They must require a good stock of effrontery to put before us such assertions as that of the Kaiser, whose falsity is obvious at sight. They cannot be ignorant of the fact that these impostures are instantly exposed. But this consideration does not give them pause; German superiority appears to them so indisputable that they have no need to trouble about the opinion of other people; if they occasionally indicate the reasons for their actions, it is to reassure their own conscience, not to justify themselves to their victims. They are, in short, in the situation of the sportsman who brings down the game passing within gunshot, but is not required to render an account of it to the rabbits and partridges. To the sportsman's way of thinking there is no cynicism in so acting: between the hunter and the game there is too great a difference to make such a justification necessary. Similarly, the Germans occupy, in the scale of _Kultur_, so exalted a position as compared with the Belgians, that they believe in good faith that all is permitted to them in dealing with this horde, and that they need not justify their actions. They behave toward us as the Conquistadores toward the Aztecs. More, they actually advertise their contempt for the rules of justice. We have already mentioned the placard posted at Gand, according to which they openly placed themselves in conflict with the Hague Convention. They have gone yet farther in this direction. What are we to say, for example, of the placard posted at Menin, in July 1915, by order of Commandant Schmidt, in which it is ordained that the families of those "who do not work regularly on the military works" shall be allowed to die of starvation? ORDER. From to-day the town can no longer grant relief--of whatever kind, even for families, women and children--save only to those workmen who are working regularly on the military works and on other works prescribed. All other workmen and their families cannot henceforth be assisted in any way whatever. And this is not the gem of the collection. At Roubaix and the vicinity (in French Flanders, close against the Belgian frontier) they advertised their decision to prevent all sales of comestibles if work were not resumed by the 7th July, and they even threatened completely to suppress "circulation," which would have resulted in the lingering death of the whole population. And this is not the worst. In a neighbouring town, Halluin, Commandant Schranck caused a declaration to be read to the assembled notables which stated that he denied their right to invoke the Hague Convention, since the German military authorities had determined to enforce the fulfilment of all their demands, "even if a city of 15,000 inhabitants had to perish." (_Read at Halluin, on the 30th June, at 11.30 p.m., to the Municipal Council and notables of the Town of Halluin._) GENTLEMEN,