5 AUGUST 1916, Page 1

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

WHAT news there is from the Western Front is entirely good. The straightening out of the British and French lines on the Somme continues, not in the sinister sense in which a retreating army speaks of straightening its line when it gives ground, but in a very positive and constructive sense. The heads of the German wedges have been dented in or knocked off, and the bases of our own wedges are continually being made broader. There is a method about Sir Douglas Haig's movements which inspires the greatest confidence. We never hear of flanks hanging in mid-air, of reserves failing and supports being in the wrong place. There is no looking back and no hesitation. If the German counter-attacks could not succeed during the past fortnight, they are not likely to succeed in future. The recovered ground has been permanently gained by the Allies.