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l _ . v I CABINET UPHEAVAL CONSCRIPTION CAUSES CRISIS IN ENOUSH POLITICS ASQUITH UNDER FIRE pedt«nt of K^ntttlar'a tall IIbos- potnlA out r lU alaent W \ > » Bari Grey Alao Attacked—Ix)rdii Our- aon and Northcliffe Lead Diaaatia- fled Forcee Vleco—t Haldane Mentioned a Sneceaaor, Although Impetnoua IJoyd-George Haa Big Following. »— Although Monday was a holiday in Bngland, the members of the British cabinet returned hastily from the scenes of their Christmas festivities for an important meeting at which were discussed the Derby recruiting scheme and conscription and other matters which 'must >be thrashed out when parliament reconvenes. That the proceedings of the cabi net have not been going smoothly is seen in the fact that after a two hours' sitting the council was obliged to adjourn, no decision hr.ving been* " reached -and the discussion having revealed grave difference of opinion. Tlie Times’ parliamentary corre spondent asserts that the position is undeniably delicate and may Iterotne critical unless handled with flmines* and derision. The Daily Mall asserts that Andrew Bonar Law, secretary for the Colo nies. and Lord Kitchener, the war minister, have not yet made their position clear, while A. J. Balfour, first lord of the admiralty, resolutely opposes compulsion, in which he is supported by a majority of the min isters. David Lloyd-George, the Marquis of Lansdowne, Earl Curzon, Sir Fred erick Smith, J Austen Chamberlain, Walter Hume I^ong, and the Earl of Selborne advocate immediate compul sion. Uoyd-George, The Mall adds, be fore the sitting of the council, made his position dear to Fremler Asquith la a massage intimating that unices Mr. Asquith's pledge to married men be kept In the strictest sense he could not continue as a member of the gov ernment. The Morning Post, equally with The Times and The Daily Mail—all censcrtptionist papers—secs the pos sibility of several cabinet reslgna tloss, or the other alternative, a gen eral election. The Morning Telegraph and The Chronicle, antl-compnlaion organs are also apprehensive of a crisis or a general election. The Chronicle edi terially protests against "intrigues and wire-pullers, who contemplate the desperate and mad expedient of a general election—-a plunge, which might entail trous consequences, ' and poln i how, by merely withholding to the parliament and registration bills, tba House of Lords can make elections unavoidable next month, since. In the sbeence of tho parlia ment Mil, which prolongs Its life for eight months, the present parliament would expire by tho effluxion of time at the end of January Concerning the people who make a comparison with America during.the civil war, The Chronicle argues that Lincoln's action is not a precedent because conditions were different Lincoln was distracted by wholesale deaortlona, while recruiting was stim ulated by extravagant bounties The Chronicle adds: "Our volun tary army In one year exceeded In number all the men recruited by the federal government in the four years of the war, and that without drafts to force them or bounties to bribe them." Lloyd-George received a great ova tion from the holiday crowd when he arrived at Downing Street for the cabinet meeting. Winnton Spencer Churchill return ed to Franco to rejoin his regiment. His presence in London had been commented on in connection with the cabinet crisis. There is a steady growth of the newspaper attacks on the govern ment. the general burden of which is the slowness, the lack of foresight and decision, and tho mismanage ment of the Dardanelles enterprises. While all newspapers disclaim parti san motives, all the more prominent journals participating in the opposi tion belong to the Conservative party, with the exception of the Manchester Guardian. The newspapers generally hold Premier Asquith responsible for the conduct of affairs. The Ixjrd North cliffe group, headed by The Times and The Daily Mail, now as hereto-, fore the most bitter critics of the Asfuith government, with J,h&vsup port of the Morning Post, was jMked by the Observer, which is the fore most Sunday paper of London, and the Referee, which has a large fol lowing among the masses. David Lloyd-George is the leading candidate advanced for succession, but other prominent Britons, such as Viscount HaldanCj former secretary of statp f° r war; Lord Curzon, for- nler viceroy of India, were also men tioned. In the pictures No. 1 is lyord Northcliffe; No. 2, Lord Haldane; No. 3. Lord Curzon; No. 4, Lloyd- George; No.'5, Asquith. The following copy ‘6f a private letter received from London has been snpplied to The New York Times by its recipient; ^ c ,— “London, December 13. ‘ "In its parliamentary notes this morning The London Times said, apropos of the topics that are likely to come before the House of Com mons this week : ‘Finally there ia the prospect of the surging up of that undercurrent of dissatisfaction with the conduct of the war which formed the chief head of private discussion last week-’ * • "This aadernuTeat is sow so strong that. In the opinion a few good jndges. It Is Likely the stream af -a" torrdfet'which will "I have hoard men who af# not professed critics of the government, who are not political psrtlsaan, whose position and whose intimate knowledge of actual events give thorn both a senes qf responsibility snathe opportunity of Judgment, declare that a reconstitution at least of the exist ing cabinet it fast becoming an im perative necessity. . "Mr. Asquith’s great qualities are fully recognised, but it is argued that the training and habit of mind which in peace times made him so excellent a prime minister militate against bis value Itt time of war. How, it la ask ed, can a lawyer whose chief success in political life has been won by his faculty of bringing about a compro mise between different opinions, and thu saverting tho harshness of open conflict, be properly qualified to deal with the cruel realities of war and take the downright, ruthless decisions which, war requires. "Lord Curzon of Kendleston Is fre quently spoken of, among those who while, as I have sakl, admiring Mr. Asqnlth, still believe there are others who could better fulfill the tasks re quired of a British premier at this epoch, as the man most fitted to take the successions To a good' many Englishmen Lord Curzon’s name is almost anathema because, chiefly, of the legend which represents him as having tried to thwart Lord Kitchen er in India. "This Is a view widely held, but, I do not think it ,1s by any manner of means the correct view. In fact, those Englishmen who know their Indli best generally, I find, believe that Lord Curzon’s administration of the vice-royalty was an 'extremely successful one, particularly when it is remembered how young he was when, with his beautiful American wife, he went to the gorgeous east. His power of organization was shown to be great, his zeal was untiring, and his industry knew no bounds. “If he should became premier, it has been said, he would take none of the ‘week-ends’ which are habitual with the present prime minister and which nobody., grudges him, but which, according to gossip, have on occasions seriously delayed the trans action of public business of prime importance. Knowing Mr. Asquith. I do not suggest that there can be any truth in the latter statement, but it is significant that such things are said.. /‘But to revert for a moment to I/ord Curzon and I.or*i Kitchener. Thera is s curious similarity between the circumstances which led up to Curzon’s departure from India and those which preceded Lord Kitchen er’s recent visit to the near east. The India office at the time* of the dif ferences between Curzon and Kitch ener sided with the former. "Kitchener, however, stated > that hs would resign unless his policy was acquiesced In; and the government of that day had as great a fear of Lord Kitchener s popularity and the consequences of a public rupture as the present governaent Is understood to entertain. It is the secret Pollchinelle in the inner circles London life that In several matters the cabinet and Lord Kitchener have been at variance "In fact, report has it that at times Kitchener has been In the position of the thirteenth Juryman of the story On these occasions he has simply said ‘Well, If you don’t agree with me. ITI resign,’ and his colleagues have accepted the ultimatum with the best grace possible. I do not mean to say that Mr. Asquith and his colleagues do not appreciate all that Lord Kitchener has accomplished, by the magic of his name. "There came a time, however when they arrived at thp conclusion that his lordship could be more use fully employed elsewhere, Instead df at the war office. In fact, there was one poet for which he was specially qualified, which nobody could fill !