SIDELIGHTS ON THE WAR

New Zealand Tablet, 29 April 1915, Page 17

SIDELIGHTS ON THE WAR

- GENERAL. - , - . It is estimated that the Irish: Guards have lost more : .men : pro rata in the : present war than any British regiment has ever lost in, any war. before. Gf the Newfoundland soldiers recently quartered in ■ Edinburgh Castle, three - hundred were Catholics. Canon Stuart described them as amongst the finest type of men he has met in the British Army. • Three months ago it was on record that 87 Catholic priests and 127 nuns had been awarded the Legion of Honor by the French Government for services in the field. As many as 426 French Jesuits went to the front, and of these many ( are now no more. - Mr. Coningsby Dawson, a French correspondent . of the daily press,, has • given currency to the statement that General Joffre gave the countersign Jeanne d’Arc to his troops on the critical day when, together with the British, they stopped the German advance to Paris, and adds, ‘ The use of the word Jeanne d’Arc for an - Anglo-Fiench Army is one of the miracles of history.’ ~ Mr. Spencer Leigh Hughes, M.P., comments in: a London weekly paper on the statement that the Connaught Rangers, in coming to the rescue of .the Gordon Highlanders in a recent battle in France, sang ‘God save Ireland ’as they marched. lie adds, ‘ I should like to know if “Dolly’s Brae” has been heard in France or Flanders of late, and also how many of the Ulster Volunteers are at the front to-day?’ They have the name of Ypres in England—in that of the Ypres Tower at Rye, in Sussex, though local talk knows nothing of. its proper pronunciation, and ' broadly calls it the 'Wipers Tower.’ It is a twelfthcentury building, , the oldest secular building of all the Cinque Ports, and was at one time the only stronghold of the town, though later walls and gates were built. The reason for its name is to be found in the commonlyaccepted statement that is was built by William des Ypres, Earl of Kent. SAD CONDITION OF BELGIUM. News which reaches England from all quarters of Belgium and France and neutral countries (says the Universe) proves without a shadow of doubt that Germany is stripping Belgium by confiscation, and is engaged in what can be designated by no other term than systematic plundering. Food is taken from non-com-batants on the plea that it is needed fox - civilians in Germany, but all the evidence at hand distinctly shows that the goods are destined for German troops. The total value of raw materials taken from Belgium is, up to the present, over £15,000,000. The monetary exactions demanded from even small Belgian towns' is without parallel in the history of the world. It amounts to nothing less than robbery. It is not to be wondered at that Mr. Robinson Smith, a member of the Committee for Relief in Belgium, in his latest report on the condition of the people still remaining in Belgium, states that the major portion of those remaining in their sorely afflicted country are on the verge of starvation. THE SPIRIT OF THE TIMES. The spirit of the times was shown at a marriage celebrated by Father Bernard Vaughan, S.J., at St. Pancras’ Church, Ipswich, on February 11. The contracting parties were Mr. Richard S. Weld-Blundell and Mrs. Mayne. Father Bernard Vaughan said in an address that he felt proud to think that, while the bridegroom held a commission in the Coldstream Guards, his brother, the best man, was a private in the ranks of a Liverpool regiment. The British Empire had rallied her sons by the million to her flag, and her daughters at home were as active as her sons at the front. Never were they so proud of their place in the sun as to-day, when there, was a marvellous unity among them.' . ? -V ■ <

