SIDELIGHTS ON THE WAR

New Zealand Tablet, 5 August 1915, Page 15

SIDELIGHTS ON THE WAR

GENERAL. The French Government has awarded the distinction of the Legion of Honor to no less than eightyseven Catholic priests and 127 nuns. Probably few people know exactly how the V.C., the most coveted of all military distinctions, is made. Ordinary medals are made from a steel die. Hut there is no die in existence for the Victoria Cross. Each cross, made from bronze which formed part <>t Russian guns captured in the Crimea, is made separately, from a model pattern cast when the first design was approved. The bronze used for the V.C. is of very hard quality, and when it has been melted and poured into the mould every drop left over is carefully saved. A most striking comment on the accuracy of British gunnery is contained in a letter from the front by an officer of field artillery. lie describes how, in a recent action, the ‘ first and principal job ’ of bis brigade was to break up entirely wire entanglements in front of the German trenches. Although this was the first occasion on which artillery had been used for such a purpose, the results were brilliantly satisfactory; the wires were reduced to lengths of about four inches and thrown clean over the German trenches, which enabled our infantry to take the first trench without, encountering obstacles or resistance. A FRENCH HYMN IN THE TRENCHES. A correspondent in Northern France writes as follows: — ‘I have heard it again, in still more impressive surroundings. It was one night in the trenches. We had been attacked, and for three-quarters of an hour there had been an awful din. The German ‘'marmites” which kept bursting in our winding trenches, our .75 and .120 guns, rifles, hand grenades, the shouts of the assailants, and our yells made a really good noise. •Then, the attack beaten off, there had followed a complete calm, when all at once in the stillness of the night, 'sung by a magnificent voice, arose the first couplet of 4-“ Notre Dame de France.” Ido not think I shall ever fhear anything grander and more impressive.’ AMUSING CAPTURE OF GERMANS. ‘ Now let me tell you all about a remarkable exploit of mine, which will not be mentioned in the despatches, for good reason (writes a correspondent of an | exchange). I had forgotten something in the neighborhood. and went to fetch it, when suddenly at the turn

of the trench I found myself face to face with a fat German, followed by another equally stout. They were carrying each a steaming kettle of soup, the dinner for their company,' and by mistake walked into the wrong lines. Fortunately their hands were full, and I was the first to recover from surprise, so I shouted in a terrible voice:, “Kommeu ihr!” This was a grammatical mistake; it should have been “Konunen Sie,” or briefly, “Kommt !” However, they seemed to understand, for they, followed like lambs, soup and all. I do believe they wandered purposely into our quarters, they appeared so soon reconciled to the situation - . So I returned with two prisoners and two steaming kettles ; the soup was quite a nice addition to our rations.’ CLERGYMEN LEAD THE CHARGES. Sister Maud Kellett, recently of the Sydney Hospital, now on the nursing staff at No. 2 General Hospital, Egypt, writes to her mother, Mrs. Kellett, of Penrith, telling of the glorious reputations, the Australians made for themselves. One Egyptian paper says: ‘The courage and bravery displayed by the Australians is unparalleled in the annals of history.’ The English soldiers who were there also are loud in their praise of the Australians. . . . As soon as one officer fell the snipers, wlio.were hidden in “dug-outs” shot each officer as they passed —the next in rank took bis place. A Catholic priest, who has been recommended for the ACC., led one company after all its officers had been killed : a Church of England clergyman another company : and a doctor another company —one and all seemed inspired to move on and down the treacherous Turk.’ A PRIEST PUT TO DEATH. The Turks have over twelve thousand soldiers on the Lebanon. Military forces occupy the heights which dominate the sea. 1 lie security of the Marouite Patriarch, who is protected bv an armed guard of honor, is threatened. Recently the Turks arrested Father Joseph llayck, an aged Maronite priest, of bin-el near Beirut, and, trumping- up charges against him, tried him by court-martial. He refuted every charge, but he was, nevertheless, condemned ,to death. A scaffold was erected at Damns, and in presence of a great crowd he was led to it and ascended if , his hands, bound in chains. Then he received the order to cry ‘ Vive le Sultan!’ 1 Vive I’Empereur Guillaume!’ Vive 1 Empereur Francois Joseph ! Instead he cried, Vive la France!’ ‘ Vive 1 ’ Angleterre ! ’ ‘ Vive la Russie !’ With the rope around his neck he was again, ordered to cry • Success to the Sultan and the Emperors of Germany and Austria,’ but the response was the cry, ‘Vive la France!’ repeated thrice in a resonant voice which was heard at a great distance. Death by hanging ensued immediately. FRENCH I SOLDI ER-PR IE ST S. A Paris correspondent of the Tunes says that the Countess dc Courson has published a little book, entitled The Soldier Priests of France, which throws into hi ,r h relief the part which these ecclesiastics engaged in the French army have played since the beginning of the war. They number more than 20,000 in various degrees of priesthood, drawn from many different Orders: Carthusians, Jesuits, ' Dominicans, Salesians, Norbertines, and Benedictines. Men who hold high office in the Church are privates in the army, and thcii inferiors in the priesthood are often then superiors under military discipline. _ " The young men are serving in the first line, theolder men are employed as stretcher-bearers and hospital orderlies. The military chaplains are always men over 48 years of age, and their work is entirely ecclesiastical. The work of the priests among the sick, both on the field of battle and behind the line of fire, is of the finest order, and officers with a reputation for being decidedly anti-clerical have openly recognised its value. The writer quotes one instance where an anti-clerical general chose priests for difficult ambulance work on the grounds that they are always steady under fir®, in ~