>et ter than he. Egypt and the Suez canal are the wasp-waist of the Brit ish empire. "It might almost be said that a rupture of communications there would jeopardize the life of the em pire. To Egypt, then, it was arrang ed Kitchener should go. with, in case the defense of that protectorate wa? not enough to absorb all his energies, the additional charge of all the Brit ish forces in both the Near and Far East—surely a glorious enough com mand for any. soldier’s ambition. So it was arranged Lord Kitchener should make his visit of inspection to Egypt, Gallipoli, and the Balkans. Along with Mr. Asquith, tin* honor of liearlng the brunt of the at tacks which are being made on the cabinet is shared by Sir Edward Grey. For the moment the point on which public attention is chiefly cen tred is tho arrangement entered into by tho foreign office with two asso ciations of Danish merchants. The exact character of the arrangement is held secret, Lord Robert Cecil having refused many pointed demands for its publication. • “It is suggested that the reason for secrecy is to 4>e found in the circum stance that the foreign office has al lowed Its consideration for the in terests of neutrals to interfere with the blockade of Germany. It»is to be noticed that the marh attacks upon the foreign qffice on thia point a/e delivered by men who are known to bo in close touch with the admiralty: You will, however, have read all, t,he details in the cablegrams, and be sides, th^-mafter is probably not sp serious as some^of the ‘blunders,’ alleged against the foreign office. “ Sir Edward Grey’s signature of the Declaration of Ijondon is held up against him as ‘a delll>erate attempt to handicap the British navy.’ A well known writer had an article in yes terday's Sunday Times In which he said: ‘Bit by bit, under the pressure of war, this absurdity (the Declara tion o&4>ondon) has been Abandoned, and a few days ago Lord Lansdowne bluntly said that the declaration was dead. 'Yet It is clear that Sir Edward Grey and the foreign office are still hankering far the resuscitation of this mischlevobs corpse and aj-e still willing to sell England's power of in juring her enemies nvreturn for some Vague promise whlcnN^rould consti tute another scrap peper. "It must never be fcrvottW that at the bsglnntqc of the war the for eign office refused to ma^o cotton contraband, although everybody knew that cottas was as essential element 'in the manufacture of propulsive powder It task Blue months of war ternatienal compel the- government to reverse this blunder. But the main energies of Downing Street eefebr' still to ba devoted to creating loophole# for the trade of bur enemloe.’ “Even more serious still are the' charges of blundering alleged against the foreign office in regard to fcb* Balkan situation. King Constantine has beeh held up to opprobrium in thb British press. I have been a^ sured by a Trench minister that on tho contrary the Greek monarch has been perfectly loval in all his deal ings with the Allies, and that, on an Impartial survey, when all the cir cumstances arc made Ifnown, it will be found that hi6 reluctance to let his country participate in the war, under the conditions in whLh partici pation was preeented to him, was ab solutely justifiable. King Constan tine is a soldier, and appreciated the military sltyatlon with a clearness which the diplomatists entirely fail ed to do.” -X~ The letter here tells of a chance to buy off. King Ferdinand of Bulgaria and of the refusal of the Allies ok two occasions to accept proffered Greek aid, due to negotiations with Bulgaria, and Russia's aversion to Greece participating in the gains at Constantinople. This is omitted be cause of its excessive length. The letter concludes; "Somp- of what 1 have told you forms the well springs from which the undercurrent of dissatisftetion to Which Tho Times correspondent al ludes is flowing. There is more, upon which I can^only touch briefly. First and foremost, I would place the disapproval with which many good judges look upon an expedition which the British government is preparing. ".This is described by some people as 'an adventure In East Africa,’ and Is chiefly objected to on the ground that it Is part of ‘a policy of small packets.’ In half a dozen words, Gen. Sir H. L. Smlth-Dorrien Is going out in command of an expedition whose object is to time possession of Ger man East Afr^a. "It Is supposed to be in course of secret preparation, and I would sug gest you tell nobody In whom you have not implicit confidence about this matter, until, of course, it is made public property officially. [Two days after this letter was written the cables reported this prbjcct.] Still though a -‘secret.’ it is so widely known and talked about in London that unless the Germans are very badly served by thoir spies they must be In possession OPthe sec-ct. '‘Another point in regard to this expedition. Fairly early in the war It was suggested to the British gov ernment that an attack 'on German East Africa would be fruitful, and the French government offered to place at the disposal of the British their then svsilsble'forcc In Mada gascar. which was a comparatively large one and for which adequate transports were premised by the French. “The offer was declined on the ground that Britain was not ready to undertake such an expedition at that time. There is. of course, a sugges tion that some such narrow view aa caused Russia to object to a Greek advance on Constantinople influenced the British authorities and decided them against French co-operation In German East Africa. Equally, of course, the fact may have been that Britain really was not ready. "This letter Is running to an in ordinate length; but I must add something more to make it complete. Besides the causes of dissatisfaction mentioned, there is a strong feeling that.several members of the coalition rahiitfet are either inadequate or mis placed in their present posts. Harold Cox sums up this phr.se as follows: “ ‘The men who constitute this cab inet are many of them fairly well known 'to their fellow citizens. A few of them are men of first class ability. But the ability of most of them is certainly little above the gen eral average. It may be said without the slightest hesitation that there is not one of the politicians in the pres ent cabinet who could not be replaced ten times over by men of equal ability in other spheres of life. They are where they are merely from the acci dent that they chose to go into the profession of politics as one of the easiest^ and most rapid meqns of securing notoriety and promotion.’ "Now, the present dissatisfaction must I*? differentiated from the cam paign which Iiord Northcliffe waged against the cabinet. It Is different in many ways, principal among them, perhaps, being that it is taking a con structive rather than a purely de structive form, and that It is finding an altogether dissimilar kind of ex pression. It is not being carried on in the public market glace, so to speak, nor by shouting and beating of drums. "Lord Northcliffe’s papers, of course, sowed the seed broadcast, but tlToTf-op has sprung up in many quar ters whvn-e The Daily Mail Is ana thema. You may have read The Daily Telegraph’s editorial of last Satur day—It was cabled over to America. The D. T., one may be sure, would not havo printed such an article had it not felt that the discontent it ex pressed was both deep and wide spread, not confined to a particular sect or party, but permeating the whole, nation. ‘How the coalition government will fare, of course, depends largely on what will happen on the war fronts. I am making ncr predictions. You remember what/Mr. AsquiffP said about remaining at his post until he was convinced somebody could fill it better. ‘Those weren’t his exact words, but they represent the underlying meaning. This, however, seems cer- taln. ■ ^ "England is getting tired of dis covering that every move the govern ment makee seems to have been fore- seen by the Germans, and is not dis posed to forgive much more blunder ing, if blundering ran be proved. Particularly it is not going to stand [ any political party nonsense, If thej politicians can’t put politics on one aide and devote themselves to win ning the war, the Engrlloh nation will demand'that men whp. are not poli ticians should be given an oppor-' tualty. I am told by Frenchmen that I the same feeling obtain# la- France. * One of them predicted: ‘We'shall have a national aaseably (a Joint meeting qj Senate and Chamber of Deputise), and oat of that will bo bora a commutes of pahiic safety If Us eoaatry thinks It aoofmL" OUR NAVY GROM AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE SECOND IN WORLD IN 1915 GERMAN FLEET TIED UP Facts amt Figures Given Out In Gov ernment Report Shows Exact Num ber of Ships of 3,000 Tons and Over Now Under the American Mag. Changes in American merchant shipping during the first year of the war in Europd have had no parallel in extent in our maritime history. The absolute increase in. the tonnage; of ships under the American flag dur ing that period was 460,741 tons and has never been equaled In American history. During the year 200,000 tons of American shipping, formerly plying in the domestic trade, obtained em ployment in the foreign trade. In tonnage and value the merchant ship ping nnder the -American flag is sur passed only by that under the British flag, and in tonnage it- equals that under any two' foreign flags coqi- bined, except the British. The effect of the European war and American legislation on the American merchant marine and the resultant unparalleled changes are set forth in great detail and discuss ed most interestingly in the annual report of Eugene Tyler Chamberlain, the commissioner of navigation, to Secretary Redfleld of the departmeqt of commefce. Mr. Chamberlain asserts that the nearest approach to’ tho fiscal year 1915, in the importance of the changes in American merchant ship ping, was during 1863 and 1864, when the Confederate cruiseri were in operation, and 523,064 tons of American shipping were sold to for eigners. , . Pointing out that during the early days of the war in Europe the Ameri can ship registry act of August 18. 