Daily British Whig (1850), 7 Jul 1915, p. 12

The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

i * F PAGE TWELVE » * DAILY BRIMTYLr tyres a a Te ree hi l * PAGE + Sn BRITAIN'S TREATIES _ ~ MADE IN THOUSANDS War Ended Sinecures in This Department--Staff Greatly Increas- ed and Day and Night Shifts #» Volume of Work--Much Work of the most vital tmportance to Britain's success. in the war 1s car; ried on by the great, special depart ments of thy Admiralty, Foreign Of- fice, and War Office. But it is work of which little is heard. It is done in silence behind the scenes of the- great war drama. Before the war the Treaty Department of the Forelgn Of- fice in Whitehall, was by no means busy. The dozen clerks engaged In peace time in this department were among those who earned the name of arm-chair civil servants, so light was 'thelr work, The staff, immediately on the outbreak of war, was redoubled, then taiped to fifty, then to over one huadred. It is divided into night and dsy otaffs, for the work of the degait ment is carried on continuously. The business handled by the Treaty De partment is divided into. two ¢hief '*~nchag--treaties and passports..? *?) he treaty staff work at high pres: | sure. Since the war started the r.am- ber of treaties and arrangements en tered into between England and her al Hes and neutrals runs into thousands. In peace time the number of treaties and armngements entered into pe- tween England 'and other countries is about four hundred in the year. In August, 1914, over five, hundred trea ties and arrangements were signed by the. Poreign Office. In connection with the landing of the British troops in France alone over seventy separ- ate agreements between the French and English Foretgn Offices were sign- ed, and the occupation of France by British troops necessitated the entering into of at least two hun- dred agreements; or treaties, Detwecn France and England. It took twenty separate treaties or arrangements to settle the laws under which Britain's troops were to be billeted in France Endless Drafts Often twenty or thirty drafts of a treaty may have to be made out bafore part of | Put on to 'Handle Immense Translating Necessary its terms are finally approved of by all the parties to it, and frequently it may have to be drafted in several dif ferent languages. For example, a treaty or arrangement with France may have to be submitted to Russia and Japan, in which case it would have to be drafted in Russian and Japanese. The original instructions for the draft ing of a treaty are given, of course, by 8ir Edward Grey either to his own secretary or to Sir Richard Paget, the chief of the Treaty Department, by whom the terms of the treaty are com- municated to Mr. Hugh Ritchie, the head of the Drafting Department, In connection with the drafting of a trea- ty hundreds of other treaties may [have to be looked up. In'peace time one clerk attends to this work, Now it takes a staff of twenty. Wonderful Fast System The head of the Treaty Department once received instructions at five o'- crock in the afternoon to draft a trea ty, the terms of which were to be cabled to Petrograd' and Paris the next day. To get thi§ work done the drafting staff required to see certain extracts from eighty other treaties. The staff started - on their job at six, and remained at it until four the fol- lowing morning, when their task was | completed. Twelve clerks deal with | the docketing, indexing, and filing of the cables, correspondence, and docu- ments in the Treaty Department. Un- der their system of filing aiy docu- ment can Le obtained in a couple of minutes after it has been requested by the Foreign Secretary or chief of a depagtment, and hundreds of docu- ments are "requistioned" daily. Fre quently the King will requisition some of these documents. His Majesty is the only person outside the members of the government who is kept in- formed of the extent and character of the various international arrange- ments Britain entered into since the outbreak of the war. German Spy College Run Like University Regular Course of Juirystion Ion) Pupils Y7ho Were to Travel Foreign (ountries . Military Information. In the early days of the war people marvelied at Germany's perfect sy: tem of espionage. . "How has it been organ- ised ?™ was 'the question one heard on every hand. It develops that Germany ran 'schools for teaching spies. Ope of these institutions existed at Lar rach, in the Grand Duchy of Haden. The teaching was at onge theoretical and practical, At first the pupils stud: fed maps snd drawings which gave minute details of the uniforms of the French, Russian, and British armies, guns, rifles and shells. Afterwards the future sples were instructed as to the 'internal military organization of the country in which they had to oper- ate--=the garrisons and forts. Technical instructors explained to them the strategic utility of the net. work of railways, the importance of the different stations for mobilization, and other things of the same nature, (pang wit, Sacton oa rst