1917-08-03 — Page 7

MORAL OF BELGIUM. MI BALFOUR ON GERMAN BRUTALITY.

Mr. Balfour made his first public speech since his return from the United States at the second annual meeting of the National Committee for Relief in Belgium, held at the Mansion House

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THE HONGKONG DAILY PRESS. FRIDAY, AUGUST 8BD. 1917.

FRENCH REPLY TO RUSSIA COMMONS AIMS AND PRINCIPLES.

The following is the text of the French Government's reply to the Russian pro- clamation of April 9th (March 27th, old style):

BRITISH AIRMEN'S GREAT

DAY.

SHARE IN MESSINES VICTORY.

STORY OF SPLENDID EXPLOITS. ¡BY "THE TIMES SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT;]

of

THE POSITION IN ENEMY CAPITALS.

U.S. VICE-CONSUL'S VISITS. Mr. Harold G. Waters, late American arrived at Paris last month after a three Vice-Consul at Constantinople, who has, weeks adventurous journey through Bulgarin and Austria, told a representa- tive of The Daily Express that the greater part of the population of the Turkish capital still wonder why they are fighting France and England.

when he is not afraid of being Overheari If you can get a Turk to talk to you by German spies," said Mr. Waters, he will generally state that he hates German officers, hundreds of whom in Constan tinople behave as if they owned the coun try. They dash about the city in high- speed motor-cars, and when they ran over

Turk or two they do not worry unpopular, but the Turks get absolutely The break with America is extremely no information to the military situation. Whin the Consular party left,. the fall of Bagdad had not been officially announced.

It is with entire satisfaction that the Government of the French Republic has One of the most joyous things about the takon cognizance of the proclamation of victory of Mossings has been the splendid the Russian Provisional Government of efficiency of our air service, and its com The following message from Lord Stan April oth last, which the Russian Amplete mastory of the enemy

bassador was instructed to communicate Wordham to the Lord Mayor (whó prợ.

The object of the Flying Corps is, to it. The Government of the Republic acting as one branch of the great Army sided) was read:—“ I ani commanded by shares the full confidence which the Pro organization; to co-operate with the other the King to express to you, as chairman visional Government entertains in the branches in the one supreme end of secur of the National Committee for Belief in restoration of the political, economic,ing victory. The chief ways in which it Belgium, the gratification it affords his and military forces of the country. It does this are, first, observation for gen Majesty to learn that the activities of does not doubt that the measures an aral movements as much as possible your many committees and workers have nounced for the improvement of the con- secondly, harassing the enemy behind his been crowned with such signal success. ditions in which the people mean to carry lines; and, thirdly, obstructing the enemy Their efforts in the cause of humanity through to victory the war against un Flying Corps from performing these same and for the relief of the suffering and adversary who threatens their national functions for its side. In each of these oppressed deserve the highest praise, and patrimony more than ever will permit departments our Flying Corps was ab I am to take this opportunity of stating them to drive him from their soil, de solutely and unqualifiedly muccessful, and the gratitudo with which the King finitely establish their. reconquered it is not too much to say that never recognizes the generosity of the United liberty, and thus effectively take their before, even on the Somme, have we so States Government in undertaking the part in the common struggle of the Allies completely demonstrated our financial responsibility for this work." In this way the efforts which our the Germans in the air.

Mastery King Albert sent the following tele-chemics do not cease to renew to sow mis- The Germans might almost as well have anderstanding among the Allies and to had no air service at all; while our flying

As long as Germany is ably liberally obtain credit for the most lying reports Ech were one of the chief instruments into supply Turkey with money, as she is regarding their reciprocal decision will becuring our victory. They were the one doing now, she will be able to retain the be rendered vain. Relief, in Belgium, which in two years

branch of the Army to which the thunder upper hand," continued Mr has collected £2,400,000 in Great Britain

storm on the evening and night of June und the British Dominions, I desire to

7 was a serious inconvenience. It ham express through you my heartfelt thanks

pered the rest of the Army little, but for for such generous help. The efforts of

some eight or nine hours immediately the National Committee have during

before the launching of our attack, flying oapy matha alleviated the sufferings of

might have been done that night had to was impossible, and so much work which my loyal and courageous people and have given added inspiration to their forti

be postponed till dawn. Flights which tude. It gives me great plensure to

France thinks of oppressing no preple

should have started at various hours dur acknowledge the devoted services rendered and no nationality, not even those of her.

