14 NOVEMBER 1914, Page 3

On Wednesday the Niger,' a gunboat of eight hun- dred

and ten tons, twenty-two years old, was torpedoed by a German submarine in the Downs, some two miles off Deal Pier. Two men were severely injured and two slightly, but there was no loss of life. The Niger' was stationary when struck. As none of our sailors or marines was killed, we cannot profess to be greatly moved by the loss of so small and antiquated a vessel. No doubt it is disconcerting to find so much submarine activity in the Channel, but what we ought chiefly to feel is a devout thankfulness that such activity did not develop when the narrow waters were swarming with trans- ports, as they were three months ago.