ON THE SEA.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 December 1915, Page 5

ON THE SEA.

man's inhumanity. STORY OF THE VILLE DE LA CIOTAT SURVIVORS JEERED AT. Received Dec, 21), 8.45 p.m. Malta, Dec. 2D. The Ville de la Ciotat carried 13-i passengers and 181 of a crew. When oil' Crete, at 10 o'clock in the morning, siie sighted a Dutch steamer and then u. Greek one. Immediately after there was a terrific explosion, which" shook the vessel from stem to stem. A torpedo made an enormous hole in the stern, and a great inrush of water followed. Simultaneously with the explosion a submarine, flying the Austrian flag, appeared a few yards away, and the general opinion was that one of the foreign vessels had covered the submarine.

There was no panic. The crew lowered the boats, and the passengers with the greatest coolness gathered on deck. Five lifeboats and two rafts were released, but a boat containing women and children capsized, and all the occupants were drowned. Another boat was smashed on the ship's side. The steamer's final plunge carried down the majority of the victims.

The submarine waited till the ship sunk and then circled the lifeboats, the crew jeering at the survivors and saying, "There is a British steamer behind to pick you up." Two hours later the Merol picked up the survivors, although the submarine's wake was still visible, but apparent! v her torpedoes were exhausted. The Merol's provisions were insufficient for the 130 extra mouths, and many spent Christmas Day on the shortest of rations.

THE GRAND FLEET. MESSAGE FROM NAVY LEAGUE, Received Dec. 29, 8.15 p.m. London, Dec. 28. Members of the Navy League throughout the world tendered Admiral Jellicoe and the officers and men of the Grand Fleet their profound gratitude for the incalculable services rendered to King and Empire for the preservation of the liberties of mankind since the beginning of the war. The message adds: "We wish you a joyful New Year, wherein a triumph of the British sea power may achieve a permanent peace, for all nations."

DESTROYER v. SUBMARINES, THE LATTER REPULSED. . , Petrograd, Dec. 28. Official reports of an encounter between the destroyer Gromky, on the Bulgarian coast, and a number of enemy submarines, show that the Gromky skilfully evaded two torpedoes and repulsed the submarines by artillery. It is believed that one submarine was sunk. Paris, Dec. 28. A communique states that a cruiser exploring Solrum Bay destroyed a Turkish battery. The trawler Paris attacked two large enemy submarines, which fled after being fired at for two hours.