ing the night could not set out till nearly by all those connected with the human-enemies of to-day, but she intends that

3 o'clock. tarion work of the committee."

the oppression which has so long weighed

I see from my notes made at the time and that the authors of the crimes which at eight minutes after 3 c'clock. At 3.10 upon the world shall be finally destroyed, on the part of the front where I was, the Brat aeroplane passed overhead will remain for our enemica the shame of the attack was made. this war shall be chastized.

By 3.30 the sky her enemies the spirit of conquest and and another of five being overhead sinul Leaving to was full of our machines, one flight of 32 greed by which they are inspired in peace taneously, as well as many single aero- as in war, France will never aspire to planes on various duties. snatch any territory from its legitimate

Not one Ger- owners.--Reuter,

man machine appeared then or seemingly during the battle

On the occasion of the second annual meeting of the National Committee for

of the Executive. Council, which showed Mr. Shirley Benn presented the report that since the committee issued their first appeal in April, 1915, they have collected $2,411,299, of which £3,283,921 has been paid to the Commission to Relief, the rest representing the value of the

two Canadian relief vessela. Thu: British Overseas Dominions have contributed early three-quarters of the total, the contribution of New Zealand working out

The Government of the French Repub. lic, always confident in the sentiment of its old and faithful Ally, is glad to feel itself in full community of idens with the Russian Government and people re- sarding the principles by whith its policy has not ceased to be inspired during the present confict.

CALLS

at 9s. 2d. u head of the population. BRITISH REPLY TO RUSSIA ing detail of the work of the Flying Special appeals to children have yielded -over £200,000.

TRE CASE AGAINST GEDMAN MILITARISM.

Mr. Balfour, in moving the adoption of the report, said the splendid sum sub- scribed in New Zealand was a remarkable

proof of the manner in which it had been found possible throughout the whole world for peoples to feel a real living

emotion in the face of distant tragedies which could by ne possibility touch them selves,

After paying a tribute to the work of the Committes and to those in the United States who had organized relief work in Belgium, especially Mr. Hoover, the Foreign Secretary con- tinued-It is impossible to survey the past

without consdering what bearing the Belgian caso has upon the world case for Just consider what light the history of the last two years throws upon German militariam. It was enid by those who endeavoured to excuse German atro-

the war.

UNITY OF PURPOSE. LIBERATION OF THE OPPRESSED,

The following is the text of the reply of the British Government to the Russian Note regarding, the Allied war sims:

FROM THE SKY. This, however, was only the culminat- Corps in the battle which had been going on for days before. This work had kept the Army absolutely informed of every detail of the enemy's defences, No bit of trench could be made or improved without our knowing it; no gun could be moved; no trains could pass on the rail- ways, or troops along the roads.

On May 3rd his Majesty's Govern possession of the high ground and could During all this time the enemy was in ment received through the Russian Charge see our movements by direct observa: d'Affaires a Note from the Russian Gortion. erment declaratory of their way policy.

people, enclosed in the Note, it is said "In the Proclamation to the Russian that Free Russia does not purpose to dominate other peoples or to take from them their antional patrimony, or fore- ibly to occupy foreign territory:" this sentiment the British Government In heartily concur. They did not enter upon this war as a war of conquest, and they are not continuing it for any such object,

camouflage.

Butis,

Waters.

The Turks in Constantinople have uever seen so much money as is current now, but nevertheless the city is more filthy than ever, and food is terribly dear. The most minute more of steak easts ten shillings."

