The Invasion of 1910.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13162, 12 May 1906, Page 3

The Invasion of 1910.

IN FOUR YEARS TIME! IS ENGLAND UNPREPARED? THE CLOUD "NO BIGGER THAN A MAN'S HAND I" , THE STORY OF THE CEjNTUBY 1

The Proprietors of the " Canfcorbury Times " hay« pleasure in announcing that upon WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, next, the popular family [journal Trill commence the publication of the most thrilling etory of Modern times, Mr William Le Queux's " THE INVASION OF 1910." This graphic, picturesque and sftiisational story, founded upon a basia of inevitable a^d convincing 'truth, purposes -to show in narrative form the unpreparedness of Great Britain for a descent upon her shores by a powerful Foreign Power. The story is written with all the emphatic impress of conviction. It is absolute in its technique, startling in the fidelity of its detail, convincing in its manner, prophetic in its. unfailing hostility to the nuethods of the War Department, sure in its touch, and uncompromisingly hostile to the attitude of "Inissez faire" which has characterised the administration oi^the Army and Na*«'y for years past. I Speaking of tl»is remarkable noVei in the House of Lords, Lord Roberts said: It is to the people of tfcos country 1 appeal to take up the question of the Army in a sensible, p)i*acti"al manner. For the sake of all thry hold dear, let them bring home to themselves what would- be the condition of Great Britain if it were to lose its wealth, its power, its position. The catastrophe that may happen if we still remain in our present state of unpreparedness is vividly and forcibly illustrated in 3lr I<> iQuexix's new book, which I recommend to the perusal of everyone who has the welfare of the British Empire at heart. , / The copyright of thfe novel has beeu purchased by the propniototfs of the Canter-bury Tim at great cost, and th© story^ will bo-g£ven to- 'its reader;* in substantial woeMy instaJimcoits. The. opening chapters relate in detail the story of the. landinjg of the Germans in Great Britain upon the coasts of Norfolk and Suffolk. The landing is supposed to have , been et-j 1 fected at Lowestoft, on the of' Sunday, September 2, 1910. The Grst • intimation of the descent of the Qermans was gathered throtijgh 'the! "Weakly Despatch" (being cut; ofF whilst in ' tne receipt of some imipori tant news telegrams from Yarmouth. Inquiry disclosed that "the ,!N : orfolk and Suffolk coasts were botih completely cut off from telephone and telegraph conMrninicati'o'n. The authorities were mystified and ' -alarmed, for there had ,b>&en no cliunatdc disturbance of such a n&ture as is> break down live separate .routes of .communication. At the height of ' the confusion which ensued there came a call from the .Ipswich office, -wiluere a breathless moto.rist had a nbovy lo tell. The motorist stated that he started in his motor-car alone from Lowestoft to London a-t foalf-past three i^.the morning, and jusub as it wast getting light he vas passing along tho edge of Itenham Park, between Wangford village and Blythebfaqgh, when he saw three men apparently repairing ' the telegraph wires. One was up the pole- and the other two were atandjing below. As he passed he saw 'a flash,' for, to his surprise, one of tho men fired point-blank at him with a revolver. Fortunately, the shot went wide, and he at once put on a move and got down into Blythburgh village, even though one of the tyros went down. It had probably been pierced by the bullet fired at him, a3 the puncture was unlike any ke had ever had', before. At Blythburgh h® informed the police of the outrage, and the constable in turn woke iud, the postmaster, who tried to telegraph back to the police at Wrentham, but found that the line was interrupted. Was it possible that the men were cutting the wires, instead of cepairing them ? He says that after repairing this puncture he took the village constable and three other men on his car and wont, back to the spot, whore although the trio had escaped, they saw that wholesale havoc had been wrought with the telegraphs. The lines had been severed in four or five places, and wholesale lengths tangled up intp great masses. A number of poles had been teawn down, and were lying about the roadside, Seeing that nothing could be done, the gentleman remounted his car, catoe on fco Ipswich, and reported the damage at tho call office. The verification, of the story quickly followed, and a tardy attempt to interview the War Office authorities was frustrated by the fact that it was Sunday m<oming, and that nobody save a few under-strap-pers, who were disposed to treat the story with contempt, were in charge. At last those ta whom the position had been made known managed to find the Under-Secretary of State for War, who, hastening to London, arrived to find the city in an uproar and a ferment of horror and fear: The steps that were taken to combat the invasion, the ultimate result of the campaign, and -the dreadful disasters and phenomenal triumphs which accompanied it, are worked out in a masterly and graphic nsaiiner. The story develops with 'Startling rapidity, and the accuracy of its'de-

tail is only surpassed by the vivid interest which has been oast into its construction. Nothing ol such phenomenal fictional excitement, or of such lively importance, has \becn pub. lished. for years. The Story is A FRANK AND FORCEFUL CRITICISM OF DEPARTMENTAL ADMINISTRATION. A GRAPHIC PROPHECY OF FEARLESS PROMINENCE. AN INVINCIBLE INDICTMENT OF INEPTITUDE. A POWERFUL PROTEST AGAINST POLITICAL PROSTITUTION. A BREATHLESS AND SOUL-STIR-RING STORY. Its publication will begin in the "Canterbury Times" of WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, and will continue from ' week to week. As the issue will be a limited ofno, it will he neoesS'ary for agents and individuals to place their orders at once. Reinemiber, ' WEDNESDAY, MAY 16. Do not miss the First- Number. b 486