o retion and rapid- ity the information collected. When a spy travelling 'through a French town found four regiments of infantry, two of cavalry, and one of artillery, it was sufficient for him to underline on the railway time table the name of the town, and to put certain signs be neath the res 4, 2, and 1 on the Same page. this way the effectives of a district were indicated without the most perspicacious observer of German correspondence being any the As 5001 us an espionage pupil com- pleted his studies he was given a false name, a passport, money, and a mis- sion. He as Seid 1a Tetum as often as possible report the result of his mission, It was borne in upon all spies that it they succeeded they would be rewarded, but that if they comprom- ised ves they would be dis- avowed. teresting to reproduce a itory from the "Cri de Paris." Two ladles Collecting "MANY ROYAL AVIATORS | When King Albert ascended in a Bel. glan military aeroplane for an aerial reconnaissance over the German nes, he was the first crowned monarch to fly over troops in action, but ne 1s not the only Royal personage to fly. Years ago the Kaiser had a short flight in a Zeppelin, with the famous Count at the helm. The trip wae carried out secretly at a German aerolrome, and Berliners knew nothing about it till it was over. The Crown Prince of Germany was one of the first men to fly in an aeroplane. He ascended with Orville Wright, who with his brother Wilbur produced the first heavier than-air machine to. fly. The flight took ;place in America some years back, and at the conclusion the Prinee presented Mr. Wright with a gold tie- pin as a memento of the occasion. The Prince of Wales enjoyed a lengthy flight in one of our Army dirships at Farnborough, The trip was carried out in private. MARCONI ALMOST IRISH Famous Inventor Pleased at Italy's Share In War Few Italians welcome Italy's en- trance into the war more than Signor Marconi, son of an Irish mother and husband of an 'Irish wife. - Signora Marconi is a daughter of the late Lord Inchiquin. Signor Marconi's mother was a Miss Jameson, and from her he .mediately afterwards. posed of officers, hut they differ In (1) | the number of officers that constitute | death to be valid two-thirds of the (2) the offences they are | number of officers composing the court allowed to try: and (3) the amount of | must agree, ENROUTE TO BATTLE AGAINST THE TURK «The term "court-martial" does not always mean the same thing. Ir or dinary times there are three kinds of courts that may be formed for tha pur- sons subject to military law. the court; punishmerit they can infifet. The of- forty-two days' detention, which means practically imprisonment within bar- racks. Nor is it allowed to try an officer, or to pass a sentence of "diy charged with ignominy" upon a pri vate, More serious offences, such as theft from a comrade, drunkenness on duty, striking a superior officer, etc., are tried by a district court-martial. This also consists of not less than three of- ficers, but in this case they will, if at all possible, be drawn from corps dif- ferent from that to which the accused belongs. This court has the power of passing sentences up to two yeays' im- prisonment, with pr without hatd la- bor, Death for Some Crimes It is only rarely, and when crimes of exceptional importance have to be dealt with (such as selling official se- crets, murder, .etc.), that any court higher than a district court-martial is requifed. This supreme military British troops embarking at Alexandria, Egypt, for the Australia and New Zealand com prise this force. ficer commanding a régiment has the | able at.any time. ¢ power to try and punish many minor | vice, when it may not be practicable offences, but when he feels, owing per- [to try an officer by a gemeral court- haps to the bad character of the of | martial, a special court known as a fender, that a severer punishm-nt more | field general court-martial is formed. than he is allowed to give is required, | This court is a regimental court-martial is formed. | than three officers, unless it is found It consists of at least three offi~ers, | impossible to get this number togeth- but cannot try serious offences, and its | er, then two are allowed to act, but powers of punishment are limited to {their powers are limited to passing sen- Dardanelles. A A A di id i PII tribunal is called a general courl-mar- tial, It consists of at least nine of- ficers, drawn from different corps. Each officer must have held a commis- pose of trying soldlers and other per sion for three years, and not less than Such five of them must be captains or of a courts are called together to try cer- | higher rank. This court alone can try tain specified cases and discoved im-|an officer, and its powers extend "to They are com- | passing sentence of penal servitude and ven death. But. for a sentence of The three foregoing cow , are cvail But on active ser- composed of not less tence of two years' imprisonment. In a-full court the death sentence may be passed, but all the members must