ITALY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 8 April 1915, Page 5

ITALY

AGREEMENT REACHED WiTH SERVIA DECISIVE STEP TOWARDS INTERVENTION. (Rec. April 8, 9.30 a.m.) ROME, April 7. Signor Tittoni has arrived, it is believed for the purpose of renewing pourparlers, "which naye been interrupted, and permit Prince Von Bulow to formulate proposals. This is probable because Italy and Serbia have reached an agreement, thanks to the Emperor Francis Joseph's intervention, whereby Italy will not oppose Serbia's outlet to the Adriatic on condition that it is not fortified, and Istria and Trieste are regarded as Italian. The agreement marks a decisive step towards Italian intervention. AMERICAN NOTE FRENCH PRESS COMMENTS. LONDON, April 6. The French Press pays a tribute to the courteous -tone}, £>f the Ajmerican Note, and opines that it "will not be difficult to avoid misunderstanding. "SERIOUS ISSUES IMPOSSIBLE." NEW YORK, April 7. The newspapers express satisfaction ■with, Note's insistence on the rights of neutral ships, accompanied by a demand for reparation. They are confident that the Allies will rigidly mini--mise inconvenience or unjustifiable interference. The ''Hera-Id" believes that any serious issues "with the Allies are impossible. GERMAN NEWSPAPERS ANGRY. BRITAIN NO NEED TO FEAR AMERICAN ACTION. '(Rec. April 8, 8.45 a.m.) AMSTERDAM, April 7. German newspapers angrily comment ton the American. .Note. 1 The "Cologne Gazette"" says the. Note gives a carte "blanche for an Englishstarvation war, -being so that England "inay simply leave it unnoticed, having no reason- to fear American - action, "while the Note contains a veilepl reproach that Germany is not observing the principles- of - warfare recognised" 1 by civilised counters. / ' -

GERMAN; CASUALTY LISTS LOSSES-OF OFFICERS. •' V ' LONDON,. April 7. correspondent' says that ofiicial' "sliow that Germany to March ist;h Jfctad .lost 21,276 officers', of whom 9925, were "killed, including' 43 generals.

LIQUOR QUESTION IN BRITAIN

THE. KING'S EXAMPLE

FIRES POPULAR IMAGINATION.

LONDON, April 7. The King's anti-alcohol decision has fired the popular imagination. Peers, society ladies, and commercial men are joining the movement. Mr Lloyd George has received 100,000 abstinence, pledges, and another 50,000 signed the pledge at Edinburgh. "The Times,' in a leader, says that now the drink question has been fully and freely discussed, the broad sentiment of the nation dislikes the idea of com-; plete compulsory prohibition, though it would probably be accepted if the Government emphatically declared it to be desirable and necessary. Yet the Engr lish race does not like .extremes, and especially abhors extreme measures enacted by law. 1 " INDIAN- PRESS PRAISES THE KING. (Rec. April'B, 9.30 a.m.) BOMBAY, April 7. All the vernacular newspapers have leading articles in praise of the King's prohibition of alcohol. INCREASE IN SPIRITS DRINKING. / LONDON, April 6. The Excise returns show that in December and .January, compared with the corresponding months of last year, the brewage decreased 1,800,000 bai'rels, while tjie distillation of spirits increased by 269,000 gallons. Unofficial returns show that the March consumption of beer had, fallen almost at the same rate, while there was a still larger "Jiicrease in spirit drinking. The hea,vy war tax is. held responsible -for. the change in drinking habits. MEMORIAL TO Tj&Z GOVERNMENT. •FOR TOTAL PROHIBITION DURING THE WAR, v (Rec. April 8, 11.55 a.m.) LONDON, April 7. A memorial from merchants and manufacturers employing many thousands of men was presented to the Government )n favour of prohibiting the sale ahd manufacture of liquor during the war. The memorialists are not connected with the Temperance organisation. GERMAN OFFICERS' ATTEMPTED ESCAPE FROM A' DETENTION CAMP. LONDON, April 7. An attempt by 100 German officers of; some' distinction to escape from the detention camp near Maidenhead was foiled. They tunnelled a distance of 12 yards-and pierced a concrete wall.

