SIDELIGHTS ON THE WAR

New Zealand Tablet, 17 June 1915, Page 17

SIDELIGHTS ON THE WAR

. THE BLESSED SACRAMENT IN THE TRENCHES. . A lady in France, writing to a friend in Auckland, tells how i lie Blessed Sacrament was kept a whole day in the trenches in Northern France. 'The -chaplain,' says the writer, ' had promised some men who had begged for the privilege to bring them Holy Communion, as only four were allowed to go at a time to hear Mass at a little distance. When he came several of the men were on duty, so he determined to leave the consecrated Hosts, so that a deacon-soldier might distribute them on the morrow. Hastily a little recess was dug in a sheltered place, lined with white linen, and closed in by a veil on which were pinned a scapular of the Sacred Heart and the Allies' colors. A crucifix was placed above it, and before it some ivy and a few candles. Then the chaplain placed the Sacred Hosts in this improvised tabernacle. The whole day our Blessed Lord received visitors : they came in -groups of three and four to pray together. The watch was kept up during the night, and not for a moment was the sanctuary empty. At dawn the soldiers prepared the hut of the captain, who begged for the privilege of sweeping it himself. At 8 a.m. a procession was formed, led by the officers and men who were going to receive Holy Communion —18 in all. Then the deacon carried the Blessed Sacrament from the tiny recess to the hut, the regiment, which was only 400 yards away, keeping perfectly silent. Then Holy Communion was given, and each one returned to his post with ' It Bon Dieu dans son coeur.'

AT THE FRONT. Mr. W. C. Pen-in, of Melbourne, writes to us as follows: — Amongst the names in our lamentably large casualty lists is that of L. Perrin, reported wounded, who is a grandson of the late Mr. J. P. Perrin, for many years editor of the X.Z. Tablet. He has a brother who is about to proceed to the front. I was brought up in Dunedin, and feel proud of the deeds of the New Zealand men and of the way in which they came through in their trying ordeal.'

SURGEON-MAJOR O'NEILL, D.S.O. At the meeting of the Otago Hospital and Charitable Aid Board on Thursday evening recognition was made of the distinction which has been conferred on Dr. O'Neill by the British military authorities for gallantry in the field. This took the form of a resolution of congratulation, which was moved by the chairman (Mr J. H. Walker) and seconded by Dr. Brown. This resolution reads as follows:--' That it is with the greatest pleasure that tTiis board learns of the high honor which his Majesty the King has been pleased to bestow upon Surgeon-Major E. J. O'Neill by conferring upon him the Distinguished Service Order for gallantry and devotion to duty at the Dardanelles. Major O'Neill, in winning this distinction not only brings honor to himself and the force to which he belongs, but to New Zealand generally, and in particular to this city ofDunedin. of which he is a native: and, in view of Major

O’Neill’s career being so' intimately intermingled-with the work of the Dunedin Hospital, opportunity be taken of expressing the board’s appreciation of the recognition of Major' O’Neill’s services by his Majesty, the King, by 'conveying to Major " O’Neill and Mrs. : O’Neill the sincerest , congratulations of the Otago Hospital “ and Charitable Aid Board.’

MINE-SWEEPERS. . " ; : V " : A fleet of mine-sweepers is clearing a path through" the Dardanelles for the great battleships which are battering down the forts with their powerful guns.' These little vessels are engaged in hauling to the surface the deadly mines which bar the path to Constantinople. The vessels engaged in this task work in pairs. A strong cable is stretched across from one boat to another, and a huge triangular weight, known as a ' kite,' keeps the line well down in the water as it is dragged across the mine-field. The purpose of the cable is to snap the mooring-rope which holds the mines 16ft to 18ft below, the surface, where, if exploded, they can do great damage to the vital parts of a ship, such as the engineroom, coal-bunkers, or magazines. - ...... -.-.

