The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1916

Gisborne Times, Volume XLV, Issue 4156, 5 February 1916, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1916

On Whom Lies the Blame?

It is impossible to believe that the people of our Empire will not be stirred to their very depths when they read the details of the latest Zeppelin raid on Bi'itain. This particular raid, it is clear, was on a more extensive scale than had ever before been attempted,.. and, although the amount of military damage achieved was slight, the death roll was, unhappily, comparatively heavy. One would not have credited, prior to August, 1914, that any European nation, excepting, perhaps, Turkey, would have made war on non-comba-tants, , including women and children in the fiendish manner in which the modern Huns have used both their submarines and their aircraft. There is nothing accidental in what has transpired; the cruel murders of civilians both at sea and on land have been the result ■ of a calculated policy approved by the ruler, government, and military authorities of Germany. Can it be wondered at that a feeling in favour of suitable .reprisals, is growing? We think not. The position to-day represents a sorry state of affairs; but now is the time for deeds, not -words. It may be fee case that the War Office may be. impelled, by public opinion, even to go to the length of following the French example of raiding open German towns by way. of reprisals. Such

a course of action would certainly be against the grain, but, in its favor, it is being urged tfltbat the .effect would be that the Hun authorities would stop and think over the matter whether their own losses under a plan of reprisals would be worth any gains which they might make as a sequel to their own murderou* practices. The chief.matter for regret in connection with the Hun raids is that it would seem that Germany is still ahead in the art of aerial warfare. All the more is this factor to be regretted in that Britain .and France have now had a good deal of time within which to bring about improvements with reference to the size, speed and equipment of aircraft which should have enabled the Allies to compete successfullyain aerial warfare against the common enemy. What is perhaps the. only satisfactory feature of the raids from the point of view of the Allies is that even today the Huns have not overcome all the difficulties which stand in the way of an air raid being made a military success. The details of the latest raid would appear to suggest, however, that only thick weather prevented the Huns from perpetrating a much greater amount of damage. It is, indeed, exasperating to learn that our aerial defence was so weak in some localities that hostile craft not only were venturesome enough to fly very low, but even remained over some spots for from two to three hours. Some degree of satisfaction mav accrue from the fact that the raiders deemed it wise to keep clear of London and other centres which are known to be fortified against aerial attack. But a remedy must be found against raids on open towns in Britain. The best solution of the difficulty, it would seem, would be counter-raids on the towns in which the Huns have their hangars. Already the Allies have made successful air raids on Cuxhaven and Dusseldorf in particular, and it is inexplicable why such raids cannot be made at more frequent intervals. Unfortunately, the day may be somewhat distant when the real instigators of the war on non-combatants will be appropriately dealt with. In due course, however, the Kaiser and his official co-partners must be held personally accountable for their complicity in tiie dreadful submarine and aerial outrages that have taken place.