ITALY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 1 April 1915, Page 5

ITALY

•• NEGOTIATIONS WITH GERMANY L REPORTED COLLAPSE. - (Rec. April 1, 9.15 a.ni.) [ROME, March 31. It is stated that the pourparlers with •Germany have collapsed, . Prince Von Buelow declaring that. Germany and Austria would never surrender Triesto. SUBMARINE BLOCKADE FALABA'S "VICTIMS ESTIMATED AT 111. LONDON, March 31. Elder, Dercpster and Co. estimate that 111 . o£ the Falaba's passengers and crew ■ perished. Ah American citizen named Lemj.Thrasher is among the missing.'.

STEAMER TORPEDOED QJST THE SCILLYS* (li«c. April 1, 8.50 a.m.) LONDON, March 31. The German submarine U2B torpedoed the iFlamminnan, from Glasgow for Capetown, off the Scillys, on Tuesday-. The crew landed, A SECOND VICTIM OFF THE SCILLYS, (Rec. April 1, 11.20 a.m.) LONDON, 'March 31. The stfeamer Crown of Castile was torpedoed off the Scillys. The crew were rescued. AN ESCAPE. (Rec. April 1, 9.15 a.m.) LONDON, March 31. A submarine off the Scillys'chased the ■City.,of Cambridge for hours. Shells damaged the 'Cambridge's deck, but she escaped. A SUBMARINE APPARENTLY ACCOUNTED FOR. (Itec. April 1, ti.bO a.m.) (Official.) .LONDON, March 31. ■A French light cruiser chased a submarine at Dieppe, and -fired heavily on the periscope. She then passed above the submarine. Oil rose to the surface. AMERICAN PRESSr ON SUBMARINE ATROCITIES. (R-ec. April 1, 9.1(5 a.m.) NEW YORK, March 31. •/."The.."New York Journal" hopes that the fcrutes responsible for the FMaba incident will he caught and hanged. . The "Press" says that because of the submarine atrocities Admiral von Tirpitze and the German Admiralty is dainhed in the eyes of all -civilisation. DUTCH TRAWLER HARMLESSLY " BOMBED. (Rec. April 1, 11.20 a.m.) . ... • AMSTERDAM, March 31. . A German seaplane bombed the Dutch trawler Hibernia in the North Sea. The result was harmless. Later a torpedoer stopped and searchtie Hibernia' and allowed her to proceed. "PERFECTLY HORRIBLE DESPERATION." (Rec. April 1, 11.20 a.m.) y STOCKHOLM, March 31. Swedish newspapers scarcely credit the Falaba and Aquila incidents, and declare that they reveal perfectly horrible desperation. "HOUR OF RECKONING NEAR." (Rec. April 1, 11.20 a.m.) V : PETROG-RAD, March 31. The "Novoe* Vremya" refers to the hideous depth of German degradation, and says the hour of reckoning is near, •when the enemies of humanity will pay to tho fullest extent. .

GERMAN COUNCIL OF WAR NEW PI<AN OF CAMPAIGN PREPARED: ROTTERDAM, March 31. The Kaiser and Field-Marshal von der Goltz attended a .council of war, which prepared a new plan of campaign, and fresh diplomatic instructions arising out of the capture of Przemysl and the position at Constantinople. ZEPPELINS HEADED FOR BRITAIN SNOWSTORM COMPELS A RETURN. COPENHAGEN, MaTch 31. ",... Two Zeppelins passed over Scthigrmonikoorr on Tuesday, g°ing It is, believed they intended a raid;. - ip Greatßritain, but a snowstorm compared Item to : return. It is reported that one wis seriously damaged. < (M. Georges Prade,4n a study-,of,''Zep-pelins, their ways, means, and in the Paris "Journal," reaches pertain coiiclusions'j / which he - answers ;to pertain* questions. Question ■No. 1: "Can Zeppelins make a raid: pn Paris o.r London Answer: I3y - day, no- By nighty "j possibly, . but iqi small numbers. .Probably : they will make the attempt. Question No. 2: "Will;s£ey ; ;l|i& signalled before they , arrive ?" :.Mwer : : There .is every reason to believe that they willj but a categorical affirmation is impossible... All possible, precautions have been, f taken , by . the . defender® .of Paris to.insure the icapital against a:surprise raid. Question No. 3 : "If they reach Paris, will they be; able to drop projectiles?'' : "Yes, but only 'en passant/ when they are already in flight, and without .being - ablei. to aim. The projectiles • dropped in previous raids ara not; of ; a uaturei to arouse any excessive fears as.:to . the - damage they can cause." Quejstion No. 4: "Will the-raid-ing Zeppelin© be -attacked , and- destroyed ?" Answer : '.'There are strong chances that they . will be attacked ; on their, jour.neyi and a ''practical certainty that they will be attacked on their return journey. All: the chances are against them in a battle in the air.") . • A PASSENGER'S PLOT TO BLOW UP A STEAMER.

i(Rec. April 1, 8.50 a.m.) V , PARIS, March 31. •iiaytmond Sivoboda was arrested, mcr*minatingf documents snowing that His mission was to blow up the la Touraine on which .he was a passenger. -He represented himself as a Russian from Paris, where lie had had a long residence.

