Last Saturday the Admiralty made the very interesting announcement that
there was every reason to believe that the German light fast cruiser 'Karlsruhe' was sunk near the West Indies in November. The survivors seem to have reached Germany in the steamship 'Rio Grande,' which had been acting in consort with the 'Karlsruhe.' The Admiralty no doubt have received all the proofs they require, short of ocular demonstration, of the truth of this statement. Thus a mystery is ended. At the beginning of the war, as the Times Naval Correspondent reminds us, the 'Karlsruhe' did a good deal of raiding in the North Atlantic. In November her operations suddenly ceased, and the rumours as to her where- abouts or her fate were numerous. Several of the auxiliary cruisers which had worked. in company with her were found widely scattered, and there was therefore plenty of material for the rumours. The fate of the 'Strassburg,' a sister-ship to the Karlsruhe,' is still doubtful. One report says that she returned safely from the Atlantic to Germany; another that she foundered at sea. The 'Bremen,' a slower cruiser than the other two, has also never been officially accounted for. At all events, she is not keeping the sea.
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