MOTHER COUNTRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 August 1916, Page 5

MOTHER COUNTRY.

KING GEORGE AT THE FRONT. .ALL PARTS VISITED. *N THE DANGER ZONE., ' Received August 10, 7.iu p.m. London, August 1.". Mr. Philip Gibbs reports that the King visited all parts of the front, and all the traffic and turmoil of the war surged about him. An endless procession of the Empire's manhood passed him on the roads. They were not in review order, but were men going to do their work in the war. The King has talc en certain risks, and has gone well within range of the enemy's guns. He stood among the wreckage and ruin of the war where the ground was a graveyard of gallant men. The King's presence in the danger zone stirred the troops greatly. The King and General Sir Douglas met M. Poincare and Generals Joffre and Koch on Saturday. He attended the service that was held among the troops on Sunday. He visited the King and Queen of the Belgians on Monday. The cfsential character of the visit was its informality and the absence of all ceremony.- The King inspected the men's billets without escort. AUSTRALIAN LOYALTY. When the King passed, a thousand Australians, assembled round their own headquarters, made a great demonstration of loyalty. The King, addressing General Birdwood, expressed his high appreciation of their magnificent work. ANZACS TAKE A HAND. A little later, quite unexpectedly, there came down the road a large body of Anzacs from Pozieres, in full kit, with all the liirt and dust of battle upon them-. They were whistling and singing out "Hullo, boys!" An officer shouted: "Here's the King!" They halted, flung off hats am| cheered tremendously. This . fine, stirring' scene was all the better 'or its unexpectedness. A SAFE RETURN. Reuter Service. Received August 16, 10.50 p.m. London,' August 16. The King returned to London yesterday in excellent health. THE KING'S GENERAL ORDER. AFTER VISITING THE FRONT. . ALL ROUND PRAISE. | Received August 10, 0.20 p.m. London, August 15. The King's general order to tie army 1 in France, which has been sent to Gen- 1 cral Sir Douglas Haig, states: "It has 1 been a great pleasure and satisfaction 1 to me to be with my armies for the past week and to be able to judge of their splendid condition for 'war, and to observe the spirit of cheerful confidence that is animating all ranks in their united, loyal co-operation to their chiefs c and to one another. ■Since my last visit to the front there i has been almost uninterrupted fighting 1 on parts of our line. The offensive re- ' cently begun has been resolutely main- : tained day and night. I had opportuni- ! ties of visiting some of the scenes of i later desperate struggles, and of appreciating the demaiids made on your courage and physical endurance in order to assail and capture those positions prepared during two years and stoutly defended to the last. I realised not only i the splendid work done when you were l immediately in touch with the enemy, i but also the vast organisations behind 1 the fighting line, honorable alike to the genius and initiation, as well as to the . hearts and hands of the workers. ALL PLAYING THEIR PART. i "Everywhere there is proof that all the men and women are playing their part. I rejoice to think that their noble efforts are heartily seconded by all classes at home. The happy relations of my armies with those of our French allies i 9 equally noticeable as those between my troops and the inhabitants of those dis- ; tricts where they are quartered, and : from whom they have received a cordial welcome ever since their first arrival in France. MEMORABLE BRAVERY AND SACRIFICE.. "I do not think 1 and your fellowcountrymen will ever forget the heavy sacrifices the armies have made, nor the : bravery and endurance displayed during ; the past two years'of the bitter conflict. ■ These sacrifices have not been made in vain. ON TO VICTORY. "The arms of the Allies will never lie laid down until the cause has triumphed. I return home more than ever proud of you. "May God guide you to victory!" THE AIR SERVICE. COMMITTEE'S INTERIM RETORT. MR. BILLING'S CHARGES. Received August 10, 7.15 p.m. London, August 15. An interim report presented by the Air Committee says that no one could complain if Mr. Billing demanded an inquiry into the cases he has cited in order to .leterinine if the deaths were preventable, but to base charges of criminal negligence or murder thereupon is au abuse of the English language entirely unjustifiable. Some of Mr. Billing's other criticisms and suggestions are of a different character, and will be carefully considered • ■

