no doubt responsible. '1 he German oilicer in charge then picked out :"!) of the most prominent residents, and made it known that they would be shot. Subsequently he said they would he spared if the olfonder who tired the shot would give himself I up for execution. There was a deathly | silence for a minute, and then a village priest stepped forward and said: "It was I who tired." 'I lie German oilicer felt convinced that the priest was taking the blame to save the others, so he a.-.ked him to swear that he was responsible. The brave old man maintained his ground, and the officer felt forced to keep his 'word. The priest died, but his life was not thrown away, for not only did he save the twenty, but all who read the noble action must be .filled with sterner indignation to do their duty and make an oll'ort to approach nearer the standard set by the gallant priest. NOBLE SPIES. The German Wireless War News states that Count Baroldingon, of Potsdam, whose mother is an American lady,, has been awarded the Iron Cross for a daring feat which he carried our successfully. Wearing the raincoat of an I English' officer, ho made his way to the French linos, and there asked to be led to some one speaking English. He w<vi taken before the commanding General, and said: "I am an English adjutant. When do you propose to attack, and what are your plans?" It was dark, and the General did not notice that beneath the overcoat was the uniform of a Prussian officer, and he gave all the information that was required. The Count then retired to the German lines* and communicated the information he had gathered to liia own commander, whom he convinced as to the truth of the story. The Germans then attacked the enemy and won the battle. Count Schwerin, while reconnoitring, discovered that he had wandered into the French lines. He thereupon went up to a French officer, and said in English: 'Will you please help me to roach the British linos? I have lost my way, and am soaked to the skin. I was obliged to change into the clothes of a dead Prussian officer, and am now afraid to attempt to reach the British lines through fear of being shot." The French officer was deceived by the Count's fluent English speech, and remembering that the French had previously shot in mistake several British officers who bore a close resemblance to Germans, he offered to lead the count back to the English lines. Count Schwerin spurred his horse, and when the French guide discovered the mistake he had made, he fired, but the Count's horse stumbled and the bullets passed over the head of the Count, who returned to the German lines uninjured. For this deed, lie lias been awarded a:: Iron Cross. J RECRUITING IN BRITAIN. In the beginning of November, the British War Office was, for the first time ( since the commencement of the war, getting less recruits per week for Lord Kitchener's new armies than it could accommodate. This was not due to any j fall in the rate of recruiting, but to an J increase of accommodation. In the first; weeks after Mons, the inflow of recruits | rose to over 30,000 a day. Such a flood swamped all provision that could be made for it, and some relief had to be sought by those in authority. Various devices wore employed to chock rcruiting temporarily, while the organisation was largely expanded, but in November the position was reversed, and the organisation was greater than the recruiting it was called upon to deal with. Adding together the expeditionary force, the reserves, the territorials, the new armies, and the personnel of the navy, th number of men recruited in Great Britain, who were then in the war services, was in the neighborhood of two millions. There were marked differences in the rates of recruiting in different districts. Save in out-of-the-way instances, e.g., Cornwall and parts of rural Wales, the villages had done well. The coalfields had done extraordinary well, especially Glamorgan, Monmouthshire, Northumberland, and Durham. Some of the groat towns, notably Birmingham and Liverpool, showed up strongly; others were definitely bad by comparison. London did not come out well; and its figures—especially since it is a groat recruiting centre for nonLondoners—bore a discreditable proportion to the metropolitan population. The military correspondent of the London Times estimated that 100,000 men Mere required at once. For those accommodation was ready, and there was every reason why the necessary numbers should be forthcoming immediately. "In the, ordinary course, at the present rate of recruiting, we should take the 100,000 men in a month, but if we can get them sooner, so much the better. But after these 100,000 come in, we may have to go slow, and it would be sufficient if we took 20,000 men in a month until the spring, when a fresh batch of armies must begin to form and the season wilt be more suitable for training them. Tf the Parliamentary committee can help by obtaining offers of service at stated dates during the early period of the year 1015, it will do a real service. We require more men, and many more men. We need three men at our depots for every five in the field, and as each unit goes off to fight, it must leave behind it a reserve upon which to draw. But we must not proceed without method, or enlist men for the mere pleasure of swelling numerical totals. Cadres, accommodation, arms, clothing, and equipment are, the things which decide bowmany men we can take, and when we can take them. We are catching up without deficiencies fast, but recruiting, like everything else, must be governed by good plain common sense." DANISH SYMPATHIES. An important note showing how the world is with Britain in this war was contained ill the letter from the editor of oil!' of the principal Copenhagen journals to Mr .lames Baker, the author of "Austria.: Ifer People and their Homelands.'' The writer says: "We over here are following the doings of England with the greatest sympathy, and Sir Edward Grey's speech in Parlianient is lor the Danes a document of ! great and exalted value. Tt may interest you to know that in the last few days the Gyldeniils Publishing House has issued a school book for use durin" i English lessons in which the speech of Sir Edward Grey is given in extenso. the speech is considered as such an iin-

