NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 15269, 4 May 1915, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

' The bombardment of forts at Met- . _; officially reported from Paris this mornings Perhaps this is a reply to the German bo__b_.r_.ment of Dunkirk "'at very long range. Tho nearest point in the IVench line to the outer ring of forts at Metz is in tho Pont-a-JMousson region, near the Lorraine frontier. There the French are less than ten miles, from these rfortifica- . _ions, the outermost of -which is seven ■ tailea from the town of Metz. The railWay from Meta to Thiancourt, towards Which tho J'Vench have been' gradually )idvancing, carries supplies- for the Ger. fcaans in tho St. Mihiel salient: j According to the Admiralty, German l*sr-bmarin'es, during April, sank nine ' steamers of 17,124 tons, and ten fishing vessels of 1755 tons.' The assassins of - the sea have- started the month of May with renewed vigour and added "fright- . fulness." Since Saturday they have -sunk a destroyer, two steamers, and a • trawler —all British —onq .French, and ono Russian steamer. The" American . oil-tank- steamer Gulflight "*va_ • also torpedoed, but was not' * sunk," though her master appears • jo have been killed. It will he interesting to see how this fresh out- - .burst of savagery will be received in the .United States. When Germany declared her intention of making war by - means' of submarines on all ' merchant , ships' in British waters, »* the American newspapers warned her that _ha would be held itrictry • accountable to • America fot. American ships and lives. Tho ' "New York World" said that accountability was "the first and last word of . the tTnitod States." Some weeks ago ".- two American ships were sunk by German mines in tho North Sea, but a.nparently- no protest was made. ■ This - time an American ship, only, a few months out of the builders' hands, has . been deliberately torpedoed by a Ger- . man., submarine." Built; owned, and registered' in the United States, and carrying a cargo of American oil. tho . American ■'Stars and Stripes," of which we have heard so much, did not save her from attack. What will President Wilson have to say about this • latest outrage? The small destroyer Recruitr-one of tho oldest ,ve*to-ls of her type in the • .Navy—-seas sun,k on Saturday morning ' in the North Sen. more than half of hor crew being drowned., Probably many more "would havo -been saved but for the fact that the attacking submarine -" drove the rescuing vessel away, and ' actually fired on one of her- boats, woimdfng four of the crew.. The Recruit, which is the first British, warship nink by German submarines since the toss of* the Formidable on January - Ist, was quickly avenged* Two German 'destroyer- approaching from the westward sank the trawler Columbia, only ' one of whose crew was saved. A dmbiou of the famous Third * Destroyer Flotilla, 'comprising the Latorey, Leo- - uidas. Law ford, and Lark, came up and -chased the German de-trovers, which made off _t full i*peed. A run- " ning fight ensued, but the Germans- "- wer. doomed from the start. iho superior speed and gunnery of the - British destroyers was once "-S-*- I - demonstrated, and at tbe end ot an hour both German destroyers had been sunk. The "23-pr. guns of the enemy were' completely outclassed in accuracy and weight of metal by the 4m guns of tlio British ships, which had not a single casualty. •'Humanity with victory" was onco more the,watchword or . the* British seamen.-Though the enemy .". had previously attacked and sunk a helpless trawler; drowning all hands but - one. the British destroyers rescued two officers -and forty-four* men the German ships. The Galloper and North Hinder lightships, near which the Rerruit v. a*, sunk, mark the presence of •sandbanks out<-ido the Nore. the Galloper bein_ thirty mile*, north-east of the Xorth Foreland. This v.uirt little d<*-*troyer engage•Bient recalls a <-omcvthat -*imilar action i which took place off the Dutch coast on I October 17th. Four German destroy-