! SUBMARINE BfctiGKAOE i . r—" A GRIMSBY TRAWLER ' TORPEDOED. j LONDON, April 7. ' The Grimsby trawler which was torpedoed was the Acantha. The UlO's guns holed her amidships. The crew were fired on while launching the boats. j DAMAGE -TO THE BELRIDGE. j . CHRISTIANrA,. April ?. 1 : Experts proved that the Belridge's damage was due to a German torpedo. 1 LOSS OF THE U29 ADMITTED: j .. . i Abrii $, id.s a.rii:) . | . . AMSTERDAM, April 7. i , The German Admiralty admits that j submarine U29 was lost with all hands. LABOUR AND THE WAR CONFERENCE AT NORWICH. LONDON, April 7. The Independent Labour Conference j adopted a resolution against Labour i members of the House of Commons speaking from platforms where attempts ! were made to justify the war. i

Another resolution approved of the party resujming a -rational propaganda to direct attention to the persistent misrepresentation of the conditions and habits of the working people, and the grave pro'blems of'taxation and unemployment arising, out of the conclusion of the war. The conference declared that the Government should immediately disclose the terms upon which it was prepared to.negotiate peace. ■ Mr dynes, (M.P., . writing to the Independent Labour Party . Conference in defence of-recruiting, said that strong action and not neutrality .was the Socialists' natural call when bratal and treacherous crimes were being committed such, as those in Belgiu,m.

WELSH' TUNERS. {Rec. April 'B, 8.45 a.m.) LONDON, April 7. Two hundred thousand Welsh miners returned to work with admirable loyalty to Lord Kitchener's appeal. APPEAL FOR. MEN TOR ARMAMENT FIRMS. (Rec. April 8, 11.55 a.m.) LONDON, April 7.. The War Office lias issued posters appealing to skilled and unskilled men to offer their services *to armament firms.

THE "STRGNB MAN"' AN® THE MUNITIONS COMMIT - 'DEE. LONDON, April 7. Mr George Booth,, a member of a Liverpool ©nipping .firm, is the mouthpiece of Lord Kitchener's munitions committee. The papers suggest that he is Mr Lloyd George's "strong man."

"WAR CANNOT LAST MUCH LONGER" TURKISH MINISTER'S STATEMENT.. PARIS, April 7. "Le Matin" publishes a Geneva despatch, in which Djavid Pasha, the Turkish Minister of Finance, is reported as saying/ that the war cannot last much longer, as the Germans were unwilling to face a second winter campaign. He. exgected a definite solution by the end of October.

