DEFENCES OF THE DARDANELLES.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 62, 13 March 1915, Page 4

DEFENCES OF THE DARDANELLES.

The forcing of the Dardanelles and the bombardment of ite forts by the Allies bears ia this war the same relation to the capture of Constantinople that wae borne in the Balkan War by the prolonged besiegement of the Turkish walls of entrenchment at Tchataldj*. There is, however, this cardinal difference, that the Allies have enormously greater forces to draw upon than the Balkan States could command, and consequently the issue can hardly fail to be different. The Dardanelles (the ancient Hellespont) stretches in a long winding curve of forty miles in length, forming a paseage from the Aegean to the Sea of Marmora, between tlie coast of Turkey's Asiatic territories and the projecting Peninsula of Gallipoli, where Essad Pasha us reported to have gathered a laTge army of Turke. In width the Straits vary from one to four miles, aud their deep channel curves now to the one shore and now to the other, increasing the difficulties of a contested navigation. Nature hero greatly favours those who are defending the coasts. On both sides are points and promontories and projections forming several sharp angles, which deflect the current and impede the view of whatever lies ahead. The tack of fortifying the raitural strongholds on shore has boon fiitrusted to the Germane, and performed with their customary thoroughness. L'nder' the direction of General Liman yon Sandere the old forts were reconstructed and mounted with the lafceet Krupp guns. At the edge of the water a system of torpedo tubes has been set up. Patrols of steam trawlers guard the Straits day and night, and at the entrance and on the chief pointe powerful searchlights play in all directions after dark. The surrounding country, especially near the Gulf of Saros, on the other (the Western) side of the Gallipoli Peninsula, ie protected by earthworks, entrenchments and forts. The dangerous watcra of the channel have been thickly etrewn with mines,' fixed or floating, and any of the Allies' trawlers that advance to sweep away or destroy tYre mince hay« to face the fire from off snore. For some unexplained reason the mopth of,- the Dardanelles waa lfft insufficiently protected by two old forte, Seddul Ba-hr Jthe ancient Scstos). on the European side, and Kum Kaleh (the ancient Abydos), on the Asiatic side, where, probably .owing' to the incorrigible incompetence of the Turks, only obsolete guns were placed. These were early destroyed by the British more than a month ago. The approaches were afterwards strengthened by yon Sandere, but carried by the British and French fleets again in whfct has been described as a magnificent bombardment, the Allies destroying- forts and batteries 'with only very trifling losses 'to themselves. In epite of official Turco-Gcrraan reports, the Turks must have- suffered their funeral pyres on shore were seen by landing parties. The Queen Elizabeth ie reported to have blown up thousands of tons of rock. But three days ago they Tiad advanced about two miles up the Straits, leaving forts and batteries sihenced in their rear. British seaplanes surveyed the waters in advance to locate the mine fields, -which were liven swept clear by trawlers, accompanied by destroyers. But, as both the "Times" and Enver Bey have stated, the real .defence is farther on. .Both shores were bristling with heavy Krupp guns skilfully concealed, and with the hatterice of the Turkish Army. The great tug-of-war hoe already begun at "The Narrows." Here the coasts make a big bend round, approaching each other with only one mile of water between. On the European eide abrupt cliffs some two hundred feet in height rise from the sea. At the ' foot of one point is a narrow strip of low, ' level ground, and here forty Krupp guns have been stationed, somet mounted on carthwbrke.' Above these, on the top of the hill, arc /powerful batteries.. On this*: . side the ehret fort is Kilid Bahr; now set on fire by the British. This part is the most dangeroue,in the iw-hole of the Dar ; . danellee. Projectiles'Tired''froth the advancing fillips of tire, assailants would pass over the lower guns on shore, while the projectiles fired,by the defenders would he directed upon the decks,of the advancing fleet, the most vulnerabie part of a modern battleship. Immediately behind this point the land sweeps round. almost at a rectangle, and a strong current swerves towards Chanak, on the Asiatic side. Here (at Chanak Kalessi) the strongest iort has been constructed, protected by steel. The destruction of Chanak fort will break the back of the i;uakc. Once that exploit is achieved, the Allies' fleet will soon sail into the Gulf of Marmora. But it is still an achievement demanding the utmost skill, nerve, and persistence, especially as the British commanders are bent upon saving their m-en and forcing the passage with the smallest possible loss of life on their side. Miracles must not be expected. There are believed to be still twenty more Turkish forts in action. If the fleet merely slipped past Chanak without destroying it, they would be exposed farther on to its fire in their rear, and to the fire of another fort in front, at the point of Dagomen Burum. And in "The Narrows," where the water is only a mile wide, the battleships could not ■escape injury by means of the skilful manoeuvring that served them so well in their light with the Germans in the North Sea. The shores of the Sea of Marmora are protected with earthworks, mounted with heavy guns from Omali and Lapeaki. Beyond lies the Bosphorus, under the shelter of the fortifications of Constantinople, and .while the Englieh and French a.ra at work in the critical part of the Dardanelles, the Russians are bombarding Turkish forts along the shores of the Black Sea. But it ia upon "The Narrows," and most of all upon Chanak. that the issue depends, and there for the present the attention of tire irwlf *ill be fixed.

The following is Mr. D. C. Bates' weather forecast «for twenty-four hours from 9 β-m. this day: "The indications are for south-easterly moderate to strong and veering by eaet to north, then freshening; there is a prospect of fair to cloudy weather, with increasing haze and cloudiness for change in the beginning of the week; the barometer has a rising tendency after about 24 hours; sea moderate; tide 3 good; sea increasing on the coast after aibout 30 hours."