MARKED CHANGE IN GERMAN VIEWS GENERAL STAFF PONDERING A | DRAWN WAR. LONDON, March 30. A neutral correspondent discloses a marked change of views among the German General Staff, many of whom previously declared that they could, prompt.ly take Paris, Calais, or Warsaw without effort. They now do not believe in an absolute German victory, and are pon- v dering on the probabilities of a drawn war. The Crown Prince's private life during the war lias not given satisfaction. There are .all manner of rumours afloat,. His failures on the battlefield are notorious, and there are allegations of the looting of French homes. « • . General Joffre and General French are now objects of fear. As tne result of Svounded Germans bringing stories of the bravery and tenacity of the French and tlio imperturbability of the British/and Germans no longer make long-legged Highlanders the butt of tlieir cartoons. The industrial strikes, however, encourage the hope that Germany can prolong the war until she can gradually buy" off one ~or more' of her enemies, and then concentrate her efforts upon Britain. It was earlier believed that the mines and submarines would cut off the British imports, -and compel Britain quickly to sue for peace; Now, the efficiency of the blockade is doubted.

ICAiSfeU —d£N£RAL—AND "A SdAMI 1 OF A SON" A STORY OF MjXEMBbJXO; (Steci April I, §.50 aim.) . PAHIfS-, March 31. The "Figaro" Vouches for a storjf that the Kaiser was dining at & hotel, in litixemburg in August when a certain genei--al arrived. The Kaiser, in frantic rage, upbraided him for uselessly sacrificing thousands of his best soldiers in capturing Longwy, which was defended only by a few battalions. The General went livid and exclaimed : "The soldiers' close formation was by the reiterated orders of your scamp of it son, who was at a safe distance." The general ibowed. and withdrew and blew out his braills oh the pavement. A' weelt later a postcard bearing the Crown Prince's portrait was selling throughout German inscribed "Victor of Ijongwy.''

PEACE TALK RESUMED AMERICAN FINANCIER'S PREDICTION. LONDON, March 30. Peace talk lias been resumed. American financiers predict an early settlement of ■ the war, -believing, in -fact, that Germany has arranged for . credit with America where she-.can now buy very little, owing to Germany's desire to finance early purchases the moment peace is restored.: - -

On the other hand an American, who has returned from Germany declares that the Germans hate England fiercely, and next in order- hate America. They are willing to shake hands with Prance, and regard Russia as merely stupid and not - worthy of the . attention of'.a superior people. America's supplying of the Allies with ammunition is regarded as a heinous offence. . .

DRINK PROBLEM STARTLING REPORTS OF TIME Losses. PROHIBITION BEING DISCUSSED'. 1 LONDON, March 31. The newspapers are giving prominence to. the drink problem. Tho "Daily Telegraph" says that the Cabinet yesterday discussed the question of drink and the . production of munitions. It proposes to submit new legislation to Parliament enabling it. to regulate the bourse of public house© in all districts. Total closing is, not contemplated, and the legislation will be confined to the duration of the ■yv-ar. The Government is desirous of safeguarding the legitimate interests of publicans. Tho "Daily .-Mail" says the Government -practically decided recently to reduce the hours for selling liquor, and later information revived the question of prohibition! The Admiralty arid the War Office supplied startling reports of time losses. The Director ot Transport stated that it takes three- times as long to get transports away compared with ante-war conditions.

General prohibition would require Par r Jiamentary sanction. The Government is also considering the prohibition of' the sale of wines and spirits, not interfering with beer.

The "Daily Nevvs" says Mr Lloyd George proposed total prohibition during the war, including private clubs, but Cabinet has not arrived at a decision.

iThe general opinion in Ministerial circles is that further xestriction of hours will not suffice to stop the delays in munition factories.

The "Morning Advertiser" says 'the licensed trade is ready to. co-operate witb the Government if any reasonable is provided for the evil, but prohibition is too big a pull. Shipbuilders state that the defaulters are not drunkards, but they take sufficient . drink ..to become slack and disinclined to work. They get high wages, and spend them largely on drink. " In. two typical cases , attendance sheets in -tlje shipbuilding trade show that : out of 900 possible working days 290 were lost through drinking, being nearly two days •per man weelcly. , ' • - The of the boilermakers. and shipbuilders angrily denounced libels upon their members, ; particularly Mr Lloyd George's statements.

ENGLISH NEKS

. - LONDON, March 31. The Admiralty's ■ telegram.- pointing out to the labour leaders the injury to national interests, resulted in the stoppage of the strike at the Cyfarthfa collieries. aMr McKenna has appointed a committee, including representatives of great emporia, grocers, drapers, and shop assistants, t6 consider how to secures the establishment of retail trade without disorganisation., ■ • •■ iThe Archbishop of York, speaking at Hull, said the casualty lists were not bringing to the imagination of the people what was really "happening. One division had 400 officers-, : but only 44 were left. 'Out.of--12)000 men 2330 wore left. ■Of one regiment. :only the quartermaster and 300 men remained.

STAMPS OF GERMAN COLONIES. LONDON, March. 30. German stamp collectors axe eagerly buying stamps of the German colonies which-, have been captured by the ' Allies, indicating that they do not expect Germany .to recover them. ; The ■• livemark Samoan stamp is selling at 50 marks. v •

TREASURY BILLS OVERSUBSCRIBED. April 1, 9.20 a.m.) LONDON, March 31. For the 15 million issue of six months treasury bills tenders were received for £37,974,000 at an average discount of £2 13s lid. SURPLUS AUSTRALASIAN MEAT. 'Received April 1, 9.20 a.m.) LONDON, March 31. The Board of Trade lias appointed the Hon. T. Mackenzie- (High ■Commissioner for New Zealand), Sir Thomas Robinson (High Commissioner for Queensland), and Sir Montague Nelson, a committee to deal with any question arising in connection with any surplus of Australasian lamU and New Zealand mutton arid lamb purchased by the Imperial Government.

DOCKERS AC.QEPT WAE BONUS. (Kec. April 1, 11.20 a.m.) LONDON", March 31. Tlio South Wales dockers have accepted a 10 per cent bonus.