Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1889-05-21

u ItaHN W NlFSiattoaN
Thu answer was received In London In
the evening. and all night IL was the
subject ~ earnest and anxious delihsra.
tion w tho government office. IL was at
last decided. amid great opposition,
that the syndicates alternative must H.
accepted. for Il would L. the height Of
folly 70 allow the repellor 10 bo'ubard
any Iort shc should choose. When this
conclusion hal been reached. the work
of selecting a place Tor the proposed
demonaration Of the American syndicate
occupied but little time. Tie task was
not dillculi Nowhere In Great britain
was tlilrr fortified spo, Of ~ little i'm.
portancc - CaerlAG. on the west coast
of Wacs
Cacr,aH consisted of a largo fort on q
promouiory and an immense casiellated
stTucturs on the other side ~ a small
lay. 9TH little fishing village AZ tho
head of said lay Tho castellated struct-
urc was rather old. the fortress some
what les ~: and both had long bccn
oonsidcrci useless. as there was NO prob
ability that an enemy would land at this
point on the coast
Caerlan was therefore selected a. the
SPOT 20 H. operated upon. No one could
for n moment imagine that the syndicate
had mined thi. place. and N u should b.
destroyed by motor bombs IL would prove
20 tho country that the government had
not becn fTs.htenc,l hy the tricks % a
crafty enemy.
An hour after tho rcccip, OF the note
In which Il was stated that CasrdAd had
been selected. the syndicaie's ticet start.
ed Tor that placc. The crabs were cle-
vatci 10 cruising height. the rcpcller
taken In tow. and by the afternoon of
tho next day the nect was lying oil Caer'
daf 4 note was sent on shore 10 the
officer In command. stating that the
bombarlmcnt would begin at 10 O'Clock
In tho morning of the next day but one,
and requesting that Information % the
hour appointed H. instantly transmitted
to London When thu. had b.en done,
the hcct steamed siN or seven miles oil
shore where II lay To or criised about
for two nights and day
"A soon NJ the government had a.
lcctcd Caer,laf for bomhardtnent imme-
diaie measures were taken 10 remove the
small garrisons and the inhabitants oi
the fishing village from possible danger
When the syndicate's note was pcsiycd
by ihe commandant ~ the fort be wa
already IN rcceipt of orders from the war
Office to cvacuatc the fortihcations and
to supcrintend the removal Of the fisher.
men and their families 90 a point Of
safety farther up the coast
Casrdah was u place difficult of access
10y land. the nearest railroad stations bc-
ing dftccn or twenty miles away. but on
the day after the arrival % the syndi
Gates fleet In the o'iing thousands Of
people made their way to this part Of the
country. anxious 90 scc-if pcrchanc,
they might find an opportunity 90 safely
scc-what might happen ai 10 O'Clock
the next morning Officers ~ the army
and navy. govcmmen, officials. PRES
correspondents In great numbers. and
curious and anxious Observers of all
/ clas.ss, hasicne,i to the Welsh coast
Tho little towns where the visitors left
the trains wcrc crowded 10 overilowing.
and every possible conveyance by which
the mountains lying hack of Cardiff
could b. reached was eagerly secured,
many persons. however. bcing Obliged
Ia depend upon their own legs. Soon
after sunrise Of the appointed day the
forts. the village and the surrounding
lower country were entirely do-crted
and every point Of vantage on the noun
tains lying some miles hack from the
coast was occupied by excited spectators,
nearly every one armed with field
glass
\ few of the guns from the fortihca-
tions were transported to an overlooking
height. In order that they might b.
brought into action In case the rcpeller,
instead Of bombarding. should send men
In boats % take possession of the eyacu.
atcd Notifications. or should attempt any
mining operations The gunners for this
battery were stationed at safe place 20
the rear. whence they could readily
reach their guns u necessary.
Tho next day was one of supreme I'M
portancc 10 the syndicate. On this day
Il must make plain 10 the world. not only
what the motor bomb could DO. but that
the motor bomb did what was done.
Before leaving the English channel the
director Of Repcller No. II had n'cciycd
telcgaphic adyiccs from both Europe
and America indicating the general drift
Of public opinion In regard 10 the recent
sea fight. and. besides these, many Eng
lish and continental papers had been
brought to him from the French coast.
Prom all these the director perceived
that the cause of the syndicate had In q
certain way suffered from the manner in
which the battle In the channel had becn
conducted. Every newspaper urgcl that
II the rrpcller carried guns capable OF
throwing the bombs which the syndicate
proposed to Use there was no reason why
every ship In the British neet should not
have been destroyed. But as the epeller
had not fred single shot at the fleet, and
as the battle had been fought entirely
by the crabs. there was every reason q
believe that II there were such things a
motor guns their range was very short
not as great ~ that Of the ordinary dyna
mite cannon. The great risk run 10y one
of the crabs In order 10 disable q dyna
mite glnboat seemed an additional proof
81 this.
IL was urged that the explosions In th'
water might have been produced by tor
pedoes: that the torpedo boat which had
besn destroyed was - near the repcllcI
that an ordinary shell was sufficient q
accomplish the damage that had beor
done.
To gainsay these assumptions was i'm
Ierativo on tho syndicate's forces. IL
firmly establish the prestige Of the In
stantaneous motor was tho obj jcct of thC
war. Gratis were OF but temporary ser
vice. ANY nation could build vessels
Ike them, and there were many mcan'
OF destroying them. The spring armol
was a complete defense against ordinary
artillery. but u was not defense against
Submarine torpedoes. The claims Of the
syndicate could 10 firmly based on moth
Ing but the powers Of absolute anniiila
ton possessed by the instantaneous mo
tor bomb.
About o o'clock on the appointed morn
ing Repeller No. IL. much to the surpris'
OF the spectators on the high groundi
with field glasses and telescopes. steameS
away from Caerdaff. What this mean