OVERNIGHT NEWS.

Mataura Ensign, 22 June 1915, Page 5

OVERNIGHT NEWS.

CN THE WESTERN FRONT INTENSE fighting? continues. THE FRKOH AJ^A^CF,, -IjIIUV 2!.. , , -* The villages' tiorili of 'Arras have been reduced to jumbled bgaps. ot-brick, and N mor.t&r. Huge chasms, lined with sandbags', v twist throivgb ihp. streets,, and machine guns ave : hidden under cupolas of armored steel and in blockhouses of sandbags and armored .plate. The enemy has burrowed so deep , that the bombardment has..'lost-ranch of its effieiprtcyt Attacks.are sustained" by showery of hand grenades and short though furkHisfy determined infantry rushes, combined with tlie 'patient rounding up ,cf any enemy overlooked in ; the first a?iah, who attempt;, to continue the fight from the inner, recess of the trench maze. : "Tho French Jutve nicknamed the ; Buyaj 'position Mouth.” It is a sheltered ravine .with its south-east Hunk of Lorottg. ,It is a natural stronghold, bristling '.with, .subterranean forts . and Redoubts. ''The.‘French - invested it on tprco sides am.! then, with-an ava]a,ncho of metal, prepared tlie wty- to attack it on both,sides. , They, .pressed -on until their forces ,co.nverged. The Germans fought with thc„forocity of cornered rats and. owing to the steadily

narrowing of the. area tin? fire from; their machine guns wiped out many oft their own men. . In, .places, the (Germans took eover. behind piles of thoil' , ji 6wil dead. The: .French, .arc now swarm- j ing un die rugged’' ,w,cstem slopes of; Hill 119, whiclr is (liroetly south-east-of Souchez. The 'enemy ' was *OOll obliged . to abandon the'fortress defending tin road to Tver in- and Lens but live slow ness of tho progress on the, part,of tin. French Ims given the Germans time it prena-re a second Inn;, at the Givnieh': brickfield and HiIIITU, 'east bi 't-lv Neuville-Givenchv Hoad. Tho recent battles are proving tin value of aerial torpedoes, , which tin Fr©ncl| are able to. regulate’Avith grea accutufcj,; , , BRITISH CAVALRY DIVISION. ' THANKED BY-SIR JOHN FRENCH PARIS, June 20. ‘ Field-Marshal -Sir John French (Com mander-in-Chief of the British Force' in France) inspected, the Third .Cavalry Division and thanked 'the' troops hn iheir wonderful performance in tie trenches at Yores; He described th gas'attack at dastardly. The. gas camlike bolt from the' bine and . main troops dropped dead on* the spot. I Was impossible u> see anything, in tin clarkness,. which •'was' rendered mor bpaouo by th'o asphyxiating fumes. '■ certain amount of confusion .was uu avoidable.! bub the troops recovered with syperb (|iiiekness and filled th- ■ gaps in the face of a wall of gas, mile Jong and yards high. The cava-lr (said the Field-Marshal) could not b too highly praised. He especial!; thanked the Third Dragoons,for vhev wouk at' the chateau during the batik at Hooge. , ' . * As tiff general was leaving, the men broke their ranks, cheering and waving their caps'. It was an impressive picture. Sir John French stood in the middle of the men with his hand_ stiffly at the. sa-lute. The scene was indicative of .tho 'perfect trust and loyalty existing between the troops and their comma tide is. ADVANCE AT SOUCHEZ. * 7 VIOLENT ARTILLERY STR FOGLE. ■ ■ PARIS-. June 21. Official; We have .advanced in the dircCJiou of Suucliok The* artillery smilldc continues to be very violent. GERMAN COMMUNIQUE. , rkAlse of allies claimed. BERLIN. -Tune .20 ■V comiminkpie states; North of La ‘ Hasson Canal ami north of v Arras we bloodily repulsed several partial attacks. BRITISH OFFICER’S STORY. the la bas.sei: assallt. LONDON. June 21. A British officer in a letter describ-