‘THY WILD BE DONE.’ t * • ,C t i' •*;, >. ’'*■ V. :• .. * . ‘ y - The . A forth Journal prints a pathetic ' letter ■ written by Lieutenant A. M. A. T. de L. Teeling, an old- boy, .who was killed in action at the Battle'of the Aisne. . .. It shows remarkable submission to the will of God. Writing to his father before going to the front Lieutenant Teeling said: " v ‘ I wonder if I’ll ever return should I go out! I wonder still more if I’ll ever go out. I daily pray , that' I may, but God knows what is good for us, so -I always add, ‘‘Thy will, not, mine', be done.” If He sees .fit for me to go and return safely He’ll grant my prayer. Whereas if He sees it would be for my greater . good that I never return I’ll be shot. And again, if it is best for me not to go out at all-He’ll keep me here.* Never-s theless, I can’t help praying that I may be allowed to go.’ ■ . Lieutenant Teeling was the youngest son of Captain Bar tie Teeling, Private Chamberlain to his Holiness. THE CZAR HONORS CATHOLIC TROOPER. Along several officers and men of the Royal Scots Greys, Trooper Fred G. Higgins, who is a son - of Mr. Matthew Higgins, Ringford, Kirkcudbright, has received a decoration from his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia, who is Colonel-in-Chief of the regi- ■ ment. The decoration is a silver Maltese cross, bearing the Czar’s monogram on the obverse and on the reverse St. George and the dragon is depicted. The ribbon to be worn with the decoration is composed, of black and yellow perpendicular bars. Private Higgins, who is a Catholic, joined the Royal Scots Greys in January, 1911. His elder brother, Private Matthew Higgins, is at the front with the Ist Battalion Cameron Highlanders, and a younger brother, Private John Higgins, is in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Trooper Higgins formed one of a mounted escort at the marriage of Prince Arthur of Connaught, who is an officer in the Greys, and had also a similar honor when the King and Queen visited Glasgow. He went to the front with his regiment at the beginning of the war, and has seen all the fighting since the battle of Mons, taking part in the charges which his regiment made during the famous ~ treat. GERMANY’S GIBRALTAR. ' Germany’s Gibraltar ’ is the term applied to Heligoland, the triangular-shaped island which occupies so valuable a strategical position in the North Sea. Situated some twenty-eight miles from the mainland, this fortified island acts as an effective guardian of the mouths of the rivers Elbe and Weser, and the German coast-line generally. This island has had a chequered career. At one time it was an amusement centre similar to the famous Coney Island of America. Cafes, dancing-halls, and a museum were erected there, but now these buildings have been replaced by grim fortresses and armoured gun-turrets. Since the Germans took over Heligoland in 1890 from the British in exchange for Zanzibar, they have spent millions in transforming the island into a fortified base, for their naval experts soon recognised its value as a factor of defence. During the last twenty years six millions have been expended in supplementing the natural fortifications of the isle. The cliffs have been strengthened by great walls of cement, and the harbor there, intended for a base for torpedo craft, is one of the most highly-fortified defences in the world. The surrender of Heligoland to Germany by Lord Salisbury at the time of the famous bargain of the ‘ ’nineties’ aroused much hostile comment amongst Britishers, and there is little doubt that this island - has added a valuable link to the chain of fortresses which guard the Kaiser’s dominions.. * A new importance has recently been given Heligoland by the establishment there of a base -for airships. It is possible to house five Zeppelins there and .keep them; well supplied with gas. > ... r- ;U-t y

THE CRUCIFIX. life -• N. * Eye-Witness,’ present with the British Headquarters in* France, in .a descriptive account, ' dated March 5, says that the astonishing strength of many of the old medieval buildings in the country, such as the Templars’ Tower at Nieuport and the church tower of Messines, is evinced .by the fact that they have resisted bombardment by modern artillery. The latter is, of course, in a more or less ruinous condition as a result of the- German bombardment four months ago; great blocks of -masonry have been blown off it, the belfry has been shot away, the interior is completely burnt out but the framework, though irregular in outline and full of gaping holes, still stands defiant amid the surrounding ruins. - The church contained a very fine oak screen, in the centre of which was a lifesiz© plaster crucifix. When the British' evacuated the place on October 31 the German shells had set alight the woodwork, which was completely burnt, and everything in the church destroyed, with the sole exception of thecrucifix, which was not touched. ‘PRIVATE MOURE * A Second Lieutenant,’ writing to the Times, says that among the 20,000 priests, religious, and seminarists, serving in the French Army, are Mgr. Ruch, the Coadjutor of Nancy, who is acting as a stretcher-bearer; Mgr.' Perros, Vicar Apostolic of Siam, who is sublieutenant in an infantry regiment; and Mgr. Mourey, Bishop of the Gold Coast, who, in the ranks, is simply ‘Private Mourey.’ ‘Second Lieutenant’ speaks of the coolness under fire of Bishop Ruch, and says of * Private Mourey ’ that he might have been excused military service, as he was born at Le Puy in 1873, ‘ but his straightforward conscience impelled him to serve.’ . A RIGHT AND TRUE VIEW. Mr.'T. P. O’Connor, M.P., in an article in the Daily Chronicle says that many people are still under the hallucination that Ireland has held back and is not doing her fair share in defending the Empire from peril. As a matter of fact, to him the most extraordinary outcome of the war is the incredible rapidity with which the good results of the just treatment of Ireland by the Empire have borne fruit. Especially he has been quite astounded at the promptitude and unanimity with which the Irish in Great Britain took the right and true view of the present struggle. Glasgow’s meeting stands out in his memory as one of the most remarkable gatherings he ever addressed. One of the men sentenced to be hanged with the ‘Manchester Martyrs’ survives. His name is Captain O’Meagher Condon. lie has nothing to hope nor to fear from England now, but he is on the side of England and the Allies. An old fighter for freedom, how could he take any other side?’ THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERTY AND CIVILISATION. Mr. Redmond, after his speech in Manchester in connection with the St. Patrick’s Day celebration there, remained in Manchester for a few days. In the course of his stay he paid a visit to the local branch of the Calico Printers’ Association, and was afterwards entertained with his wife to lunch at the Town Hall by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress. This year, as last, Manchester has a Catholic Nationalist Lord Mayor in the person of Alderman Dan McCabe. The guests invited to meet Mr. Redmond included Bishop Hanlon, of Uganda, Abbot Seadon, the Protestant Dean of Manchester, Bishop Welldon, and a number of local notabilities. Mr. Redmond said it was not only the duty of young Irishmen to face the risks and sacrifices of the

