WAR NOTES.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 August 1916, Page 3

WAR NOTES.

THE "BLACK-LIST.* There have been numerous messages ] lately regarding a commercial "blacklist" proclaimed by Great Britain, against which the United States has issued a vigorous protest. Unfortunately, no information whatever as to the nature of the list lias been transmitted, and only by reading between the line* of the recent messages can any idea of it be gained; and that idea is vague and uncertain. The British Government '.i:is apparently announced some unpre ; cedentcd measures in support of its new blockade policy, in order to cheek illicit trade with the enemy. Only with ituutmost difficulty ean imports to Germany be prevented when they pass through neutral countries; and one of the recent decisions of Britain is that the onus is on ships to show that cargo :for neutral port it not going to reach the enemy. Obviously even that is not a complete safeguard. .AVhatever the actual nature of this "black-list," its object is to impose a further check by subjecting firms that trade with the enemy to pains and penalties, which, as some of th.'. l messages indicate, will take the shape of a bcyeott. Until further information is available, however, the pros, ard cons, of the case cannot be considered

WONDERFUL ORGANISATION "The organisation of the Army on the Western front is just wonderful," writes Private H. G'. Freeman, of the oth Reinforcements, to his people in Wellington. "It seems remarkable that men should receive, while in the front line of trenches, the same rations as they would receive anywhere in the world. Tht food is excellent. Mori than that, as soon as we come down for our vest we are given a beautiful hot bath and a clean outfit of underclothing." Private Freeman relates a queer and unpleasant experience which happened to himself and some members of his company. The town in which they were quartered was within reach of the Hun artillery, and one night they were seated in a restaurant when "Fritz" began to send over some "explosive beggars." At first they did not take much notice, until one landed in the street outside. The proprietor was about to show the Xew Zealanders the cellar when the building was hit ay a high explosive and the whole "caboosh" came down on their heads. They tried to get outside, but found ilie door blocked. Accordingly the window was broken, and they all found their way, in double-quick time,

to a comparatively safe collar. "From what I have seen of this part of tlie world," ho concludes, "the safest place to be in is the front line trench." WITH THE TUNNELLERS.

Professor I). B. Waters, now Captain of the Tunnelling Company that went from Xew Zealand, writes from France, under date Hay 12, to his brother. Mr. B. Waters: ''We are still in the same place grovelling away underground looking for the wily Hun. He is about as hard to find as a patch of schcelite. We have driven a few thousand feet at a depth of 100 ft below the surface in many cases and never less than (50ft. Talk about explosives! We put in five tons to-day and let it go, shaking the whole British Army, and we hope also taking a chunk off the (ierman galleries.. The Boclie is up to all sorts of tricks to hide his position, and, we who are fast learning them, are now tricky, too. So far we have hit him twice and he has hit us cnlv once. W e have been very fortunate in the fact that so far we have not had « casualty, either below or on the surface. The Boehc has had a great advantage over us, as he has been mining for months, and was nearly under the British lines when we came. We are fighting him right on the line, anil now have been able to get a go at him on the flank, and we reckon lie must get back or we will give a homethrust, and you can be sure the bill for explosives will he a pretty solid one; but we ure working for a big company, and never have to worry about finance. It is a wearing business, though, listening day after clay. Vou never know wheie the Hun has a drive, since he has such a good start. He seems some days to have the whole ilennan army underground. Then some officer will get nervy and come in with a marvellous tale. This means that someone has to go out and verify it, or, us it often happens, upset it after a lot of work. . . . We had a great artil-

lery duel last Sunday. We live between the front line and the artillery, and ths -hells were flying overhead both ways for three hours. Vou could hardly speak for the row. Up at the front the shelling of the. ♦readies was terrific, biii we

hnd only two men killed, and of the eight wounded five went back to the /'ring line after being bandaged up. If the first shell or two do not get men, the rest seldom will, as everyone bolts for a hole, and stays there till the shower is over, leaving perhaps one sentry every few hundred yards, and he is under bomb-proof cover, looking through a Mnall peep-hole. . . . The French artillery is the best in the war. No troops can get through their shrapnel fire." THE NAME OF THE NAVAL BATTLE. What slif.ll the battle at sea be called? asks the Naval and Military Record. It was fought off the Jutland coast on May 31. The Germans have described the scene as lying "between the Skagerak and Horn Reef." Apparently tbo Germans intend that it shall be known on i hat side of the North. Sea as the Battle of the Skagerak. In Britain it has.been variously described as the battle of Jutland ami the battle of Horn Reef. .Everyone knows where Jutland is, but tew atlases even indicate the position of Horn Reef. None but sailors in this country knew before this battle that such a reef existed. Another suggestion is that the action should be known as the battle of May 31. The title is hardly a happy one. We have an impression that the British fleet will settle the matter for itself, and that, whatever title it selects, will become the one which historians of the future will recognise. Naval officers have a happy knack of hitting off the situation in a phrase, and those who took part in sucli a memorable and historic event are in the best positiou to give it a title. ADMIRAL BEATTY'S BATTLE. Lord Beresford, speaking at a luncheon in connection with the unveiling of a memorial to the late Admiral Craddock, said we British were a rather extraordinary race. We never knew when we, were defeated, and wo never knew when we had won a victory. When we won a battle we lost it in the description of it. That happened the other day in connection with the Jutland battle. However, that was past. Now we know that we had really won the greatest sea battle since the battle of Trafalgar. The result of battle had been to make our command of the sea absolutely unquestionable, to make the idea of in- | vasion impossible, and to put us in a position of being able to tighten our blockade. In speaking of Sir David Beatty, Lord Beresford said in the whole of the annals of the sea he doubted if we could produce a more heroic and brilliant fight. Seme people were inclined to doubt whether Sir David Beatty and his gallant officers and men were not a little too bastv. Some people had the idea that we should have turned round and led the German Fleet to run after them. That was absolutely absurd. If it had not been for Sir David Beatty there never would have been a battle at all.