portent item 61 lIWIW'.V Willi Ulb Ul.h- I dren of 'Denmark lio'.v and in the future should know it." IT!(M£ICR GUN POWER. | Jfisoussi ng tin' Chili::!) fight. the naval conv.>|s.imleiit 'of a London lfWHiiaivr hiiyn: • •Dm* might admit tlial it \yas a smart piece nf work nil iho part of Admire! vt.u S|wh* to sosioentrato smvral of tlic ships which had escaped li'oiii Kaio-eliau at the outbreak ol' ih" war and wliieh were last hoard of at points j widely asunder. lint this was .not the decisive factor (if the German victory. The Good Hope and the Mommmi h wore destroyed liy the Sehanihord and th" Gno'sciiau, and would equally have shared the same fate had th" light ci nisei's not born there at a!!. The Canopus witli her four 12-iu. <imis, would liavo put a very diU'eront aspect upon the situation. The enemy hail a slight advantage over the British squadron in mobility. This means thai, ho was able to take up him own tactical position and maintain it. The comparatively now 5.2-in. nuns of the Seharnliorst, and Gncisenau proved to have a. higher velocity and a longer range than the twelve-year-old O.J-in. guns of the (.'odd Hope. Moreover, the German preponderance of heavy artillery was in the ration of l(i to For the rest our ships carried nothing heavier tlian the 6-inch weapons. Admiral Cradock was hopeless outclassed. Thai is the explanation in a nutshell. No • di'gicc of lieroism or tactical skill could avail in such a situation. The British ships could not get to within cH'ectivc rafitge of the enemy, because he bad a turn better speed, and could keep (hem just at the limit of his own destructive, fire. The action was a running fight while it lasted, but apparently the two squadrons had been steaming, widely apart, at full power for some considerable time before it started, and - their speed should have been 23 knots. ( The Canopus is only good for IS knots. The fate of the Monmoutlu and the flood Hope should assist the community to understand why our command of the >Torth Sea has remained unchallenged for three months save by mines ( and submarines, and why it is never likely to be challenged in any other way —unless in the last stage of despair. This action, like every other action fought since the war began, demonstrates the absolute supremacy of the higher gun-power at sea. The disparity between the guns at the disposal of Admiral John Jcllicoe and that at the disposal of his opponent is far beyond that of the two squadrons that fought oil' the /Chilian coast. One has only to add up the figures in order to sec why the. High Sea Fleet has been lying ail this time in harbor, and why it is likely to remain there." \ THE INDIANS' REVKNGK. j There is an illuminating passage in a recent article by Saint Nihal Singh, a ' well-known Indian wrotor. He says:— ? "Whether the Teutons may or may not like to light the Indians, the Indians are longing for a tussle with the Germans.There is nothing that the Sikh, Hindoo, Buddhist, and Moslem lighters of Ilindoostani would like bettor to do than crush the Germans. The ("lerniiin has - drawn upon himself the Indian's ire. To begin with, he has made war upon Brit- 1 ain, which maintains peace and prosper- I ity in Ilindoostani, and to which the Indian is loyally attached. But, besides there is a little score that the Indian has ] to settle with the Prussian, to understand which it is necessary to turn the pages of history backwards. The brave rajahs belonging to fighting clans, wdiose deeds of valour stretch far beyond the i days when Germans were naked barbar- • iaris, were treated with open insolence by the Germans, who, along with the forces of various Powers, fought to quell the Chinese (Boxer) rising of 1000. Prussiau'2o(Ticcrs and privates spoke of India's knights as 'coolies,' and treated the sepoys as if they were dirt under their feet. Had it not been for the fact that the Indians did not want to involve Great Britain in complications, they would there and then have taught the Kaiser's soldiers to respect them. As it was, they patiently bided their time, and prayed for the time when they could pay back the proud Prussians in their own coin. In less than 15 years Nemesis hns played into the Indians' hands, and given them an opportunity of showing their mettle to the Germans." CAPTURING GERMAN TRADE. The general idea that "German trade ( must he captured" is less valuable than j specific instances of the transfi r to ij England of orders which, before the war J would have gene to Germany. In Lo->- j don, the Board of Trade has recently J been giving examples of this kind. An important firm in Barcelona (Spain), which had purchased from Germany colors for the decoration of china and glassware, lias written to the board, asking whore they can place their orders in the United Kingdom. A Dutch clothing bus- ii iness, which used to buy fez caps in Austria, now wants them from England. Saragossa (Spain) asks for British fertilizer, as its Gorman supply has ceased. A Spanish engineering company will take British steel in large quantities, as Germany can send none. A Madrid importing house wants rubber in bulk. In Norway a wholesale distributing firm for cheap manufactured jewellery has a market to fill if the British will supply the goods.