war, but it ought to be their glory» as well, sine© the Allies were engaged# in a battle for the 'maintenance of : the most sacred of principles, liberty, and civilisation. . ■ ——. ' ; .... CATHOLIC CLERGY ACCLAIMED. || A volume entitled * With the Allies,’ by Richard Harding Davis, refers in terms of glowing admiration to the courage of the Catholic clergy in the bombardment of Rheims. The Scotsman review of the volume, haying described the terror and wreckage wrought by the bursting shells, and referred with admiration to the bravery of the women of Rheims, who stood with their knitting in their hands watching the terrific spectacle, goes on to make these references to the Catholic clergy: - But more heroic than their composure - was the noble conduct of the clergy of the Cathedral, who, led by their Archbishop, carried the German wounded, who had been taken for shelter within the Cathedral walls, out of the burning and mutilated edifice, when German shells were raining steadily upon it. Enraged by the infamous action of the enemy, the citizens of Rheims threatened to take vengeance upon the German * wounded; but, says Mr. Davis, the Archbishop and his priests formed a protecting guard around their charges, and bore them unmolested through the excited throng.’ HOW THE MONSTERS FOUGHT. c Whoever reads Mr. John Buchan’s fine story of the war (says the Irish News ) will understand a hundred things which still mystify the public. We quote the author’s narrative of the fate of a heroic battalion of the Munster Fusiliers—an incident which has not been officially explained with any degree of clarity up to the present : * The critical day for the British force had been that of Le Gateau (August 26). Smith-Dorrien’s dogged resistance on that day had don© more than merely save the army for the moment. It had broken the vigor of the German pursuit. Heavy as the British losses had been, both in the battle and in the terrible night march southwards, von Kluck’s attempt to envelop and cut off the Second Corps had failed, and for the next few days Sir John French had an easier task. On the day of the battle the First Corps had marched southwards towards Guise, in the valley of the Oise, without serious menace from the German pursuit. Early on the next morning, however, it suffered an unfortunate loss. The Munster Fusiliers had halted for the night on the extreme right rear of the corps. A dispatch rider sent to them with orders for an early march next day lost his way, and was made prisoner. At dawn the Munsters found themselves attacked by several German battalions, and presently noticed that their retreat was cut off. They made a good fight for several hours, hoping to hold out till help should come. But all the while their comrades of the First Corps were marching southward, utterly unaware of their desperate position. It -was only when they had lost their colonel, most of their officers, and a large proportion of their rank and file, when their ammunition was all but expended, and they were ringed round •by superior numbers, that the remnant of this splendid battalion surrendered.’ All this happened six and a-half months ago; and no finer deed has been recorded * since „ that 27th of August. The little battalion of Munsters, unwittingly deserted by their comrades, fought against • all the advancing victorious German legions, held them back for several hours, and did -not surrender until scarcely a round of ammunition was left to the shattered, wearied, leaderless remnant of the heroes from Cork and Kerry. Many other battalions of ~ the Munster Fusiliers have distinguished themselves since the end of August; but the glory of the men who fought near Guise will never be eclipsed. • ' •