Who could have thought it would have been necessary for Count Revertata to elucidate for Count Czernin a question upon which the Emperor of Austria himself has said the last word? It was no other than Emperor Charles who, in a letter dated March, 1917, put on record in his own writing his adhesion to "France's just claim relative to Alsace-Lorraine." A second imperial letter stated that the Emperor was "in agreement with his Minister." It only remained for Czernin to contradict himself. Ex-Premier Ribot stated on April 9 that during his Premiership "France never directly or through a neutral intermediary took the initiative in any such proceeding as the Austrian official communication asserted." German Designs on Madeira Colonel Lord Denbigh, in an address before the Royal Colonial Institute, London, recently told how German designs upon the Island of Madeira were checkmated by Great Britain in 1906. He said it was more or less a piece of secret history outside diplomatic and naval circles. At Madeira, he said, the Germans first took a hotel. Then they wanted a convalescent home, and, finally, desired to establish certain vested interests. They demanded certain concessions from Portugal. The German Ambassador, early in 1906, called on the Portuguese Government, and said that, if the concessions asked for were not granted, the Kaiser would send his navy up the Tagus to Lisbon. The Portuguese Government telegraphed to England, and that night the British Admiralty were on the point of mobilizing the whole resources of the British fleet. They thought of another way of meeting the situation, however, and sent the Atlantic fleet close up against the Portuguese coast. They let the Kaiser know what had happened through an undiplomatic source, with the result that next day the German Ambassador had to call again on the Portuguese Government and explain that he had exceeded his instructions. I.--Battle of Jutland: First Phase [Illustration: This diagram indicates the courses and ranges during the first stage of the battle, from the establishment of contact by the battle cruiser squadrons at 3:30 P. M. until the arrival of the German battle fleet about 5 P. M. The British battle cruisers, and, presumably, those of Hipper also, were formed in _bow and quarter line_; or _line of bearing_--the ships on parallel courses but diagonally astern of the leader. During the approach the light cruisers and destroyers on each side--the position of which is not indicated--were spread out ahead of the main squadrons. The British second light cruiser squadron later took station ahead of Beatty and at 4:38 gave warning of the approach of the German battle fleet.