A SYDNEY LETTER.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 77, 7 May 1914, Page 10

A SYDNEY LETTER.

ENGLISH v. COLONIAL BRAINS. ■:> From Our Special Correspondent.. SYDNEY, May 2. Some indignation has been expressed by correspondents in the daily papers, at the action of the Railway Commissioners in asking Cabinet to allow them to secure the services of an English locomotive engineer, to be assistant to the chief mechanical engineer. Their reasons for doing so are that there are nc qualified men in the New South Wales railway service sufficiently experienced to undertake the work. Cabinet has given them a free ;hand in the matter, but has urged the advisability of making further enquiry in other States of Australia.

The "Evening News" publishes today an article, describing the work of New Zealand locomotive engineers, and .illustrated with a photograph of the Jclass A express engine which is now the standard express engine in New Zealand. The opinion of those who are interested in the matter is entirely against the appointment of an Englishman. "If an outsider must be appointed," a leading commercial man said, when I asked his views, "let him.be an American. Our railways are run more on the American than the English conditions, particularly out West. It seems to me than an American would understand our conditions better than a man from Home, whose experience would have been obtained on the solidly-built, carefully graded, and enclosed English lines.''

The truth in this expression is evident to anyone who has seen the stifffrained English locomotives rocking along a comparatively light line of rails. And the frequency with which engines leave the rails, and break rails and axles seems to show that something is out of plumb. - * As showing how New South Wales clings to British traditions in railway matters, it may be.mentioned that platelayers are atill called "fettlers," and that the engine drivers drive on the left-hand side of the engine cab, making it necessary for a fireman to use his shovel in a left-handed fashion. Moreover none of the loc'omotivos have cowcatchers. The result of this omission is that if any person or thing is run

down at a level crossing they are converted into unrecognisable shreds by the engine-wheels, instead of being thrown clear, perhaps in an injured condition.

. „ To Teturn to the matter of the designing of locomotives, considering that New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland have been building locomotives for nearly 25 years, it seems incredible that there are no young engineers available, who would be capable of designing a locomotive. THE MECCA OF ART. As New Zealanders who aspire to fame or fortune in art or literature look to Australia as their Mecca, so do the .Australians look to America or London. From time to time they sail away in search of greater appreciation, and in most cases they do well. The latest to contempLate this step is Hugh M'Crae, whose poetry and pictures have sjiown, in the particular mcin affected by that artist, something more than a touch of genius. •

Large as Australia is, and appreciative as Australians are, there has not been a sufficeint demand for M'Crae's work to satisfy his ambition, so he sails shortly to America. And, in order that he may be assured of a living in America, he has devised an original vaudeville lightning sketch turn which Sydney experts declare to be a sure passport to the vaudeville stage in America. Once he gets the hang of things over there this enterprising Australian who will be accompanied by his wife, will try to interest the big New York papers in his work in black and white.

To the credit of some of the Sydney newspaper proprietors, it must be said that they have bought as much of M'Crae's work as they could. But the truth is that there is no literary or artistic market here for .any quantity of matter. Mr A. G. Stephens, lecturing tliie week on Australian writers, commented on the sad ends of many of Australia's writers and the unfortunate circumstances of some who still survive. It was Henrj'- Lawson who advised all young writers to either leave the country or shoot themselves —the third alternative and the one which is usually followed, is to enter journalism.

A KEEN TOWN-PLANNER

Mr Charles C. Reade, well-known in New Zealand journalism, and now a recognised authority on town-planning, arrived in Sydney yesterday, and has been entertained by the Town Plan-

ning Association of New South Wales. In company with Mr W. R. Davidge, of the London County Council, Mr Eeade will visit New Zealand, and after inspecting the New Zealand cities, will meet in Adelaide other members of the British Garden Cities and Town Planning Association who have to come to Australia to deliver lectures in many centres on the beautifying of towns and cities. There is room for much improvement in the appearance of those parts of Sydney whi<?h li,e away, from the harbour; this fact has been recognised by the local Association. But the remedying of the defects will be difficult owing to the many municipalities which govern the City of Sydney.

There is a movement afoot to create a greater Sydney to be governed by one central body. The opposition to this idea, however, was remarkable, and there does not appear to be much immediate chance of the idea being successfully carried out. According to Mr Reade's account of the efforts at town-beautifying in Germany in a city under divided controls, the re-modelling of Sydney could not be done well except there was only one centre of control. So far Mr Reade has not expressed any views about Sydney. Whenf he does so, they should be of an interesting character. PRICKLY PEAR PEST. A demonstration was given oS Thursday of a prickly pear eradicator which a Sydney man has invented. Unlike the parasitical eradicators which the Australian Commission of Inquiry brought back with them from America, this is a chemical one. When the pear is sprayed with the solution, it enters the veins of the plant and carries a wet rot right through the plant,' even down to the roots. This kills the prickly pear and, six weeks after spraying, the plants are dry enough to burn. Conflagration is fierce, as there is an ingredient in the solution which makes the dead plants very inflammable.

There have been many chemical eradicators of prickly pearr tested; but most of them have killed the plants without injuring the roots. In this case, however, from what I personally saw and tested the roots were rotten to the tips. As this solution has a similar effect upon lantana and blacltberry t it might prove to be a remedy for th® gorso pest in New Zealand. WILL LAWSON.