ing tho assault on La Bassee says:— ‘The artillery poured a tempest ol shells, on tho Givenchy brickfield. You would see a Jiigb-explosive shell crash on a. square fort that looked like a block of bride baked solid. You would wateh the great cloud of smoke roll, away, expecting to see tho brickstack shattered, but would hardly find a dent. -Nevertheless your own experience would toll you-that the defenders,were suffering from' fragments of shells and showers of broken bricks, which wore breaking - their bodies . and shattering their nerves. Tho bombardment continued day and night, the British in the meantime enjoying the advantage of the attackers in .being able do rest in a well-cOvered position until the mojnenf of the'advance, while tho Germans hail no rest, not knowing where the attack would fail first. The infantry rush was made at 6 o’clock in the evening, and inside an hour the first line of trendies was taken anil most'of the defenders would fall. The first infantry rush was the. fall of darkness, lit up by a. constant succession of flares, while the (Germans hurried up reinforcements in trains and motors. We, however, have got our teeth in with a bulldog grip, which will not come away without tearing out a. piece.”

HIGH COMMISSIONER’S REPORT. WELLINGTON, Juno 21. The High Commissioner reports under •dnte London, Juno 21: — In the sector north of Arras the French are masters of Fond de Biival. An attack, in the direction of Southey ; resulted in- progress- to the distance of one kilometre (nearly five-eighths of a mile). In the Argonne a violent enemy attack has been repulsed and some prisoners Jakem On the heights of the Alense two of the enemy’s lines were carried and 70 prisoners captured. The French have arrived near Rcillon, in Lorraine, which is a centre of resistance. ’IW offensive in. the valley of the Fecht continues to progress. ■ GENERAL NEWS. WEEK-END CASUALTIES. BRITISH LIST, 1251. .LONDON, June 21. The casualties announced for the week-end total 42-51, of whom 1129 are dead and 102 men of the-Argyll High-landers-are suffering from the effects of gas. OF. RMANY’S YOUNG MEN. 1001) FOR RAILWAY DUTY. ROTTERDAM, Juno 21. It is understood that Germany is calling out a further 4000 young men of first-class ■material. These men will he employed mostly on the railways. BRITISH UNIVERSITIES. GERMAN PROFESSOR’S MEW. LONDON, June, 20. A Berlin professor states that the exclusion of foreigners from British universities by way of reprisals is harmless because foreign ' countries do not possess anything good enough for Gormans. The Rhodes scholarship has no value except to enable a Gorman stulent to get sport and spend a large ■income. WARNEFORD’S MONOPLANE. GREAT INTEREST IN GERMANY• "BERLIN, June 21. ’ A topic of absorbing interest Is the .construction of a "monoplane ol the same type as that with' which Liou.renant* Warncford destroyed the 2ei>polin. Exports believe that suck a. machine is highly efficient owing to its quickness in ascending and its construction facilitating observation downwards ou both sides. ' MONTENEGRINS ACTIVE. AFTER SCUTARI. ROME, June- 21. The Montenegrins, iinvo occupied the heights of Tarabosch,. their objective being Scutari. SYDNEY TRADESMAN FINED. SYDNEY. June 21. Under the Pitre Foods Act, Francis Bolysun was to-day lined £lO lor snnolying adulterated coffee. allegedly containing 61 per (eat. .of chicory, for use- by the troops, and' £2 for giving i false certificate therewith. Bqlyson pleaded guilty, and said be sunnly gave tlie order to another firm. The coffee was packed in bond under 'Government supervision. DISPOSAL OF DEAD SOLDIERS. LONDON. Juno 20. The French • Chamber of Deputies has authorised the burning of the corpses of unidentified soldiers and the burial of those who have been identified. A SYDNEY COURT CASE. • SYDNEY, June 21.