different to death, untiringly energetic, and unfailingly cheerful.’ . " ° J ' AN AMUSING INCIDENT. . A special correspondent of the Times, in a message from British headquarters on June 3, says:— ‘ An amusing little incident was told to me to-day by the officer commanding a clearing hospital which is now being used as a convalescent hospital. His hospital is housed in a Cistercian monastery, the monks of which have, for the most part, remained behind, although only one wing and the chapel have been retained for their use. This wing was, by arrangement, walled off from the rest of the building by wooden partitions, but, after one severe engagement a few weeks ago, these partitions were taken down and further encroachments made upon the monks’ privacy. Among the wounded were a considerable body of Pathans, who, after the manner of their kind, had no sooner had their wounds attended to than they began to wander about the building and explore what kind of place it was to which they had been brought. They chose for this amusement lust the hour—between 2 and 3 in the morning—when the monks were at cojnpline. Some of them even went so far as to get into the monks’ beds and settle down there. In clue course the monks returned and there was a scene of frantic excitement. The Pathans, seeing these white figures walking along the corridors and coming into the rooms, thought that the building was haunted by ghosts, while the monks, suddenly confronted bv a crowd of black human shanes, became obsessed with the idea that their monastery had been invaded by a host of black phantoms. Each side began to shout with the furv of fear at the other. Luckilv, they made such a noise that the attention of my informant was attracted and he succeeded, in putting matters right. A SUCCESSFUL RECRUITER. Evidence of the continued success of the voluntary system of recruiting comes from all parts of the country. Thousands of volunteers, most of them in khaki, but many still in civilian dress, are to-be seen drilling in the parks and commons of the metropolis, and the stream of fresh recruits flows steadily in. A London correspondent tells how, on June 7, he watched a recruiting meeting at the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral. A wounded Irish soldier, with one arm in a sling, was on the rostrum. With a rich brogue he lectured the young men around him on their duty. Then fixing his-eye on a youth wearing a silk hat he invited him to come up. Without hesitation the young man ’stepped upward. ‘ What are you doing for your country?’ he was bluntly asked. Ills answer was satisfactory —he was willing to serve. The soldier offered him his undamaged hand, and passed him on to the recruiting sergeant. This procedure was repeated again and again, the blarney proving irresistible, and in a few minutes a baker’s dozen were enrolled. One young man who was ‘ spotted ’ explained that he had been rejected because of a weak heart. But his father and brother had gone, and he was helping to look after the eight who were left behind. ‘l’m proud of ye, my lad,’ exclaimed the racy Irishman, ‘and of your father and your brother.’ The incident was highly pleasing to the crowd, and the soldier resumed his congenial task. His 1 bag’ was up to bis expectations, and he remarked boastfully as Tic stepped down, that in Hyde Park on the previous Sunday be asked for seventy-two, and- when be had finished he found that the number bad readied eighty-six. THE CASE OF SWITZERLAND. In connection with the war (says the Stirred //earl Review), the case of Switzerland is interesting. There is no Swiss race. There is no Swiss language. The people of Switzerland are German, French, or Italian in race and * language. But in patriotism they are all Swiss. Of the twenty-two-cantons, fifteen are German, five are French, and two are Italian. Incidentally it may be mentioned that twelve of the cantons are

