The announcement contained in this morning's cablegrams that a rigid censorship of news is to be instituted respecting the doings of the Allies emphasises what has been manifest from the beginning, the immense importance of the operations in hand and the greater occasion, therefore, for keeping the enemy in the dark as to the plan of attack and as to the forces supporting it.
This message suggests also that the Allies are preparing for the development of the master stroke to which the bombardment of the Narrows has been a preliminary and which it is hoped will break down the Turkish and German shore resistance.
But the announcement regarding the censorship of news from the Dardanelles has a particular interest for this part of the Empire in that it is accompanied by the intelligence that of three correspondents who are to obtain official recognition as witnesses of the operations - which means, presumably, that all others will be debarred from getting to the front - there is a probability that one in the person of Captain Bean will represent the dominions.
Since Captain Bean is the official correspondent with the Australian troops this statement certainly carried with it some implication that the Australians will be participating in the land operations which will conceivably constitute an important factor in the Allies' plan of campaign in forcing the Dardanelles and reducing this stronghold of Turkey.
The likelihood of the Australian troops being so engaged carries with it at least the possibility of the main New Zealand expeditionary force being transferred also from Egypt to the theatre in which the operations at the Dardanelles are being enacted.
There is, however, nothing substantial to go upon in the process, interesting as it may be, of weighing the probabilities as to the movements of the troops from either the dominion or the commonwealth, and although shrewd speculation in certain directions may be feasible, the attempt to draw definite conclusions will not be very profitable.
Rumour, that untiring factor in the dissemination of erroneous information, has already been only too busy with the whole subject.
• At the St. Kilda Council meeting last night, Cr Dove brought up the question of the men employed in the borough.
He pointed out that at the present time it was highly desirable that all the married workmen should be given preference over single men on the works under construction.
This was not being done, and he had it on the best authority that one man who had a wife lying in the Hospital and a family dependent upon him, had been put off while the services of single men were still retained.
So far as he knew this man had been compelled to leave the borough in search of work.
He thought that the engineer should be instructed to make a point of giving the married men preference.
The Mayor explained that in one or two instances where relay gangs had been put off there were married men who had suffered, as the engineer had not made any distinction between married and single men where whole relays of men were affected.
Cr Hellyer said that the council should make a point of instructing the engineer to give work to the married men.
He stated that they had their homes in the borough, and the single men could well go elsewhere and look for work. - ODT, 31.3.1915.
• COPIES OF PICTURE AVAILABLE FROM ODT FRONT OFFICE, LOWER STUART ST, OR WWW.OTAGOIMAGES.CO.NZ