ers were sighted by the light cruiser Undaunted, and tho destroyers Loyal, Legion, Lentiox, and Lance, which sank them all after a hot chase. German destroyers have played a very small part in the North Sea, and have suffered very severely when they havo taken part in any fighting. They were badly dealt with in the action of August 28th in Heligoland Bight, and though they attempted an attack in tho running fight of the battle-cruisers on January 24tb, they were prevented from dong any harm by the prompt action of the British M flotilla. On the other hand, the Third Destroyer Flotilla of .the British Fleet, has taken part in practically every naval engagement in the North Sea. This flotilla, which comprises the twenty ships of tho L class, was present in force during the action of August 2Sth. and mo:.;t of them accompanied the Arethusa and Undaunted on Christmas Day, when tiie great aerial raid was made on _u.-:-haven. A number of the officers and men of the Third Destroyer Flotilla received the decoration for distinguished service during the Heligoland Bight engagement. Chief Gunner Ernest Roner. of the Laforey. which took part in Saturday's fight, wears the Distinguished Service Cross. One of the most remarkable features of tho war so far ns the Navy is concerned is its effect on the list of flag officers. According to the latest available "Navy Li.-*.," thero are no.v more than 90 flag officers actively employed afloat and ashore. Taking first those serving afloat, we have the following all on the active list:— Admiral Six J. R. Jellicoo (Commander-in-Chief), Grand Fleet; Hour-Admiral C. E. Madden (Chief of the Stag), Grand Fleet. Battle squadron* of Grand Fleet—ViceAdmiraJs Sir C. Burner, Sir G. J. S. Warrender, Sir D. A. Gamble, E. E. Bradford, and Sir L. Bayly; Rear-Admirals B. Currcy,* C. F. Thnrsby, M. E. Browning, H. EvanThomas, Sir K. K. Arbutbnot, 8. Nicholson, A. L. Duff, and F." S. Miller. Batllo-cruieer aquadron—Yice-Admiral Sir D. Beatty. Dardanelles Battle Squadron—Vice-Ad-miral J. 11. de Robeck. Crnieer Squadrons—Roar-Admirals W. L. Grant, H. _~ Tot-a_bam, A. G. H. W. Moore, R. E. W-myaj, the Hon. S. A. Goxi-rh-Cal-thorp«, A. P. Sfoddart,. R, S. Phipps-Uorn-by, W. C. Pake-ham, and O. do B. Brock. Special Service—Admiral the Hon. Sir S. C. J. Colville, Vice-Admiral Sir F. C. D. Sturdee, Pear-Admirals D. R. S. de Chair, the. Hon. H. L. A. Hood, and O. F. Gillctt. Foreign Stations—-Vice-Admirals Sir T. H. M. Jerram, A. H. Limpug, Sir G. E. Patey, and Sir R. H. Peirse, and Rear-Admiral H. G. King-Hall. This makes a total of 35 flags flying afloat. But besides these, there' aro thirteen retired flag officers who, in order that they may take some part in the war, have patriotically relinquished their rank and well-earned retirement to command, armed yachts or patrol ships, as temporary captains in tho Royal Naval Reserve. Seventeen flag.officers, all but three of whom are on tho active list, aro employed at the Admiralty in the following "capacities :— ' Sea Lords—Admiral of, the Fleet Lord Fisher, of Kilverstone (retired), Vice-Admiral Sir F. T. Hamilton; and Rear-Admiral F. C. T. Tudor. Departmental Heads—Admiral Six A. M. Farquhar (commanding Coastjruard and Reserves), Rear-Admirals A. W. 'Waymouth (Naval Equipment), A. C. Leveeon (Operations Divisions, War Staff), S. R. Fre-•m-ntle (Signal Section, War Staff), H. F. Oliver (Chief of the War Staff), G. A. Bal- ; lard (Admiral of Patrols), M. Singer (Naval Ordpanco and Torpedoes), aid "W. H. BakerBaker (retired, Assistant to Admiral Commanding' Coastguard and Reserves). - Special Service—Admirals Sir Percy M. Scott (retired), Sir F. S. Inglefield (President, Motor-boat Committee), and Sir ,H. B. Jackson; Vioe-Admiral Sir E. J. "W. Slado, Rear-Admirals E. F. B. Charlton and A. D. Ricardo (Motor-boat Coninjittee). ; There are also employed on special service which is not specified, but presumahly ashore, the following five offi-cers:—_ear-Admirals R. P. F. Purefoy, C. L. Napier, E. R. Pears, E, G. Shortland, and C.H. Simpson. Other officers to the.numbeir of 23 are employed on specific duties.ashore. Finally there *is Roar-Admiral Mark Kerr, ■who is apparently still serving tinder the Greek Government. Tho foregoing analysis makes the number of flag officers* employed