Far from making an effort to respect our feelings, one would even imagine that they must make it a point of honour (German honour) to wound our loyalty. Thus, when they punish any one for rendering service to the Belgians, instead of expressing the matter simply, as we have done, they announce that the Belgian is convicted of relations with the enemy. They are speaking of their enemies. But "the enemy" implies that the Belgian Government or the Belgian army is the enemy of the Belgian people. Better still: they inform us, by means of placards, that to aid the Belgian army is "treason." The Belgian becomes a traitor by rendering a service to his country! What a singular conception of honour! WARNING. The military tribunals have lately been compelled to condemn to hard labour for attempted treason a large number of Belgians, who had assisted their compatriots subject to military service in their attempt to join the enemy army. I again warn [the public] against committing such crimes against the German troops, in view of the severe penalties which they will incur. THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL IN BELGIUM, GENERAL VON BISSING, _Colonel-General_. BRUSSELS, _3rd March, 1915_. _The "Brabançonne" Prohibited._ At Namur the _Brabançonne_ was declared seditious on the 23rd March, 1915. But a month later the execution of the _first four verses_ was declared to be permissible. What did the Germans mean by that? Let us remember that none of the known versions of our national song (the two versions of Jenneval and that of Rogier) consists of more than four verses. Which, then, are those that our persecutors forbid? In their rage for prohibition they have prohibited something that does not exist!--unless they were speaking of the verse invented by _La Libre Belgique_, and published in its tenth issue. It would be amusing if the German authorities had fallen into a snare set by a prohibited newspaper! In Brussels the Germans had not dared openly to interdict the _Brabançonne_, as they did another national anthem which had, so to speak, the freedom of the city of Brussels: we mean the _Marseillaise_ (placard of the 27th March, 1915). Never did one hear the _Marseillaise_ so often as after the Germans forbade us to sing or play it; only it was now whistled. So, as might have been expected, whistling the _Marseillaise_ was made a crime. As for the _Brabançonne_, it was prohibited in an underhand sort of way. It used to be sung every day in a school in Brussels; but two German soldiers of the Landsturm, who were guarding a neighbouring railway, heard it, and felt offended. Hence a letter to the communal authorities, demanding that the national anthem should be sung or played with more discretion. It is now seldom played save in the churches: at High Mass on Sunday and the funeral services for soldiers. _The National Anniversary of July 21st._