strongly Protestant and ten strongly Catholic. Yet there is absolute national unity. Switzerland: stands solidly , and harmoniously, for Switzerland. The ’ German Swiss of Schaffhausen,, are not for Germany the French Swiss of Geneva are not for France; the Italian Swiss of Ticino are not for Italy; and'this, in spite of the fact that these outlying cantons are almost surrounded by Germany, , France, and Italy, respectively. Racial ties and ties of language may be strong, but the ties of patriotism are much stronger. A LETTER FROM EGYPT. Captain-Superintendent Cameron, writing from Abbassia, Egypt,, to the president of the St. Mary’s Conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Wanganui, of which he had been an active member, says: ‘ I am not going to write about the war, because I know you are getting as much news as we are here. Our. Colonial Forces have been very badly smashed in lie Dardanelles, and Wanganui lias suffered as much as any other centre. 1 am sure that quite half the New Zealanders have returned to Egypt wounded and many badly hit, while many a good man will never return at all. And we have only started the job. I have not even starred yet, as you can see by the address. I tried bal'd to get fit to go to the front, but the hard training in Egypt found my weak spot, and, instead of getting fit, that: unfortunate operation kept me down, and when the time arrived to go forward I was hopelessly run down, and a medical board declared me unfit for at least three months. The board suggested a trip to England, and I was just on the point of going when 1 was stopped and put into ray present position, which is governor of the military prison of Abbassia. The bar ■ks arc a very noble pile of stone buildings, covering about five acres of ground, situated in one of the best parts of Cairo, and within about one mile of Heliopolis. lam the only officer, but I have a picked staff of about 50 to assist. There are, off and on, about 120 of the toughest characters that ever* left New Zealand and Australia, with a few Imperial chaps now and again, to keep up the interest. I have splendid quarters, and a motor ear as part of the furniture, and, having a fair amount of time, I get about a good deal. The prison should really be under the command of a lieut.-colonel, but they are scarce at present, so they had to give it to me* There is extra pay and allowances attached to it, and a probable chance of promotion if 1 slick to it, but I would rather be after Turks than doing this. ‘The punishments on active service are pretty severe at any time, but once an individual gets into detention be very rapidly makes up bis mind to play the game in the future. One good thing about it is that the unfortunate is made to understand what discipline' really is, and be never wants a second lesson. But I was not cut out for a job like this, and I have to shut my teeth sometimes to make a success of it. However, it has its advantages, and it is a great experience for me. ‘ The New Zealand hospital is only about half a mile up the street, so Igo there a good deal. I try to do all I can for the wounded that are constantly arriving, and it helps4-o keep a fellow humane. Our clergy are doing good work in the many hospitals that have had to be established in Egypt, and they are the most favored of the chaplains. • But all who are at all British seem to be doing all they can to make things as comfortable as possible for the wounded Australasians. Many find their way to private homes when they become convalescent. ‘I often wonder bow you are all getting on in Wanganui, and I can tell you, that often on a Monday night I think of you all gathered round file Dean, trying hard to get some ofie to go and take the Sunday school at Gonville or somewhere else. ‘ If I am lucky enough to get among the Turks, news will be scarcer than ever : and they are so narrowminded about people landing in their country, that I will still have to beg that spiritual help that you have so generously given all along,’ N . s