exactly equal to tho total on tiie active list, though, owing to certain retired officers being included, there are actually 23 on the active list on half-pay: This number comprises three Admirals of the Fleet, four Admirals, five Vice-Admirals, and eleven Rear-Admirals. The fact of their not being shown in the "Navy List" as employed does not, however, preclude -tho possibility of their being actually engaged on war service of some description- • -The latest evidence of,. German activity in -America is an advertising campaign .warning passengers of the risks they will take'in travelling across the Atlantic owing to submarines. To most thinking. people it will at once occur that for somo. weeks there has been, a greater risk, to trans-Atlantic passengers in tne sons around Great Britain than there can ever bo on the open ocean. . Yet not a singk transAtlantic liner has suffered harm from German submarines. > Count Bernstorff has, we are tokK issued a warning that the Atlantic must be regarded as a. war zone, but he might just as well have included the "Pacific, the Mediterranean; and the Indian Oceau. German has not yet been able to reduce the volume of ship--sin g; to arid from the ports of tho nited Kingdom. If it were not, indeed, for the congestion and "delay in those ports, owing to the shortage of labour and other internal causes, the volume of traffic would be even greater, in spite of the German declaration of a war zone and7the attacks of submarine' assassins. There is a strong suspicion that the campaign .of intimidation in America has been, engineered by the Germans, including their shipping companies, with the object of injuring the l>a_senger traffic of British and French ■companies, which have a virtual monopoly of the trans-Atlantic traffic. Not a single German liner has crossed the Atlantic as a passenger, or cargo carrier for more than eight months. The whole of the great fleets of the HamburgAmerika. Norddeutscher-Lloyd. and other German- companies, with the exception of those captured or sunk by the Allies, have been lying idle all that time, slowly dragging their owners to bankruptcy and ruin. It must be extremely galling for the Germans to see the uninterrupted flow of British, French, and neutral ships to and from American ports, while their own ships dare not venture on tlio seas. The war has completely upset all the ambitious schemes of the great German shipping. companies, including the establishment of a direct steamship service to New-Zealand. The Germans, as we know; were always striving to control the traffic of the North Atlantic. The New York correspondent of "The Times" recently gave some particulars of a German attempt —continued up to-the hour of the outbreak of the war—to got control of the International Mercantile Marine Company. He says that the Hamburg Amerika : Line, acting through an American Agent, tried, during the months of June and July,, 1914, to purchase the entire bond issue of tho company, which is more widely known as the "Morgan Combine." The company was o\*er-capitalised from the start, ana we were recently told that its affairs had been placed in the hands of a receiver, and that there was a possibility of reorganisation. The bonds being temptingly cheap, the HamburgAmerika Line may have been disposed to regard them as "a good thing" in certain contingencies. ''The Times" suggests that in the event of a default of interest. Herr Ballin. might have insisted, on his pound of flesh, and "claimed shares*' in the British and American liives controlled by' the Combine. It is not quite clear, however, how this was to be brought about. The Combine holds, for example, the shares of the "White Star Line, but it is not the White Star Line.. Moreover, that 1

line is under agreement with the British Government not to transfer any oi its vessels to a foreign flag without consent. There is little doubt that Herr Ballin aspired to get hold of the Combine's bonds and control its policy. It is suggested that the expressed willingness of the Hamburg-Amerika Line to sell its steamers interned in New York, was not wholly unconnected with the scheme to secure the bonds of the Combine. - "