PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3118, 23 June 1917, Page 8

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Counter-attacks recently niado by the Germans upon the French positions east of Vauxaillon appear to have been particularly fierce and sustained, but they-led to no results that can he regarded, from the enemy's standpoint, as noteworthy. Vauxaillon is a village standing south-west of Laon, a few miles north of the apex of the great salient which the Germans hold in France. The positions against which the- enemy directed his attacks are located in hill country. A very narrow belt of similar country now opposes a French advance into the plain surrounding Laon. Obviously the positions which he attacked east of Vauxaillon are even more important to the enemy than to the French. The attacks represented a most determined effort by the enemy to imprpve his defensive position, and in this effort he almost completely failed. The Germans lay claim, somewhat vaguely, to results of considerable importance, but detailed French reports show that the enemy's total gains in a prolonged and hard-fought battle were two trench elemonts, entered, in one place on a front of 400 yards and at another point on a front of 200 yards. One of these positions has since been recovered by the French, and the net result appears to bo that the enemy has paid a heavy price in lives for a very small gain of ground. If he is ahle to find no better or more effective use for troops released from Russia than he did on this occasion, the Allies will have some cause- for satisfaction.

The result of their recent conquests in the Eastern Trentino is to give the Italians a much improved hold on the eastern end of the Val Sugana-. Amongst military avenues in the Trentino tho road and railway which run east along tho Val Sugana, from Trent to the AustroItalian frontier, are second in importance only to the road and railway traversing tho Adigo Valley. North of the Val Sugana and for a short distance to the south the Italians are well inside Austrian territory. Further south the Austrians retain limited foothold in Italian territory, on the western fringe of the Asia-go Plateau, but it is stated by a correspondent to-day that their positions in this area will probably bo made untenable by the next development of tho Italian offensive in the vicinity of the Val Sugana. That is to say, the enemy s remaining positions on the Asiago Plateau are in a fair way to be outflanked on the north. At present 'there is nothing to confirm the assertion of a German correspondent that a battle "of extraordinary magnitude" has begun on the Trentino front. Though their latelywon successes are important, the Italians have been attacking on a, very narrow front, and there, is no reason to suppose that they will depart from the policy they have hitherto pursued of making the Trentino operations subsidiary to their main offensive on the Julian front. l?or tho time being the main enterprise of tho Italians is at a standstill, but tho enemy has apparently brought them to a halt on the Julian front at tho cost of weakening his defence in the Trentino.

An announcement that tbo Canadian Finance Minister is arranging a loan of £15,000,000 to the Imperial Government marks a notable addition to the services Canada has already rendered the Imperial Government in the domain of finance. No detail particulars have been transmitted at time of writing, but it is likely that the loan is intended, like those ra-ised in the United States, to redress a balance- of trade unfavourable to Great Britain. Since the war Canada, has exchanged tho status of a'borrowing for that of a lending country. Largely as the re-' suit of her heavy and increasing production of munitions of war the. balance of trade, which formerly turned against her has now been very decidedly reversed. The loan now announced will no doubt bo set against Canadian exports of grain and war material. It is nevertheless a useful, and creditable contribution,' and. one which emphasises the soundness. of '.Canadian war finance, Canada,, like.-the- Mother Country, is not only .providing for the debt she is' incurring, but is meeting out of revenue some part oi the cost of the way.....

The debate.in the South African Union Assembly upon Mk.J. X. Mbreiman's motion denouncing the efforts of the Nationalists to carry on a Bepublican propaganda, culminated, as it was expected to, in a triumph for the parties which defend the unity of South Africa-and th/ Imperial tie. The motion was carried by 72 votes to 21, and none but Nationalists voted against it. Since the Nationalists voted six short of' their total party strength the division is perhaps to be added to other evidences that they are a disintegrating as well as a, declining force. Writing in. February last a Cape Town correspondent of one of the English newspapers observed that the Nationalists had been morally weakened since the previous session' by internal - divisions. For instance,' the Capo Nationalists fought and wero defeated in a strenuous by-election to fill the Victoria West seat, and it was noted that neither General Hertzog nor any other, of the Orange- River Colony and Transvaal Nationalist leaders appeared in the constituency. Though they defeated the Nationalists by more than three to one, the parties' which supported Mb.. Mkrrjman's motion in the Union Assembly voted considerably below strength. Many of the .absentees, however, are probably on active service. One of those unavoidably absent was 'General Smuts.

A Tlobart pressman, Mr. Leonard Uubbaril, Tasmania's crack rifle shot, after vainly struggling to be sent away to the fronh where he thought that, even if his sniping wns no good, hie remarkable know-ledge of languages might be, has at last got into khaki. But only for home service. The trouble with TTnWwTd is (hill; he has only one. good eye; an<l though with his 'single eye he bus won all sorts of prizes at Bisloy and elsewhere, the Defence Department thinks tliat « soldier sbo;ild have a spare eye, otherwise it might have a pensioner on its hands, comments an exchange. It i.s, of course, n fact that a few soldiers liave been sent to the front without a snare heart or an extra nose; bint the Defence Department evidently doesn't reckon that that is any reason ivhy Nelson should have been allowed aboard the Victory.