Mr. Waters was stitioned in Berlin before and during part of the war, and he was very much impressed by the com paratively normal state of other enemy pest is hardly touched by the war at all, capitals compared with that city. Bud

than Berlin, says Mr. Waters. and everything is as gay there as former ly, Vienne, too, is very much better.

Bread capital, and there seems to be other foot cards only are to be seen in the Austrian in plenty. The theatres begin at aix o'clock, to save light. Coal is beginning to run short, but there is a greater supply there than in Berlin.

Paris is the fifth belligerent capital" unhesitatingly that Berlin is worse off in that Mr. Waters has visited, and he says every respect. When his attention was called to the food restrictions in London and Paris, he laughed, saying, "You have to live in. Berlin to know what going short really means,"

this, our airmen attacked guns moving They hunted trains along the rails, fring on the road, convoys of ammunition wagons, and transport of all kinds. into them, and, when trains stopped at stations and troops tried to detrain, the

airinen scattered, and, in some cases it

is believed, fairly decimated them.

So audacious were they, that many of our men that morning mude long flights home aerodromes without ever being over enemy country and returned to their 500ft. above the ground. In innumerable cases great parts of the light were much lower. Une airman, finding no larger game, chúsca a single motor car, with ave so low that, the engine not being quick passengers, along a road, coming down in picking up, he nit the car with the unnatural result that the ear went in under-body of this machine, with the not

clean somersault into a ditch. Then hu

MACHINE GUNS SILENCED.

- Đ

attacked them, caused casualties both to the airmen are enthusiastic in their adin knots. Then the same man charged are as loud in praise of the airmen as men and horses, and left them tied up miration of the artillery. The results of party of 500 infantry and scattered them, the admirable co-operation between the of the German artillery by ours during two were seen in the completo domination the attacks, and even more in the confes- sions of artillerymen taken prisoners, who said that they had been unable to serve their guns, and in the contempt of their own gunners expressed by captured German infantrymen.

into it, and saw his bullets hit, and the

Another mar was fired on by machine-gun. He dived at it and fired crew dive into their holes. Another man, who had been playing with a party of on by anti-aircrait guns, so went down 300 enemy infantry on the road, was hired and tackled the guns and silenced them, information given by our airmen of the Besides observation of guns, ets., the

and sent the men hurrying to cover. Yet another silenced four. machine-guns, Progress of events during the course of Aring from an emplacement, and they the battle is of first importance, and do not seem to have resumed their never before has this branch of the work activity, either because the men wore Battle of Messines. Details of the

dead been so beautifully developed as in the

or because they were too scared, Otbor method of operation cannot, of course, be

men went down and flew along trenches published, but the intelligeace furnished

and drove men into dug-outs till the by airmen throughout our attack and

trenches were empty. They even searched advance was extraordinary, both in groups of Germans in abell-holes. One the oper country and attacked small volume and accuracy, and it covered man who had used up all his ammunition everything of importance, from the pro on troops on the road fired his Vérey gress of our own men as they went lights into them as a parting compliment. Lover to the earliest symptoms of the So thoroughly did our airmen scour the massing of the enemy for a counter-at country that even individual horsemen took place on or behind the battlefed that found themselves the object of attack.. tack. Nothing of military importance and wagons that dared to take the road the keen eyes from above did not see and report upon at once

edge of the Ridge, had only aeroplanes We, for everything beyond the

This work of observation, of course, by for eyes, but they served us superbly.

