The Gotha disappeared in the clouds, and shortly afterwards burst into flames at a height of 7000ft, and fell a blazing wreck. The other Gothas of this group traversed Kent, dropping bombs, but did no damage.
The other group entered Essex and reached London, where a Gotha was brought down by gunfire. A few dozen bombs were dropped in London district, damaging some small dwelling-houses. The casualties were nowise heavy or proportional to the material damage (nor was the material damage proportionate to the effort).
All the raiders were hotly engaged by our anti-aircraft defences. Some of them attempted to descend in the Thames Estuary, while the others proceeded eastward overland. Some of the latter were probably severely damaged in attempting to penetrate the London defences.
At least three or more failed to escape. Two were brought down before they crossed the coast, one of them being destroyed by British airmen.
A fifth fell in flames in the sea, while a sixth and seventh were reported to have been observed falling into the sea, but this is not confirmed.
Prisoners maltreated
The Times gives prominence to further authenticated atrocities, systematic tortures, and cold-blooded murders of British prisoners in Germany, of which the sum total of the evidence proves incredibly inhuman treatment.
The article instances a number of seriously wounded prisoners who were brutally forced to work long hours.
One on holding up his hand to prove his unfitness to work was shot dead, and his body was thrown into a dirty washhouse. At Schneidemuhl the British were without huts.
They scooped out and lived in holes in the ground. One who did not obey an order which he failed to understand was stripped to the waist, tied to a barrel, and savagely beaten.
An officer struck him with his sword, spat on him, and called him an English swine. The man died as the result of this treatment.
Fuel alcohol experiments
The matter of the production of fuel alcohol in New Zealand was referred to in a letter from the Hon. A. M. Myers, Minister of Customs read at a meeting of the Auckland Industrial Association last week.
There would be no unnecessary embargo upon the distillation of fuel alcohol, Mr Myers stated, provided such distillation took place in sufficient quantities to warrant proper supervision; nor any difficulty about granting licenses for stills for the recovery of alcohol in large quantities for commercial purposes.
At the same time it might be mentioned that Dr Maclaurin, dominion analyst, who had made investigations, had reported that it was doubtful whether alcohol could be economically produced in New Zealand.
Various experiments were at present being made with flax refuse, wood, sawdust, waste fruits, and other materials, and it depended upon the success of these experiments whether the manufacturer of fuel alcohol would be proceeded with.
- ODT, 23.5.1918.
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