Before the High Court to-day Arthur Kidman • contractor). Major E- MPage -'quartermaster-general of the military forces-of Xew South Males), Major A. G. O’Donnell -assistant director of supply and transport, and Sergeant E. Leslie {principal clerk acting” under O’Donnell) were charged with conspiring among themselves and others between Of tober 29 and May s>last to defraud the Commonwealth -of large sums of money by charging excessively for .goods for use by the armed forces of Australia. A point was raised that'the Act under which the charges were Jaid canto into; operation onlv on -May 7, and the prosecution was .depending on *the retrospective powers of 4ite Act. .Major Page pleaded not guilty. Counsel for the other defendants

asked that flic indictments might bo quashed. The Chief Justice stated that the Full Bench of ‘ tho High Court had been- summoned for August 2-!> to ileal with the question of the retrospective powers of the Act, and all tho points raised would be; reserved till after that sitting. ' - The - trial was accordingly adjourned till August 9. , ; t , , Arthur Kidman teas also charged with forging on a tender the name, “C. Brown” -for the supply of goods to tho military, with the intention of hawing the document accepted as genuine. An application to quash the ■indictment on the ground that the Commonwealth'' had no power to deal with retrospective eases was refused, and in this, case the hearing was fixed for tomorrow.

NEW ZEALAND & THE WAR. WAR RELIEF FUNDS. CONFERENCE TO BE CALLED. l‘Klt UNITKI) PRESS ‘ASSOCIATION. WELLINGTON, June 21. The total amount received by' the Internal Affairs Department lor he Belgian Relief Fund has now reached £101.217. The Hospital Ship Fund stands at £30,2i9. ■' • .The Mayor- of' Wellington is (omen-ing-a conference of mayors of a!l the ’towns in New Zealand and the chairmen of patriotic ' committees for Friday, -July 2, .to determine if there shall be one national War Relief Fund or several provincial funds. A PATRIOTIC FIRM. WELLINGTON, June 21. Speaking at the annual social of the staff of J. B. Clarkson and Co., Ltd.', the chairman of directors (Mr Hope Gi bbons) , : vyhbi has>’ a 1 ready sn bsoribed largely to the- war - funds; 'Said that the companv had- decided to donate £SOO to the. "National Fund for Wounded Soldiers. The directors knew'there were many of the firm’s who would enlist; some had already enlisted, but the thought of making provirion for those dependant upon these who wished to enlist probably stopped them in. a way. The directors assured all those who enlisted that they need not have any fear that they would lose by serving their country, for Clarkson and Cot would meet the' difference between each, employee’s and soldiers pay and the salary be was receiving at thC time pi enlistment. In the caste of men with dependents the amounts would he regularly -handed to those dependents during the -absence of the ■employee, and in a case 'where there wore no. dependents the amounts would be banked and handed over in a lump sum upon the soldier s return. Further, the- firm would guarantee reinstalcmen.t to every employee who was sent to the front into his old position, if not a better one, on his return, H anv man felt it his duty to go to the front ho might be assured that, as tar a,s could be done, he would lose nothing while lie' wa‘s away; or upon ha> return. , -• ■

PROOF OF DEATH REQUIRED. GiaBOBNE, Juno 21. At the Supreme Court,, in Cbatubers, to-dav, a motion for probate iii t-lie will of Malcolm Hugh Campbell, a trooper who died on a.-'troopship • leaving New Zealand; tainn before Mr Justice Cooper. Ilia Honor stated that he had no proof of 'death. .All Uio proof beforty him was a signed statement by a military oflher stating that the trooper had died'at sea. How could this of floor-know whether the man had died or not ? His Honor added that he Ipul already, suggested that the judges should hold a conference and do term me what proof of death tv ns necessary. The matter was important' as they could expect d good rivalry deaths of N-ow. Zealanders while the war lasted, and, it was essential that they ehonld have absolute proof of death. His Honor adjourned the motion until proof of death had'been supplied. THE HOSPITAL SHIP. DONATION QF~SUPPLIES. . ...Messrs Fleming and Co-., Gore, have forwarded to the M'aheno, at Port Chalmers, a large consignment or creamoata, oatmeal, barolla and pearl barley, all specially packed in paperlined bags, made up in eases, ns a donation from the firm and employees to tho N'ew Zealand Hospital Ship. The i consignment, ■ consisting of 24, oases of oatmeal, 10 oases of creamoata, six cases of barolla. Id cases of pearl barley, was packed by the firm's workmen in their own time, and the total'value is approximately £6O. •