27 OCTOBER 1917, Page 2

Our losses of merchantmen by mine or submarine last week

were unhappily larger than they have been for some time post. We lost seventeen large and eight small vessels, whereas the week before we had lost twelve large and four small vessels. Six ships were unsuccessfully attacked. Admiral Jellicoe warned his audience at Sheffield on Wednesday that the figures for October would not be so good as those for September, when on an average we lost ton or eleven ships weekly. He added that there was no cause for anxiety, as " the war was all but won." But these lost ships must somehow be replaced more rapidly by new vessels if our position is to remain secure.