of battle, but, on the contrary, grew then no means ceased with the actual joining moro strenuous and intense, for the his gun positions beforehand, and only enemy had done his best. not to disclose after he began to fire on the morning of the battle was it, in many cases, possible cities in the early weeks of the war that. Their purpose at the outset was to defe be sure which were effective

dummies, and which mere after all, an invading aring was almost no respect for internatioan end to One air squadron alone, during the day always accompanied by some regrettable enforce respect for international engage. incidents, and that you must not judge a ments. To those objects has now been of the battle, sent down calls, as they nation too hardly because some of its added that of liberating populations opposition), which enabled our artillery, to are called (meaning indication of gun troops, bebaved-badly. That excuse, oven Preased by alien tyranny. They heartily silence no fewer than 72 enemy found four gun teams on another road, at the time, was obviously hopelessly rejoice, therefore, that Free Russia has Other squadrons engaged in the inadequate. The investigations made by announced her intention of liberating work did equaly well, and our gunners impartial tribunals, the evidence that Poland, not only the Poland ruled by could be given, and in part has been the old Russian Autocener, but equally given, by American diplomats whose that within the dominion of the Germanic tongues are now unloosed by the fact that Empires. In this enterprise the British hostilities have broken out with Ger- Democracy many, conclusively prove that the fright- Beyond everything we must seek for such wish Russia God-speed fulness exorcised by the German troops a settlement as will secure the happiness in Belgium was a deliberate frightfulness and contentment of the peoples and take It was never repressed. It was constantly encouraged. It had a deliberate political away all legitimate causes of future war.

"The British Government heartily purpose. It was carried out as part of a join their Russian Allies in their accept scheme, part of a settled policy. But even if that had not been demonstrated once and approval of the principles laid by investigation as to what went on in

down by President Wilson in his historic Belgium during the early months of the

message to the American Congress, These war, it is manifest now to the whole are the aims for which the British peoples world, if they will only consider the are fighting. These are the principles events in that country in their entirety, by which their war policy is and will It is not denied by the Germane them be guided. The British Government be selves that the invasion of Belgium was a lieve that broadly speaking the agree grass breach of treaty engagements. If ments which they have from time to time they say it was a military necessity, and made with their Allies are conformable in the face of military necessity oven to these standards. But if the Russian treaty engagements must give way, we do Government so desire they are quite with not agree. But we ask-Is there any their Allies to examino, and, if need be evidence that military necessity was the sole mative of German aggression? Had

to revise, theme` agreements.” It been so, what would any other nation in the world have done when the military was sccomplished? It is no exeuse, but what share of those anexampled abomina for the sake of argument grant that it tions is due to Turkish inspiration and Jus some shadowy basis of international how much is due to Gernua inspiration. zoorality. I think it has none--would not But in Belgiums You have the German the nation which had to break its solemn carrying out his policy in his own way troaty engagements when the military undisturbed by allies. Everything that necessity had been carried out, give every consideration to the country at whose has done; we know what he is doing. Do is done he has done. We know what he expense it had been carried out and whose independence it had promised to of Belgium blunt you to the moral which not let familiarity with the terrible story protect Would not the Belgians have should be drawn from it."

Finally, and perhaps the greatest been the spoilt children of the armies

achievement of all, you have already that were, as it were, against their will in occupation of their territory? To this report of the magnificent speech, which

taking any part in the battle. This is I do not know if you have read the

enemy airmen heard from Sir Douglas Haig, that the were prevented from hour Belgium is not merely occupied by appears in to-day's papers, made by the

mera pisin fact. What I have already Germany, it is brutally oppressed by Gor. President of the United States upon the

said about the raiding of German aero- many, and it is perfectly useless, in the causes of the war, and the underlying face of facts like these, to grub about necessities in which the whole of liberty en flew to each eneity aerodrome within dromes explaine part of it; but, in addi looking for some excuse why German loving mankind lies to see that such a

bahind the German lines, and wherever tion our men were everywhere far afield soldiers shot unoffending Belgian pea-war is never repeated. If you read that

an enemy aeroplane showed itself it was eants; or why German statesmen said in speech, and bear in mind German action the shed-roofs, Hying round and pouring attacked, and in the combats which fol August, 1914, it was necessary for the in Belgium, German promises about Bel machine gun fire into the hangars At lowed a great number of enemy machines German Empire that the Belgian frontier gium, German policy in Belgium, and no aerodrame was there yet any machine were sent down. Some went down should be violated, (Cheers.)**;