AN AUSTRALIAN DOCTOR'S OPINION. FREMANTLE, April 7. Dr. Thring, who had charge of the : Australian Volunteer Hospital in France/ has returned. He said he was convinced ; that the war would soon be over. He heid reached that conclusion after conversing with two well-known of the British military staff, both of whom thought that ■ Germany would be beaten by August or September at the latest. They thought •it unnecessary to sacrifice life by invading Germany, but economic pressure speedily would tell the tale. Although Germany may not be actually short of food supplies, she must soon run short of munitions and horses. MUST FACE THE MUSIC ■THE PRINCE EITEL FRIEDREICH. NEW YORK, April 6. The Prince Eitel FriecLrich has been ordered to leave Newport News. American warships with searchlights are guarding the. harbour; lest; a. bieach of neutrality should occur. British war-: ships are waiting outside. ! MAORISIN EGYPT \ MAKE A GREAT IMPRESSION. REVIEW- OFAUSTRALASIAN • TROOPS. . .SYDiNIEY, April 7. Captain .'C. E. W. Bean, the official correspondent, cabled on March 31st that <the Maori Contingent reached Cairo on Friday. Spectators remarked that of , all the troops engaged in the gre&t reviews on Sunday arid- Monday the 'Maoris appeared the-most splendid. The reviews of: two portions of the Australian and New Zealand troops on Monday was in some ways the most rejmarkable event in the military history of Australasia., A British officer- said : "When I think of "the condition of the Australasianforces two years ago, and then see such troops, completely ready to move anywhere, it gives one something to think about." ' ENGLISH .NEWS LONDON, April 6. A total of £34,430,000 has been subscribed for the Treasury bills at an average discount of £3 2s Id. Tenders for a. further £15,000,000' for six. months close on the 13th inst. < IN AUSTRALIA WORKERS WHO-ENLISTED. SYDNEY, April 7. The official industrial returns shov that 24,770 workers left various trades and callings to take up military employment, including people engaged in clerical and professional work who enlisted: The State's unemployed ire estimated at 50,000. - „ ' A SOLDIER'S DEATH. * (Rec. 9.10 a.m.) MELBOURNE, This Day. The Defence Department announces that .Edward Healy, of the New South Wales Expeditionary Force, died from pneumonia in Egypt. His relatives live in New Zealand. ,

INTERNED GERMAN STEAMERS. . (Rec. 9.10 a.m.) MELBOURNE, This Day. : Sir A. nbtified that .the German steamers Hamm and A'polda, interned at Capetown,, are proceeding to ' "Australia on April'. sth. .

KING ALBERT'S' BIRTHDAY. (lied. '9.10 a.m.J . MELBOURNE, This Day. The Belgian Appeal Committee cabled , to King Albert saying that it was holding a festival in aid of the Belgians and . felicitating his Majesty on his birthday (Apt il Bth). . King Albert replied thanking the Committee, and saying' he would be happy personally to distribute the gift to nis unhappy countrymen. A Repudiation, (Rec. 9.10 a.m.) FREMANTLE, This Day. A deputation of 61 soldiers invalided Frpm Egypt requested the press* to repudiate tlie untrue .reports, and particu-

larly Captain Bean's statements, reflecting on the behaviour of the troops. The' deputation admitted that theve were a few "rotters" among the brigade, but these would be found in any aggregation of men. Many done by New Zealanders and Territorials were attributed to Australians.

NEft ZEALAND NURSES LEAVING TO-DAY, PRESENTATION OF BADGES: "WELLINGTON, This Day! The' nurses,. who are leaving to-day, received a number of farewells, the principal being by- members of the local branch of the Nurses' Association. Each nurse ■ received from the Association an electric torch, and' the Mayoress presented them with fountain ;pens. Badges designed for the occasion "vvexe presented by the Premier, and they will remain the permanent badge of this service in the Dominion. The emblem is a fretted medallion centred by a Geneva Cross, with a silver fern leaf on either side and the letters "N.Z. A.N.S." ' I•" ' Later. Fifty nurses, who are to go to the front under arrangement with the Imperial authorities, left by the- Rotorua for London to-day. They had a great send-off. A number of buildings were decorated, and there was a large crowd on Glasgow Wharf and much cheering as the vessel, moved off, shortly after noon. Sir Joseph Ward addressed the nurses on the wharf and on- behalf of the Patriotic Society, 'presented Miss McLean, (assistant Inspector of Hospitals a-nd in charge of the party) with a bouquet. -Jupp's Band played a number of airs at the vessel's eide. IN NELSON BELGIAN RELIEF FUND. (No. 1.) Committee to receive money or goods; Mr©" MacKenzie, Mrs Kempthorne, Miss Atkinson, and Mrs Emmett. A subscription list is open at the. Bank of New "Zealand. The following hop-pickers gave to the Belgian Relief Fund th'eir earnings for one day> picking :—Mrs and Misses M. and N. Ingerfield 12s 6d, Miss May Di'ummond 6s 3d, Mrs Scott ss, Mrs H.R.B. ss, Sympathiser lis. "BELGIAN RELIEF FUND. Mr A., E. Jackson "acknowledges the following " amounts ' in'""cohriection with the Belgian Relief Fund :—'Summary of proceeds of social held in Bainham Hall on Friday, March 26th : Collection £4 Bs, sale-of sheep (presented by Mr Geo. Teague) £l2 7s 6d, sale of pig (presented by Mi's' "W aTTace) £2 2s 6d, guessing competitions £3 15s, sale of cake (presented by Mrs Cook) 12s, donation Mr Geo. Graham £l, total £24 ss. Donation 12th Regt. Band £35; half net proceeds of .Patriotic. .Concert - by 12th Pegt. Band ;£lv 15s 9d ; donation A:. G. Washbo ut