1914, was passed, Commissioner Chamberlain states that a total of 148 vessels of 523,361 gross tons were transferred from foreign flags to the American flag and register. “The European war,” continues Mr. Chamberlain in his most illumi nating presentation of the American shipping situation, "has created an opportunity for me development of the merchant marine in foreign trade which this generation at least Is not likely to see repeated. The most ef ficient instrumentalities for the prose cution of that trade are ocean steam ers of 3,000 gross tons and upward. Such ships are economical by com parlson with smaller vessels, and it Is by means of larger steamers that the great volume of our bulk exports must be carried abroad.” To furnish some Idea of the pro grees which has been made under the ship registry act. Commissioner Chamberlain presents a tabular study of the number of such ocean steamers under different flags. This table shows that, j)D June 30, 1915, the number of oceah’ steamers of 3,000 tons, divided sa to slxe. under the various flags. German steamers, of course, having no share in the carry ing trade, was as follows: Over 10.000 Tons—British, 140; American, 14; French. 16; Japanese, 8; Italian. 3; Dutch. 8; Norwegian, 2; German. 42. Total. 233. *7,000 to 10.000 Tona—British, 280; American, 23; French 19; Jap anese, 15; Italian, 19; Dutch. 19; Norwegian, 5; German, 71. Total, 451. 5,000 to 7.000 Tons—British. 558; American, 104; French, 86; Japanese, 55; Italian, 35; Dutch, 61; Norwe gian. 20; German, 159. Total, l.OTfir 4,000 to 5,000 Tons—BritTsh, 933; American. 67; French, 48; Japanese, 41; Italian, 52; Dutch, 3b; Norwe gian, 47; German, 150. Total, 1,368. 3,000 to 4,000 Tons—British, 1,- 152; American, 97; French,'59; Jap anese. 106; Italian, 102; Dutch, 71; Norwegian, 42; German, 122. Total, 1,751. Grand total number of ocean steamers over 3,000 gross tons—Brit ish, 3,063; American, 315; French, 228; Japanese, 225; Italian, 211; Dutch, 189; Norwegian,- 116; Ger man, 544. Total, 4',881. The 344 German steamers are not able to engage in foreign trade be cause of the command of the seas by the British. Eliminating these, the table shows that the American fleet of steamers of over 3,000 tons ranks second only to that of Great Britain, and is about one-tenth the size of the British fleet of ocean steamers of over 3,000 gross tons. Of tho 305 "large ocean steamers which give the United States second place in foreign trade to-day, 90swere registered in the ten months from September, 1914, to June, 1915, based on the principles, Commis sioner Chamberlain says, “which Great Britain has followed for sev eral generations.” Commissioner Chamberlain recom mends that congress enact legislation tc prevent the transfer of any of these vessels back to foreign flags after the war in Europe is over. “Congress may see fit,” says the commissioner, “to consider the ques tion whether the ^transfer of a ship under the American fla§ to an alien should not be conditioned upon the approval of the secretary of -com merce. A general transfer back to foreign flags of ships which have been admitted to American registry under the act of 1914 is possible under existing law after the close of the European war, although not CONSCRIPTION IS ALMOST CERTAIN FOR ENOLAND NOV POSSE KILLS SIX Modified Form of Compulsory Service . <* f - Mk, v J! ' to be Adopted by Govern ing Cabinet. *' ' ' "w '* • "• i " It is stated on excellent authority that the’British cabinet' has virtually decided upon a modified form of con scription bill -to be introduced in the House of Commons next week, giving the government the necessary power, should it be found needful, to bring In single men and preserve Premier Asquith’s pledge to married men. The antl-conscrlptionist ministers offered strong opposition and it is still unknown whether any resigna tions will follow. It is believed, how ever, that this is quite likely. The line of policy upon which a majority of the ministers agree, Indi cating that some, at least, of the antl-conscriptionists section of the cabinet so far waived their principle as to consent to a modified applica tion of force is as follows: First, that the premier’s pledge to married men is binding on the whole government. Second, that the pledge should be redeemed forthwith. Third, that the principle of com- pulsion should be