agree, Soldiers' Offences There are more than a dozen dif- ferent offences for which a soldier may be sentenced to death while on active service. The first on the list of death offences applies to a com- manding officer and reads, "Shameful ly. delivering up a garrison when in command of troops, without due neces- sity--punishment, death." A soldier can be shot for throwing away his rifle or sword in the presenre of the enemy, for cowardice, or for leaving his commanding officer in order to plunder. If he forces his way past a sentry on active service he may be sentenced to death, or for assaulting anyone bringing up provisions for the troops. : Soldiers are 'ex _sssly forbidden while on active service to commit any RE Lb ni oly '| defence has been gent away. Both Imperial and Colonial soldiers from AAA AAA AAA AI ) The Meaning of Court-Martial 5 To Soldiers in Peace and War offence against a resident of the coun. try in which hW& 1s serving under pain of death, nor may he break into any house in search of plunder, or dis- chaige his rifle intentionally to create a false alarm on the march. A soldier while acting as sentry who is found sleeping at his post may be shot, Any man causing or joining in a mutiny is liable to be shot. Desertion or. at- tempt at desertion while on active ser- vice is naturally a death offence. GERMANY'S GIBRALTAR Heligoland Is Island of Stoel, Concrete, Cannon and Zeppelins About a million sterliyg a year ev- ery year since 1890 has been spent on Heligoland by Germany, In that year, when it was ceded to her by Great Britain, the island was crumbling fast, being literally eaten into by the waves of tite North Sea, Since then its red marl and sandstone cliffs have been strengthened with great granite but. tresses 16 feet thick and 240 feet high. All cracks and fissures in the crumb- ling clifis have been filled in with fer: ro-concrete, so that now the sea bat- tles in vain against the walls of the little island, for it is only a mile in length by some one-third of a mile in width. Tothe south of the lower part of the island a shelter has been built for tor- pedo boats, submarines, and small cruisers, at a cost of more than £3 000,000. A high cliff separates this low-lying part of the island, the "Un- terland," as it is called, from the high land, or "Oberland." The whole length of the top of this cliff is heavily pro tected by barbed wire. A road up the cliffs leads almost directly to a little town. This little town, complete with its church and school, contains only a few hundred inhabitants, chiefly the workmen employed in the fortifications and the garrison, with their families. Farther north are the newly-built Zep- pelin sheds and weroplane hangars. Since the war began many buildings have been razed to the ground, and every person not actively required for The is- land itself is connected by cables with Cuxhaven, anc there is a wireless apparatus installed. All over Heligoland there are power ful searchlights by which any vessel can be detected at night, no matter from what direction she approaches. Many parts of the island, as well the buildings, have been hea mour-plated, and some of Krupp's big. gest 12-inch and 15-inch guns, mounted ti i | might be eaused "DER TAG IS PAST ITALY GAVE WARNING \, { WELSH PROUD OF PRINCE There are many tales afloat of the Prince of Wales at the front. Private A. Butler of the Sécond Coldstream Guards, wrote to friends in Cardiff, Wales: "I must tell you about the Prince, who is here with us, I can as- sure all you Welsh people he is as brave as a hero. Only last night he passed me when German shells were coming over. You can take it from me that he is not only the Prinée of Wales, but a soldier and a man, and we are all proud of him. He is not very big, but he has got a bigger heart than a lot who are hanging back in Great Britain. 1 hope, please God, he will come back safe and sound with- out a scratch." The Prince of Wales continues, says the "British Weekly," wheh circum: stances permit, to take a six-mile walk before breakfast at the front. When asked if he went to bed very early in order to accomplish this, the Prince replied that he could not go to bed early, as he wrote to his father and his mother and sister every night. The only way that has-been found to in- duce the Prince to show some precau- tion when under shell fire is to repre sent to him that serious inconvenience if he were taken prisoner. To any remark about the possibility of his being killed, the Prince answers cheerily that he has | many brothers at home, so it would not matter, X-RAY SEES WONDER Bullets Shift anc Even Turn Com- "pletely Around: in Victim The X-ray has discovered that bul- lets often turn on their axis after en- tering the body. In other words, a bullet, after entering the body, will turn completely round as if it were go- ing to leave the body on the same side or place as it entered. This is at pres- ent inexplicable, and but for the photo: graphs of X-ray experts would be dis- credited, writes an army doctor, An- other