During the past few days several circumstantial reports have been ciroulsted describing the conditions in which ghe German cruiser Emden was sunk by H. M. Australian cruiser Sydney, but these seem to have been based chiefly upon supposition.
The story as circulated is to the effect that the Emden was seen approaching the Eastern Extension Cable Station at Cocos Island, and the wireless station there, which is used for the purpose, merely, of picking up messages from passing ships and having them despatched by cable, immediately vent out information to British cruisers which were known to be within the area which wireless messages could cover. The Emden was said then to have entered the lagoon in front of the cable station and to have landed a party of sailors, who destroyed the cable and wireless stations and their instrament. On the Emden leaving the lagoon, she was swept by a broadside from the Bydney—which, having picked up the wireless message, had taken up a point of vantage outside the harbour—and had her funnels and masts carried away, while a second broadside wrecked the German omuiser' steering gear, causing her to drift] oe helplessly aground.
As a matter of fact, no details have come to hand through Reuter service, other than those already published, and the only other information was that received by the Eastern Extension, Australasia and China Telegraph Ca., Ld, in a brief telegram to the effect that the Emden had landed a party at Cocos Island, wrecked the instrumente, cut the cable connecting with Perth (Australia), and after an action with H.M.8. Sydney, had grounded on North Keeling (some fifteen miles away from the cable station).
That the whole of the telegraphic installation and instruments at Cocos
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.