As the two mine-sweeping vessels slowly steam apart sailors at each end of the cable watch for the connecting line to tighten. When a mine is located the cable vibrates and no longer sags. Then slowly above the water appears the glistening sphere whose 5001 b charge of exnlosive material could sink a Dreadnought in ten minutes.

A blast of a siren warns a waiting torpedo-boat that a mine has been discovered. Then the vessel speeds within a short distance of the floating metal case, the trawlers fall away, and a well-placed shell explodes the mine whose purpose has been frustrated. . Sometimes a mine explodes when it is caught by the dragging cable, and the vessels on either side run grave risk o= of "'being swamped. The plucky mine-sweepers, however, who are mostly North Sea fishermen, have from boyhood been schooled to face danger, and take huge risks with a light heart. While manoeuvring over minefields their crafts may at any moment strike a deathdealing sphere, and then —there is a vacancy at one end of the”drag tackle. The British authorities prepared North Sea fishermen for mine-sweeping by forming, some ago, the Trawler Reserve, members of which signed on for five years, and in peace time went through a fortnight’s training every year. \

ITALIAN MILITARY CHAPLAINS. Two Italian Senators wrote the other day to the Minister for War, General Zupelli, asking him if provision had been made for an adequate supply of military chaplains in case of mobilisation and war. The General has 7 replied as follows to Senator Gavazzi : Santini, asked me if, in what way, and in what measure, provision is to be made or has been made, for religious service for the army in case of mobilisation, I am glad to inform you that "provision is being made by means of the ecclesiastics who, being under the obligation of military service, will be called with the classes to which they belong These priests have already been marked off for the purpose by the territorial direction of military health But I have to add also that note has been taken of all the offers which priests are sending to the Ministry to be taken on as military chaplains should mobilisation occur, so that they may be employed m case their services become necessary. What the uorriere d'ltalia describes as ' the courageous initiative of the two Senators has thus revealed in the Italian military authorities a consoling absence of anti-religious feeling. For this blessing shajl we not thank the pacifying influence of Benedict XV.? THE BRITISH MAGAZINE RIFLE. Quite a number of people believe that cartridges are served out' to the soldiers separated from one another. Cartridges are, however, usually given out fastened together hi clips of five. The \ modern rifle used by the British Army is known, as a magazlne-ririe,

and holds two clips or. ten - cartridges in the magazine itself, as well as an extra cartridge above the magazine, eleven rounds in all. When the cartridge-clip is forced into the magazine the fastening is removed, so that e ■ cartridge, when it reaches the magazine, is separate from the others.

The magazine of the Army rifle is nothing more than a detachable box containing a spring. This spring forces up one cartridge at a time into its position ready for firing. As a rule the ten cartridges in the magazines are only used in great emergency, as when the order for rapid firing is given to stop an enemy’s charge. In the ordinary way the magazine, with its ten cartridges, is shut off from the rest of the rifle by means of a metal slide called the ‘cut off.’ 5

SOLDIER PRIESTS KILLED AND WOUNDED. From statistics that have -been lately published, we are able to form an idea of the generous tribute paid by the French clergy to the great war (writes a Paris correspondent). In the single archdiocese of Paris ten soldier priests have been killed, and it would be difficult to count all those who have been wounded or tried by illness; many of these have now returned to the line of fire. The professors of Catholic colleges and seminaries, whom their former life would seem to have ill prepared for a soldier's career, have distinguished themselves nobly at' the front. A professor of the seminary of Beaupreau, in the diocese of Angers, M. Charrier, sub-lieu-tenant and flag-bearer of the 114th Infantry Regiment, has lately received the distinction of the Legion of Honor for his ' absolute devotednesa and exceptional energy.' He has been twice grievously wounded and has "lost one eye. Of the 137 Catholic schoolmasters and professors of the diocese of Nantes, five have been killed ; to the diocese of Quimper belong two soldier priests, the Abbes Le Gall and Salaun, who have been lately publicly praised by the military authorities for their courage" under fire and their heroic devotion to their wounded comrades.