MOTHER COUNTRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 October 1918, Page 5

MOTHER COUNTRY.

THE WAR CONFERENCE. VIEWS OF OVERSEAS MINISTERS'. Received Oct. 20, 5.5 p.m. London, Oct. 25. A Blue Book shows that Mr. W.' M. Hughes moved a resolution at the War Conference which is interpreted as contemplatbig the continuance of the War Cabinet under another name after the war. He said that organis recognition must be given to the fact, apart from the Imperial Conference, that Imperial relations had reached a stage at which the Dominions Governments were transacting business wit'h the Imperial Government, not inter-depaitraentally, but inter-Uovernmentally. Therefore there ■should be a reorganisation of the whole Imperial machine. Mr. Massey said the Dominions would not be satisfied with sending representatives to England for a month or six weeks each year. They would expect the setting up of a Cabinet which would meet regularly in London. The real solution was a resident Minister in London.

Sir Joseph Ward was equally outspoken. Fleeting visits of a few weeks, he said, were not giving the people of the overseas countries the position they ought'to have in Imperial matters concerning themselves. It was useless to think we were sharing the destinies in the Cabinet when we were absent from it ten months in the year, and irrevocable decisions vitally affecting the overseas dominions had been settled in our absence.—Aus. N.Z. Cable Assoc.

ILL-TREATMENT OF PRISONERS. REPLY TO BRITISH REPRISAL THREAT. • Received Oct. 27. 5.5 p.m. ■ Amsterdam, Oct. 25. A semi-official German reply has teen issued regarding the British threat of reprisals. This reiterates the demand that Germans in China shall not be deported, and that non-commissioned ofliceis and men of submarines interned in Switzerland and Holland be included in the recent Hague agreement. As regards the bad treatment of prisoners, Germany says she has more reason to complain than Britain, and' she alleges acts of violence against German prisoners, and hopes that some other means than reprisals will be found to redress such misdeeds.—Reuter. RELEASED NEW ZEALANDER3. TELL OF THEIR EXPERIENCES IN GERMANY.

Received Oct. 27, 5.5 p.m. London, Oct. 23. Ca.ptain Gray, a New Zealander, repatriated from Germany, thanked Sit Ihomias A:|ackenzie for the attention given to prisoners' letters and parcels. In Germany the prisoners certainly could not survive without the food contained in the parcels. Lieut. Juress a New Zealander serving with the British army, who has returned to England after twenty-five months as a prisoner in Germany, spent- most of the time in Clausthal caiflp, commanded by one of the notorious Niemeyer brothers. Lieut. Juress fully confirms the reports regarding the bad treatment of prisoners, especially privates, who are treated a hundred per cent, worse than the officers. Clausthal camp was known as the "Robbery Camp," and the officers always had a deficit to make up, in contra-distinetion to Freiburg camp, where there was always a surplus. Niemeyer admitted to Lieut. Juress that prisoners were always robbed at Clans* thai camp by those in charge of the canteen. Bad treatment of officers consisted of mental torture. They were isearehed several times weekly* 'Any little thing purchased to make 'camp more cheerful was destroyed. When Niemeyer found that the men enjoyed sports he promptly forbade them, During the March offensive the commandant hypocritically declared that he regretted to hurt the officers' feelings, but gloatingly gaye exaggerated accounts of the Germans' victorious progress. He gave them details every few hours, and couldn't understand the Britishers remaining cheerful in such circumstances. Lieut. Juress states that German soldiers with bayonets slashed the names of the Kaiser and Hindenburg.on the war* loan posters. The guards latterly treated the prisoners better, and undisguisedly expressed their contempt for their own officers. —Alls. N.Z. Cable Association and Reuter:

IMPERIAL NEWS SRVICE. Received Oct. 27. 5.5 p:m. London, Oct. 25. The Blue' Book includes a condensed report of the discussion on Lord Beaverbrook's memorandum suggesting the organisation of an Imperial news service, to be fed by pooling all tile news flowing into London through private enterprise, and to be redistributed throughout the Empire with the assistance of the various Governments. The subject is being finally referred to the London Newspaper Proprietors' Association. It has been discussed by the delegations of overseas editors visiting London. These gentlemen 'gave the scheme no support, but recommended increased cable facilities as a precedent to reduced cable rates.—Aus. N.Z. Cable Assoc.