MUNITIONS SUPPLY. ■ —■ - n ENORMOUSLY INCREASED. t'/i MILLION WORKERS. \ London. August 15. In the 1 louse of Commons, Mr. E. S. Montagu stilted that Britain was manufacturing monthly twice as many heavy guns a* she possessed at the outbreak of war. The output of machine-guns had' increased sixteen-fold, and the weekly output of I!)14-h), with corresponding innumber of field howitzers was eighteen times greater than at the beginning of 1915. The output of shells had increased so much that a comparison with 1014 was useless. Besides a large amount of munitions and guns we were supplying the Allies with metals for munitions to the value of six millions monthly, and sending to France one-third of our production of steel for shells. Mr. Montagu urged the importance of a further dilution of labor. There were 45.000 soldiers released for munition work. A year ago U:J5,000 persons were employed in making munitions; now there were 2% million, of whom 400,000 were women. REMARKABLE PROGRESS. ECONOMICAL METHODS. DEMAND FOR LONG-RANGE GUNS. PROGRESS MUST BE CONTINUOUS. Received August IG, 6.15 p.m. London, August 15. In the House of Commons, Mr. E. S. Montague, in the course of a review of the work of the Munitions Department, said that the output of shells at the beginning was so negligible that the percentage of increases gave fantastic results. For example, the IS-pounder heavy shells had increased 2G50 times, and for the last week of June it was 1 tiYa times above the average weekly output fo 1914-15, with corresponding increases in other classes of munitions. Altogether, he added, we were now manufacturing a weekly equivalent of the entire pre-war stock of ammunition, and could now turn out in three or four weeks machine-guns equivalent to the total stock existing when the Ministry of Munitions was. established. Our method of purchasing and the limitation of the prices of metals had saved forty-one millions sterling. He did not divulge a secret in saying that the artillery had acquitted itself entirely satisfactorily in the recent fighting. The difficulties in replacing damaged, worn-out guns had been satisfactorily surmounted.' Conditions of modern warfare emphasised the value of long-range guns, and an ever-increasing range was demanded. Our unpreparedness for war had the advantage in giving us entirely modern weapons. Reports from the front showed that the steady improvement in the quality of the ammunition had been a distinct measure in the successes achieved, but against an enemy like Germany progress must be continuous. INDEPENDENCE OF FOREIGN SUPPLY, The Ministry had been aiming at independence of foreign supply. When the Ministry was established the American factories supplied 70 per cent, of the light shells. We were now independent. We had found the American heavy shells invaluable during the development of the British factories, but it was expected that the Home and Canadian outputs would ultimately make us independent. ■ COST DECREASING. The cost of the factories was a decreasing cost, in some cases being completely covered in from six to twelve months by the difference in cost of the home and foreign munitions. A TRIBUTE TO WOMEN WORKERS. He paid a tribute to the women, and asked: Wheto was now. the man who would deny women the civil rights which tlu-y had earned? WORK MUST GO ON. The Ministry's programme would not be. completed until the number of guns had been increased many times and the store of ammunition was sufficient to maintain, for an indefinite offensive, the whole front. BRITAIN'S REQUIREMENTS ALMOST MET. Continuing, Air. Montagu added: — Our equipment of 18-pounders was practically complete, and we should shortly have satisfied our own requirements in machine-guns, and should then be able to devote our attention entirely to the requirements of the Allies. The weekly output of munitions was covered by the expenditure thereof, so that if the workmen and employers continued to play their parts as nobly as heretofore there need be no fear oi the offensive breaking down owing to shortage of ammunition. V .. A DEFECT REMEDIED Received August IG, 10.50 p.m. London, August Hi. Mr. Lloyd George, commenting on the improvement in munitions, revealed the fact that premature shells were so bad in the battle at Loos that the firing of high explosive shells had to be abandoned. Now, the number was negligible. ? CONSCRIPTION NOTICES. Received August Ifi, 7.10 p.m. London, August 1.1. .Notices have 'oeen posted calling to the colors nU men attaining the age of IS years nmi sj months. They will not be i!."blc ?o:' .-oi'vice abroad until .iie/ i •are 11) years ol' agf * 1<

ANOTHER HORROR. SPREADING BUBONIC rLAG U'E. DELIBERATELY INFECTED EAT. Received August 16. 7.10 p.m. ■ London, August 15. Three cases of bubonic plague are reported from Bristol. The medical olii- . cer »f the port thinks that they are possibly due to an infected rat, which was found to be deliberately infected. Investigations are proceeding. INTERNATIONAL LAW DEFENCE. BLACK-LISTING FIRMS. Amsterdam, August 15. Scandinavia, Holland and Switzerland have formed n League of Neutrals,for the purpose of resisting arbitrary commercial treatment and to defend the principles of international law and treaties and to resist political hegemony. London, August 15. The Buenos Aires Government protested against the black-listing of firms trading with the enemy. Sir Edward Grey replied that he did not believe the prosperity of the Argontine xvas dependent lon such firms, against which Britain must take precautions. GERMANY'S VIOLATED PROMISE. yESSELS SUNK WITHOUT \ WARNING. Received August IG, 6.5 p.m. London, August 15. In the House of Lords, Earl Crewe said that since Germany had promised America not to sink ships without warning, four British and three neutral vessels had been so sunk, and forty-six lives lost. This was a clear violation of the undertaking. There were other cases in which a broach of the undertaking was highly probable, but there was not definite proof, ITALY'S WOOL IMPORTS. London, August 15. Replying to a question in the House of Commons, Mr. Harcourt said that Italy's imports of greasy wool from all sources in 1915 showed, an increase of 43,50!) metric tons compared with 1013, Washed wool decreased 19,677 tons. If the greasy wool imports were reckoned in terms of washed wool the net increase in imports would be under 10,000 tons of washed wool. The increase was largely due to the requirements of the arnvy. Italy's production of woollen materials in 1915 was considerably above normal, and her export of manufactured woollens to France increased. There was no reason to believe that the control over the export to Switzerland 'had been ineffective.