WAR NOTES.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 June 1916, Page 5

WAR NOTES.

SINKING OF THE ASHBfiRTOJT A letter has been received by a Syd», ncy shipping man containing an aecount of the sinking of .'the* steamer Ashbur ton while homeward bound from NW Zealand ports in April. The letter states that' the vessel wa* torpedoed by an enemy submarine on April 1, when about ISO miles south of the Lizard. A submarine suddenly came to the surface shortly before 9 a.m. and signalled "Abandon ship; :( am going to sink you." Captain Matthews, of the Ashburton, decided to attempt to escape. ,He immediately sent out wireless signals, giving his exact position, and proceeded at full speedHe reported by wireless that he wa« being chased by a submarine. The submarine opened fire, the first shots apparently deliberately directed at th* boats, which were riddled with shrapnel. The wireless was brought down toy other shots, and the vessel was also struck astern, and began to settle aft, A shot carried away her funnel, and she \va\ forced to surrender.

The submarine then cam* up, and fired a torpedo, which struck the Ashburton near the water-line, in the vici»ity of the engine-room. The vessel sank in twenty-five minutes. One of the damaged boats was being lowered when it canted, and about thirty men were thrown into the water, with their lifebelts round them. The submarine crew rendered no assistance, but calmly watched the men struggling in the water. Two other boats were lowered. safely, and the men in the water were picked up. The submarine in the meantime disappeared.- Captain Matthews was the last man to leave the steamer. The crew were picked up by a patrol boat at 8 p.m. the same day, and wcr« landed at Plymouth. The third engineer, the carpenter, two British- members of the crew and one Chinese Wcr« injured, but the injuries were fortunately slight. \ '

THE MEN OF THE XAVY. In an article describing a visit to' tV Grand Fleet, Ralph Connor, tho wellknown Canadian novelist, says: "An I looked upon their faces, the chubby-faced kiddies, the sun-burned Jackie*, the young middies, the lieutenants, and lieu-tenant-commanders, up to the admiral-in-chief, T became awa~e of certain universal characteristics that stamped them as of one spirit. A clear-eyed alertness, a kind of careless serenity, a cheery dauntlessness, meet you everywhere. 'How long have yon been at this business?' I asked of a young lieutenant, gentle in voice and manners. 'Six years, sir,' was his quick rcplv. 'Finest Job irt the world, eh?' I said. 'Ra-ther,' ha answered, with a poverty of expression but n, wealth of enthusiasm. Oh! these* naval men of the gunroom and the wardroom! They are simply not to be snr- ' passed. What is that subtle thing 'Which lias set its stamp on their faces and given that fine finish to their manners; 'Picked men,' some n.ight say, 'picked from the best families of Britain.' Possibly that may have somewhat to do with it. But one of the revelations of this wnr is that the best blood of Bri- , tain is not always to be found in .what arc known as the b?*t families of Rritain. 'Blood and breeding?' ' Yes, but chiefly God's open air, discipline, tradition. These are th.; influences whoso steady impact has nioildod the souls and stamped the faces of these men. They ' move with tho light. f;uick step of the athlete; they speak wit;-, the'refined tone of the gentleman; they look at you with the fearless eye of the man of honor. They are serene and cheerful. Why? Because they are ready, and they {enow; it." - AMERICAS RIGHTS! Discussing American attitudes to the war, Mr. 11. G. Wells says:—"l remember that soon after the outbreak of war I lunched at the -Savoy Hotel in landon, when it wr„", crammed with Americans suddenly swept out of Europe by the storm. My host happened to he a man of some diplomatic standing, and several of them came and talked to him. They were full of these old-world I ideas 4 - . of American immunitv. Their indignation was comical, even nt the time. Sonic of them had been hustled; some had lost their luggage in Germany. When, they • asked, was it to be returned to them! Some seemed to be under the impression that, war or no war, an American tourist had a perfect right to travel about in the Vosges or up and down the Rhine, just as he thought fit. They thought he had just to wave a litMt, American nag and the referee would blow a whistle Mid hold up the battle until he had got by safeh 1 . One family had actually been careering about in a cart—their automobile seized—between the, closing lines ai French and Germans, brightly unaware of the disrespect of bursting shells for American nationality. .... Since those days the American nation has lived politically a hundred years." MAX BEHI-XD THE KAISER. General Erich von Fnlkeiihayu. Chief of the Gorman War S-.:iff, is the great-. est military idol in ''llunland" since the ■■ days of von Moltkc, who defeated the French in 1871K His name is not at all well known outside Germany. Fnlkenhayn is the strong man behind tho Kaiser. A powerful war leader, brilliant' . strategist and a skilful organiser, he is at present conducting the whale of the Ornian military operations. Falken- -. hayn is symbolical of Prussian militarism, hates England like poison, and Is credited with having more to do with the "forcing" of the sword Into the Kair ser's fond than any other man in Ger-/ many, with the possible txception of von * J Tirpitz. He has* no mercy for men who fail to carry out his schemes. It was ' Falkenhayn who banished into oblivion '. von Kluck, the general who will go Jown ', in history as the man who failed to take \ Paris, General Falkenhayn, as Mr. Fred« | erick Wm. Wile, the well-informed writer ,3 of German affairs, says, is "unquestion- ";i ably a great military asset. He is still *'i in his .prime, tall, well-knit, foreeful, in- "I defatigable and only fifty-four.'' His rise' ;.■ to. fame has been very rapid. Sixteen ;.* years ago he was but a junior on th*' | staff- of General WaMers'ee in Chine, i! Two years later he was elevated to tfie.''J War Ministry from the comparatively sj insignificant post of Chief of the General M Staff of the Fourth Army Corps (J&g.•■jj deburg). We get an insight into t3»'|] character of Falkenhayn, who all his life J has been obsessed with the supreme-l power of military organisation, from hisjj maiden speech as War Minister. TkM then outlined his policy as that- ofjl "keeping sharp, keen and' rcadv for baKll tie in the hand of the j Supreme- W«»f9 Lord, the mighty weaoou which o«p! wrmy represent*." ,"sa|