REPRISALS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2948, 7 December 1916, Page 8

REPRISALS

Sir, —Realising the fact that- it is now only a matter of time and their fate will bo 'sealed, the Huns will shrink at no atrocities, however devilish and diabolical, as evidenced by their recent" sinking of our hospital ships off the coast of Greece, and their latest notification that tiiey purpose torpedoing all British-bound vessols, more especially thoso laden with food for England.

According to German military, regulations, every meanS; however barbarous, can be adopted to ensure victory, but ns soon as thoir enemies resort to reprisals then the cruelties must cease. Assuming that it were publicly made known in Germany, that the English Government had passed a Bill making it compulsory that all ships when at sea, besides beiug armed, must carry a certain, number of German prisoners (according to tonnage audi value), and knowing that their own countrymen were on boards would not this (to a certain degree) check their Satanic love of slaughter? 1 Presuming that, say, 100,000.0f their best known men were selected 'from the various internment camps in Europe, men .of wealth, influence, and social position in tlio Fatherland, and that these men were distributed among and compelled to live on board our various ships when at sea, as a protection to our mon, would not that have a det'erreht effect on xlieso Teuton savages? Tho blowing up by their own countrymen of one of our vessels, together with 25, 50, or 100 of their leading military men, would cause such a national upheaval of indignation among the less vile of the German nation, that public opinion

would demand a cessation of this cowardly and criminal mode of murder. lleprisals are quite contrary to ai Britisher's idea of fair play, but with a fight to a finish, as is this present war, sense must take the place of sentiment.—l am, etc., , AVENGER