30 JANUARY 1915, Page 13

A very interesting account is given in the Times of

Friday of a visit to the wounded German prisoners in the Edinburgh hospital. It shows the German sailor in a very favourable light. The men evidently fought with great gallantry, but one would judge from their conversation that they hold the odds at sea to be against them, and think that the best thing they can do is to change the subject and assert that they can, at any rate, beat us on land. Such a spirit is significant, and it is not counteracted by the type of strategy practised by the main German Fleet. Before we leave the subject of Admiral Beatty's victory we may say that the latest accounts seem to show conclusively that two of the German battle-cruisers were very seriously damaged. Though not sunk, they apparently could only just manage to get back to harbour, and will probably be ineffective for at least three or four months. It also seems that the light cruiser 'Solberg ' was sunk as well as the ' Blucher.' Probably also two German destroyers foundered. Whether any of the enemy's submarines were accounted for remains to be seen. The fate of the

• Kolberg ' is interesting because apparently she was not aimed at, but was merely destroyed by the general rain of missiles—by shots meant for other ships. Her end was a grim by-product of the loom of war.