accepted. Fotffth, that the premier should announce this policy at the earliest opportunity after the reassembling of parliament. PAINTER‘DRINKS ACID FOUR NEfiROES SHOT AND TWQ BURNED TO DEATH c In Presence of Friends and Resists All Efforts to Save Him. Albert Lacy, a white painter, aged thirty-five, committed suicide at Anderson ‘Tuesday afternoon by drinking carbolic acid In the presence of several acquaintances. He.had asked one of these for carfare to Bel ton and then remarked, “When I swallow this, I won’t need the car fare.” He swallowed the contents of the bottle and then resisted strenuously when four men held him so that a doctor could pour an antidote down his throat. He died within fifteen minutes. U^Y Vcams rtenprindenl -While. talking with the acquaintances, and this Is attributed as the cause of hls^ taking his Ilf#. He was separated'* several years ago from his wife. WANT BIG SUBS . A European Experience Shows Value of ~'\ew Sized Boat. Sea-going submarines of two thou sand tons displacement probably soon will be sdkght for the American navy as a result of lessons learned by navy department experts from the Euro pean war and recent manoeuvres of the Atlantic fleet. It Is possible, it. was learned, that the first fire* fubmnrinee included Id the administration's five-year build ing program will approach this slxe, although the estimates submitted were based on boats of the thirteen hundred ton class In contrast to this development of a type of giant submersible, naval officers are inclined to believe that the so-called coast defense boats will be standardized at about four hun dred tons displacement. BATTLING IN GALICIA Russia Is Attqwipjlng Terrific Offen sive Against Teutonic Trenches. London reports Friday:. While Vienna reports that the battles in Galicia are increasing in extent and violence Russia maintains a myste rious reticence concerning her mili tary operatons there. —- It seems certain, -however, that ex tremely important events the full sig nificance of which are not as yet of ficially disclosed, are occurring at the only point where Russian armies can bring any pressure to bear on thq Balkan situation without actual ly crossing Rumanian territory. marks on a profit from the year's operations of 58,521,730 marks, its entire property being valued at 354,- 943,555 marks. ‘‘The taxes which German ships will pay after the war may provh-to be a heavy burden. The Income tax of the Cunard company for the same year was only 17,226 pounds on a profit balance of 1,124,581 poufids, Its total property being valued at 7,- 974,925 pounds. . The income taxes of Great Britain have already during the progress of the war been heavily increased. On tho other hand, there is no present reason to look for any material increase in government tax^sj on American shipping in the near Tuture. Other advantages which we shall have over belligerent na tions, and even over some of the neu tral powers, will . readily present themselves." \ j- ■ Austrian Note Received. The official text of Austria's An cona note was received early Friday at the state department in-Washing ton. The work of translating from the diplomatic code will take several hours and arrangements for publica tion will be made later. Burned to Death. In a fire which destroyed a board ing house at Clearwater, Aiken coun ty, Christmas night, Charlie Smith was burned to death and another man who had been with Smith all Christmas day Add'’ whose name is unknown is missing. —' .j.: 1 » ♦■ anticipated. "To mention only one matter, tail ing dgainst such transfer, the enor mous debt burdens Incurred by bel ligerent nations must be met by very heavy taxation. ' French Seize Island Base. - French troops have occupied the Turkish island of Castelorizo in the Aegean sha between the Island of Rhodes and the Gulf of Adalla, ac cording to Paris morning papers. The taxation, and shipping, of nossesslon of Castelorizo as, £ naval will be expected'to hear Hal base is character!*e ,, as Jndltpensa- share. Foreign taxes on shipping as a rule are not ordinarily onerous. Thus, in the last year of peace, the he Ham hi lamborfe- ipa«{ paid 1,111,111 The Colnmbos lodger thinks that the Inventor of the lettnee sandwich was not » friend to h angry men. SHOT DOWN WHITE MAN n '•••*-« * • Three Negroes Assassinate Farmer In Presence of His Wife and Shoot at Her—Sheriff Leads Posse to Catch Culprits and Suspects Start Shoot ing at Their Approach. Four negroes were shot to death, two negroes burned alive, two white men seriously wounded and others slightlyl wounded in a series of bat- thk fofight In Early county, Ga., late Thursday, in an effort to capture the slayers of Henry Villapigue, farm overseer on the River plantation, owned by E. H. Coachman of^lear- water, Fla. ; Sheriff Howell was in charge of a posse that burned a negro house in which Grah'dison Goolsby, a .negro farmer, and his two sons, were bar ricaded with other negroes. Goolsby and another negro were shotted in trying to escape from the flames.’ Two white men were wounded. Goolsby's sons sought refuge in another cabin, which also was fired by the posse, and the sheriff and his deputies brought back the news that both these negroes were burned to death. It was certain death to at tempt to escape. Villapigue was the overseer on E. H. Coachman's River plantation. He was killed in the presence of his wife by three negroes, presumably because he had chastised a negro boy on the night before. . He was shot in the back with a “rung” shell, filled with large shot, a terrible hole being torn In his body. Villaplque lived only ten min utes. Other shots were fired, some of these barely missing Mrs. Villa pigue. Grandison Goolsby, a negro, and his two sons, who resided on Col. A. J. Singletary's plantation near Pleas- -ant Grove, were arcuvwl of ttie sflrooT- tng and posses started out in pursuit of them as soon as news of the shoot ing spread. The sheriff of Early county also was in charge of & posse bent upon capturing the three ac cused men. Not until after Villapigue's body was on its way to his former home in Griffin. Ga., did the posses come upon the negroes suspected of the shooting. As one posse surrounded the two negroes the latter opened fire and the fire was returned with deadly effect. Only a few rounds were exchanged when the negroes ceased shooting. Both negroewwere found dead. They were identified as Early Hightower, a cousin of the Goolsbys. and Jim Burton. They were not Implicated in the killing of Overseer Villaplque. it was stated, and the posse con tinued the chase. During the afternoon the negroes were located in a negro house on Dick Sermon’s plantation. They were barricaded there and heavily armed. The posses closed in on the house v and demanded the surrender of the negroes The Goodsbys and others were inside. The negroes fired and then shut themselves in. More dar ing ones of the posse stole up at one side of the house where there were no windows and set fire to the build ing. When the flames were upon them, the negroes made a dash for the open air. They fired Into the posse and two white men, Olive Hudseth and Sam Hillman, fell wounded. Hundreds of shots were fired at the negroes by members of the posse and Grandison Goolsby, the leader of the negroes, fell dead, as did another negro whose name has not been ob tained. The two Goolsby boys and the other negroes got away, though some of them are believed to have been wounded. The sheriff o f Early coun ty sent thp wounded men in an auto mobile to the home of Hudseth, five miles away, and he sent another car for doctors .to care for the wounded white men and for more guns and ammunitlon’and more men. While the ex'ettement was at its height" and before any trace of the negroes had been obtained Gov. Harris was appealed to to offer a reward of two, hundred dollars for. the capture of the assassins. I^ocal citizens also offered one hundred dollars for their capture. Residents of Early county are In V an ugly mood. Negroes are keeping within their doors. It is feared by many that there may be further trouble, though cooler heads are try ing to get the people quieted down. The number of wounded, it is be lieved, is much greater than report ed. • Several of Sheriff Howell’s dep-. uties are known to have recedydd slight wounds, though nothing of serious nature. The trouble resulting in the trage dies of Thursday'started oh Tuesday. When Henry Villaplque was coming to Blakely, Ga., lie met a negro, who would not give him a part of the road, and their buggies locked, and the negro impolitely^ told Villaplque to back up and drive* around him. Villaplque got-out of his buggy and is said to have struck the negro with his whip. Then he resumed his journey to the. city. This negro was a son of Grqndison Goolsby, one of the" well-to-do negro farmers in Georgia. On Wednesday morning Goolsbr came to Blakely apfi bought a large supply of ammuftition. ^Villaplque t lso came to meet his wife, who had een away„on a visit. When the overseer reached his home he found the Goolsbys waiting* for him, and they opened fire on’Ahe overseer gjad his wife, hitting him once in the back and then firing three or four times at his wife. »teu. € ,V Just about this time w# can’t help but wonder where the big newspapers got their Information which recently tod them to believe a diplomatic break had to some with Austria.