freak is that a bullet will often move in the body. A doctor may know the exact position of a bullet but be unable to operate on account of the fact that it has moved. Here the X-ray comes in, when the position is located immediately, German Sort of Humor Here is evidence of German humor practised upon the Polish peasants. The Germans pretended everywhere to pay for supplies with documents written in German, which the peasants do not understand. When translated, the peasants foundathat these papers had inscribed thereon: "Whoever pre- sents this at the end of the war will be hanged." ox { King Victor Reported fa Havd Warned King George 'of 4 Ger- man Invagion Which Hag Ao tually Embarked -- Then "the! Fleet Acted. wa, 1® -- ' » | The story will not down In Leadon that Germany had the King of Italy to blame for the fact that at the moment she invaded Belgium she found the British navy fully mobilized. Shortly before' the war Georg reviewed the British fleet at Spithead. The immense gathering was to have been dispersed immediately after wards, the Home Squadron alone re-. maining in English waters. Then came the assassination of the Aus- trian heir presumptive and his con- sort at Serajevo and after that stir ring events followed in quick succes. sion until the general conflagration broke out. When England declared war against Germany the British fleet was mobilized and the German fleet dared not come out. It is sal® that immediately after the Serajeve mur- ders King Victor Emmanuel sent an autograph letter to King George in- forming him that something myster- ious and highly dangerous to England was happening in Germany. : Admiraity"s Ruse Worked This warning was, of course, im- mediately communicated to the Ad- miralty and Mr. Churchill immediate- ly made all necessary preparations, but in order not te arouse the sus- picions of the German spies in Eng- land the naval units assembled at Spithead were ordered, to disperse as originally arranged. rhe Home flleet alone remained in English waters, while the Mediterranean and High Seas Squadrons ' departed ostensibly German spies were enabled to cable home that the British fleet had dis- persed. It was a feint, however, on the part of Admiralty, for all the British ships, after steaming a short distance, turned around and as- sembled in the North Sea, passing north of Ireland and Scotland, Danger Was Very Real What then was the danger that threatened England? On the very day when war was declared a num- ber of transports, flat bottomed ves- sels and steamers carrying 260,000 German soldiers intended for an in- vasion of England left Hamburg, where they had been assembled dur- ing July. When the declaration. of war came this quarter of a million of troops was already on board the vessels where for weeks they had been awaiting the signal of departure. The great day arrived and the great fleet of invasion, preceeded by the German warships, left Hamburg. In the North Sea they suddenly sighted the whole British fleet. There was no fight, but. the German vessels re- turned to Hamburg at greater speed than when they left, AAAS S¥Yilled Torpedomen a Great National Asset ~ Only the Cleverest and Most Am- bitious of the Sailors Aspire to This Highly Trained Branch of Service. - Every naval power nowadays has its torpedo school, a sort of honors' class to which only the best of seamen aspire. An S.G.T., which stands for Seaman gunner torpedoman, will ac quire his most profound knowledge of the exceedingly fickle art on board a destroyer or submarine, but before he can volunteer as 8.G.T. he must go through the regular ~ourse in one of the two ships dedicated to this pur pose. Before commencing, he must first have passed successfully through & gunnery course and qualified as a craft and expensive to be handled by any- one but the man who is thorough B0gE SEF gE i g : i ! : i gf h i i i | Fi h i i! ged ef ing fellows under him as a walking encyclopsdia on all things pertaining to torpedoes, gyroscopes, cylinders, magnetism, floating and fixed mines, not to mention range finders, electric bells, and lighting. The typical torpedo lecture hall would not disgrace a university class room. It is a large and splendidly equipped apartment d ted in the forenoon to lectures, in afternoon to practical demonstrations; and in the evening it 1s again in full activity, The men are taught practically every. thipg connected with mines and ex- plosives, and, through the electric light shop adjacent, are brought into close contact with electric contrivan- ces. Occasionally, too, they are taken away in a body to the minefleldrs for practical work. In short, nothing is left to chance, nor is any expense spared to turn out skilled opera to compare with the best any rival power can show, . QUAKERS' PART IN WAR wea- 1 Prove Brave Friends to British Sols diers--Many Enlist The attitude. of the Quakers towards war is well known, so it is rather fo 55288 RERleakee frit, rd if for their regular destinations and the . - J

Powered by / Alimenté par VITA Toolkit
Privacy Policy