"The governor of Antwerp, Baron von Hoiningen, General von Huene, has authorized me to inform you in his name and to communicate by your obliging intermediary to our populations the three following declarations: "(1) The young men need not fear being taken to Germany, either to be enrolled into the army or to be employed at forced labors. "(2) If individual infractions of police regulations are committed, the authorities will institute a search for the responsible authors and will punish them, without placing the responsibility on the entire population. "(3) The German and Belgian authorities will neglect nothing to see that food is assured to the population." These promises were not kept, as Cardinal Mercier and his colleagues show by abundant evidence in the _Appeal to Truth_. "On March 23rd, at the arsenal at Luttre the German authority posted a notice demanding return to work. On April 21st, 200 workmen were called for. On April 27th soldiers went to fetch the workmen from their homes and take them to the arsenal. In the absence of a workman, a member of the family was arrested. [Sidenote: Violation of German promises.] "However, the men maintained their refusal to work, 'because they were unwilling to co-operate in acts of war against their country.' "On April 30th, the requisitioned workmen were not released, but shut up in the railway carriages. "On May 4th, 24 workmen detained in prison at Nivelles were tried at Mons by a court-martial, 'on the charge of being members of a secret society, having for its aim to thwart the carrying out of German military measures.' They were condemned to imprisonment. [Sidenote: Early deportations.] "On May 8th, 1915, 48 workmen were shut up in a freight car and taken to Germany. "On May 14th, 45 men were deported to Germany. "On May 18th a fresh proclamation announced that the prisoners would receive only dry bread and water, and hot food only every four days. On May 22nd three cars with 104 workmen were sent towards Charleroi." "A similar course was adopted at _Malines_, where, by various methods of intimidation, the German authorities attempted to force the workers at the arsenal to work on material for the railways, as if it were not plain that this material would become war material sooner or later. "On May 30th, 1915, the Governor General announced that he 'would be obliged to punish the town of Malines and its suburbs by stopping all commercial traffic if by 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 2nd, 500 workmen had not presented themselves for work at the arsenal.' "On Wednesday, June 2nd, not a single man appeared. Accordingly, a complete stoppage took place of every vehicle within a radius of several kilometres of the town." "Several workmen were taken by force and kept two or three days at the arsenal." [Sidenote: Belgians asked to make barbed wire.]