SICK AND WOUNDED HIND EMPIRE CONTRIBUTIONS. . By perusing the following' list which appeared in the. "Times Weekly Edition" it will be seen how ably all parts of the B itish Empire are responding to the call for aid for the Sick and vVoundedv Fund. Since the publication of this" paragraph in the "Times" the chairman of the Red Cross Society, Lord Rothschild, has died, but "while . the Society will sustain a severe loss in his death, it. is certain that the good work' is progressing favourably' under the capable directorship .of the committee. ■ "The acknowledgments during the past week have included a' number of important gifts .in money both to the general fund and to that for' motor-ambul-ances. The fofmer is materially increased by £IOOO sent by .the executors of the will of the late Mrs -Harairdan, of Malta, by £SOO from the Sheapbridge Coal and' Iron Company, '£4 so from the Trinidad branch of the 8.R.C.5., and £3OO from British-born residents in the State of Oregon, U.S.A. The latter benefits by £IOSO from the Worshipful Company of JLeathersellers, £IOOO from the Australian Jockey Club, £SOO from members, of the University of London, whose gift is to help provide a motorsoup kitchen, and £4OO from the ladies of Nelspn, New Zealand." •

WAR NOTES FATHER ANT) SON. : ~ ~ Two "mention£_in-despatches, " taken from the "Joux-nal Officiel," read .'together, form a document at once of pathos and of heroism : (1) Nogues, soldier of "the second class, of the 153 rd Infantry Regiment, aged 56, gave a , noble example of devotion to his country by volunteering in the same ranks as his son, a young soldier "of the 1914 class. Was killed in. the' trenches by a fragment of shell, while his son was severely wounded at his-side: , '(2) Nogues, soldier of the second class, of 153 rd Infantry Regiment, was seriously' wounded by a fragment of shell, while his father, aged . 56, who had volunteered for the duration of the war, was killed at his side. It was by the same shell, at the same moment, and side, by side, that father and sort were struck down.

SOLDIER WHO COULD NOT RUN. One of the arresting features in "T.P.'s Journal of Great Deeds of the Great. War" is an article dealing with the heroism of a man - who, unable to run when the British retreated, -was left behind and turned his misfortune into a victory for the British arms. The writer of the article' tells how he was joined by two other men, and this is the chief incident which led to the decorating of the trio for extreme gallantry—"The gun was theirs in a flash. In a moment they had resolved to iise it for British ends. A German regiment, the redoubtable Prussian Guard, was: moving oh to the entrenched Borderers field. The jet of the bullets hit, the Guards fairly, slashed death into the ranks, helped to finish off all suggestions of attack. The Germans fell back again, and the. three heroic men regained; tlie>'British'line. "Captain Campbell gained the -D.S.O. for his part in thie brilliant 'little affair. Sergeant;'Pugh and Private Black have both been given th'e D.C.'M. ' They deserved it. But they take they: did the deed, in a soldierly fashion. 'After all,' said Pugh, 'old age sometimes comes in handy, for-had I not been winded we would not have taken the maxim.