ON THE SEA.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 March 1918, Page 5

ON THE SEA.

BRiTiSH LOSSES,

CREATE A SERIOUS SITUATION.

Received March 15, 8.10 p.m Times Service. London, March 14. The Times naval correspondent says the losses emphasise the seriousness of the situation. The nation must realise that it lias entered upon the most critical period of the war. Practically every estimate of supply and production has been falsified by events. Priority of consideration must be given to the problem of combatting submarines. Unless anti-submarine appliances for seacrait and aircraft .are forthcoming quickly in adequate quantity the aggregate losses will continue to mount until not all the resources of the Allies will be able to cone with them.

Tiie Times, in a leader, nrjos the Government to publish the facts fully, so that the nation may realise the seriousness of Iho situation and be aroused to make the necessary eii'orts to meet it.

THE SEA PIRATE. CAPTURE OF THE MATUNGA. A SECRET HA VEX, Received March 10, 12.55 a.m. London, March 15. The Australian Press Association interviewed .Strangman and Flood, of the Mutunga. who said that Captain Donaldson, the Matunga's master, first thougiit 'the Wolf was u Japanese tramp. "When sighted die was running the same course ourselves, 1| miles to starboard. The Wolf immediately turned eastward across the Matunga's bowv until half a mile away, when she dropped a portion of her bulwarks, exposing gun muzzles. Captain Donaldson realised the Wolf was a raider, and threw over the code book, manifests, and official papers, 'the prize crew boarding the Matunga live minutes after. The Wolf fired a warning shot, getting out her steam launch with remarkable despatch.

"W<i had a compass, and therefore by means of rough charts wore able to follow her subsequent course. We steamed north for two days, up the cast coast of New Ireland, until wo reached theequator. Then we travelled westward for four days until we reached a beautiful and perfectly land-locked harbor in Dutch New Guinea. The selection of the harbor must have been planned in advance. It had a narrow entrance, was a quarter of a mile wide, with good anchorage, the hills entirely screening her from view.

I "Commander Nagu, of the Wolf, placed the launches at the harbor entrance and erected wireless plant and signalling ptation on the seaward side of the hill. The seaplane scoured the whole neighborhood, sea and land, for a distance of a hundred miles. We ri :ained there for twelve days while the Wolf took in foodstugs and coal from the Mutunga. The Wolf's crew meantime scraped the bottom of their vessel and repaired the engines and re painted the vessel in preparation for the continuation of iier voyage- They completed arrangements for sinking the Matunga, and placed bombs so that she sank stern first. 'The Wolf followed n. zigzag course to east of Singapore, where she lowered her remaining mines. *

''An officer bragged that the seaplane flew over Sydney harbor in the early morning and knew the disposition of the shipping there. He also stated that earlier mines had been dropped at Capetown, Bombay, and Colombo. We passed several steamers which were without suspicion, and then kept close to the coast and proceeded to the oast, then south past Balli and Lombok Straits. We entered the Indian Ocean and then proceeded in a westerly direction, subsequently going north, until able to pick up the wireless at Berlin and Constantinople. Wo spent a fortnight in the Indian Ocean, the seaplane constantly scouting in the day.

Before the Hitachi Maru was seized, the Wolf's officers were bragging about securing a big prize, and showed Strongman a wireless stating: "The Hitachi Maru'will arrive in Colombo to-morrow." The isaplane went out and confirmed the wireless. The plane reported that a six thousand tonner was nearby. The Wolf altered her course, and soon sighted the Hitachi Maru, and fired twice across her bows, while the seaplane was hovering overhead with bombs. The Germans sub-sequently-'declared they had photographs proving that the- Japanese gun crews were making ready when the Germans fired at the wireless room."

HOSPITAL SHIP ESCAPES ATTACK. London, March 14. The Admiralty reports that the hospital ship Guildford Castle, homeward bound, was unsuccessfully attacked by a "submarine at the entrance to the Eri?tol Channo 1 on the evening of March 10, whilst flying the Red Cross flags and all ihe hospital lights on.

ITALIAN" LOSSES. London, March 14. Italian official: Arrivals 430, departures 301. Two vessels over 1500 tons and one under 1500 tons were sunk and one unsuccessfully attacked. MUTINY OF RUSSIAN CREW. New York, March 14. Advices from Norfolk, Virginia, state that the Russian crew of the steamer Omsk seized tjto ship, demanded to be managed by a Bolshevik committee, and threatened to land the cargo of cotton in Russia instead of Liverpool. The ofilr cers disarmed and removed the mutineers and arrested the three ringleaders.