Germany's future intentions in regard to ont of its shed, though in some sheds But it is all-important, if we would Belgium, you will see that the general lights were seen, and, apparently, pres

Planing some in spirals." SOZLE judge aright what this war moana, that observations made by the President find parations for the day's work were in control "ped about and drop DEL

near the ground, then crashed we should never forget the lesson that port. There, on the face of history, lies into these, then in several cases, went stood on its nose on the roar o

a conclusive and unanswerable sup

out of gress. Our men poured machine-gan fire German behaviour in Belgium began to the justification of this great--alliance

** que “ dropped violently and teach us in August, 1914, and which it has amongst all nations, practically, at the after a while and resuming the parade it was not safe to fly, and, as a matter never ceased to tench as ever since. If present time who love liberty, against the at roof-top level around the serodrome,

away on other work,

returning sgain So thick were our machines around the you ask Cannot you trust German monstrous tyranny and coercion which making it utterly impossible for any collision. So scarce, on the other hand, battle field that pilots complained that honour and German promises?" there is the civilized world is promised if we sub-enemy machine to get out and start. the plain fact of treaties broken and mit to an inconclusive and ineffectual

of fact, we did lose two

two machines through scornfully broken. Do you ask whether in future you can or cannot trust this peace. (Cheers.) There is only one true One detail of this work was that over airmen who came home complaining that, Ihare said ther went off on other work. were the enemy's, that there were young militant and Imperialist Germany for it remedy for the wrongs of Belgium and is only of that Germany that I

that is defeat of am speak ing to show come regard for humanity

Loud cheers)

over infantry marching on the could not find a Boche to fight. PAPERY roads and firing on it fill it scattered B you have the example of Belgium staring

Though the simplicity of our victory you in the face. The almost incredible horrors of the Armenian massacres are beyond arstion, the details are not open

to our examination. We do not know

sal of next column.).

there

THE ONLY REMEDY.

AUDACIOUS FLIGHTS,

craft-harassing the enemy behind his As for this part of a

multitudinous and amazing that it is cim lines the things our airmen did were so

tons of explosives were dropped on the cult even to catalogue them. Some three morning of the battle on various

tail of our air activities. The weather, of importance. But this is only one de aerodromes, railheads, and similar points

as has been said, delayed operations dur ing the night, but with earliest dawn our Besides dropping explosives, they at a certain radius and simply terrorized it. tacked aerodromes at below the level of

50

Can anyone measure what the affect of battle organization all this must have been on the German

if German airmen on the day of a great battle organization! How should we

reign of terror on the territory behind battle succeeded in imposing the same our lines?

some

round.

Mr. Page, the United States Andes Wherever reinforcements were coming up and the quickness of the decision may sader, speaking on behalf of the Ameri- these were attacked in this manner. The have blinded some peop to its magn. can members of the Commission for Belief, casualties inflicted were many, the dende, June 7th was a great day for Bri- expressed heartfelt gratitude towards the British public for all they had done or, and, above all, there was the actual dimen have a right to be proud of them: moralization caused was infinitely great tish arms. And not least was it a great The Belgian Minister thanked who had taken part in the work of giving to take a share in the battle. Besider all selves, for surely the Army is proud of

prevention of enemy troops from coming airmen a

at namnued at too if went antwon.)⠀⠀ ther

TREENAARENA doses are known of their flying low like the lion who had no Christian, they

succour to, his countrymen.

WAR SAVINGS.

IF YOU CANNOT FIGHT

WITH

RIFLE, BAYONET OR

GRENADE,

Fight

with

Your

Money.

BRITAIN calls YOU.

“We are desirous of making the subscription-

list as large as possible and worthy of the

Colony, and we beg to urge those who are not

members, particularly those who do not at

present hold oven $5.00 worth of War Loan,

to join the Association.

No sum is too small and we revel in $5.00

and $10.00 notes, which mount up in an

extraordinary way."

Extract from half-yearly report of HONG-

KONG AND

SOUTH

ASSOCIATION.

OBINA WAR SAYINGS