On a recent evening the town of Kotorua was visited with a plague of gnats. So great a pest did they iecome that several of the shopkeepers found it advisable to close their shop-doora, and paper treated with chemicals was burnt in the streets. In premises where there was a bright light the insects congregated in such large numbers that floors were covered to a depth 6t several inches.

Since the war began the members of the Auckland branch of the New Zealand Educational Institute have given £1,351 towards the Patriotic Fund. Aβ it is felt that th? Patriotic Fund is not so much in need of help as the fund which is being raieed for the relief of the Belgians, the Institute this morning decided to givv ■future monthly contributions (which will continue ac long ac there ie need) to the Belgian Fund. Last month the Inetitute's contribution was £290.

At the Onehunga Police Court this morning, before Messrs. J. La king and A. .is. 'Hol-mee, J.'dP., a Maori youth named Thomas Toroa pleaded guilty to the theft of a gold watch, gold chain, and gold Masonic emblem, the property of Charles Streen. As the property was recovered and restored to the owner, and it was a first offence, the Bench considered the case would be met with a fine of £1, or seven days' imprisonment.

■\Ye are about to experience a revival in mining such as characterised the roaring days of the sixties (say* the Nelson Creek correspondent of the Grcymouth "Star"). Perhaps the old days will not return, but the development will nevertheless be more solid by reason of the fact that sound business men are now directing it. Alluvial mining in its day played its part—made the name of Kelson Creek rewound throughout New Zealand. Then came gold dredging; profitable to some, a memory of the past to other 3. Xow we are on the threshold of a, new era—suction mining. The experiment will be tried at the Bonanza claim, and local residents look to this new form of mining to jriv-i? an impetus to the industry, not only in Kelson Creek, but in all the alluvial deposits in the Golden West.

According to a letter which has been received from an officer on one of the troopships that have recently left Wellington with reinforcements, canteen troubles no longer exist. "The canteen is a fine institution,' , he says. "No money is bandied there, all sales being by coupons, which are purchased for 3/. The coupon is printed in spaces valued at 2d, and when a purchase is made the ticket is clipped to the amount of the purchase. Almost everything is belcw retail price. Tennis shoes, for which one pays 8/ti ashore are sold on ship for !>/; tobacco 13 sd, 6d or Td a tin —just half the price charged ashore. The only really expensive articles are soft drinks, which cost 0d for a small bottle and 7d for a large bottle. ■ I donH, know the reason for this, but perhaps it is to keep the men from drinking too much. Drinking anything at all is strongly deprecated, as the more one drinks the more one wants. All the profits i.itpm the. canteen ate devoted to a fund' for the relief of sick "and wounded soldiers."

The Maori section of the Auckland Museum "has just,been enriched by the addition of the main gateway or waharoa of the famous Te Koutu Pa, which in bygone daye wae located on a promontory at the northern corner of Lake Okatina, about 10 miles east of Rotorua. The ■ Maori owners of this gateway, through the kind agency of Mr. B. Keye, licensed interpreter, handed over the gateway to the Museum, taking in exchange a small concrete vault, in which will be placed the bones of certain famous ancestors, buried near the gateway.. Beyond-this, the native owners declined any other compensation. The gateway reaches nearly to the roof of the Maori section in the Museum. Hewn out of totara are- two niaseive representations of human figures surmounting the gateway. The upper figure represents Te Rangi-ita-kororo, one of the chief ancestons of the Xgatiterawhai tribe, and the other figure is that of hie 6 brother Tupora. The caning is considered fully 90 years old, ac the gateway ie figured in a rough drawing in Terry's New Zealand, issued in 1840. The carving was done by Te Awatapu and Mahikorn, assisted by Te Amo and Wero. The gateway i≤ naturally weather-worn, but is still in a fair etate of preservation. A portion of the lower part of the legs of the figures near the ground had perished, and this has been replaced.

A boy. ten years of age, son of Mr. W. H. Campbell, of Christchurch. met with a very-strange accident. He had found some playthings in the stables and was playing with them on the copper. Picking up a hammer he struck one a sharp blow.' The result was a terrific explosion. Part of the eide of the copper was Wown out, the tip of the thumb on the boy's left hand was shot off, two of his fingers were badly wounded, and his face and neck were marked. He was taken to the hospital,, where the sisters and nurses attended to him. It wae ' thought that he had struck the cartridge of a pea-rifle, but afterwards it-was discovered that he had been playing with a detonator used for explosive. There.'were no fewer than twenty-five of them, and' Mr. Campbell is making inquiries ■as to how they came in Jiis stables.

A meeting of the North Auckland Municipal Association was to have been held last night, but it lapsed for want of a quorum. Those in attendance were: The chairman (Mr. W. Handley), Messrs. D. W. McLean, and J. Henderson (representing Devonport), Mr. J. R. MePhail (Birkenhead), and Mr. W. Blomfleld (Mayor of Takapuna). Just one more was needed for a quorum. It is understood that another meeting is to be called to discues municipal affairs prior to the elections next month.

Under the will of the late Mise Hawley, of Leithfield, Canterbury, th« death of an aged relative has released over £12,000, to be devoted to tte British and Foreign Bible Society, and to various branches of foreign mission work. Mr. John Wilkinson announced at a meeting in Christchurch that that sum had come into his hands that day for distribution. The siun of £4000 goes to the Bible Society, £2000 each to the Ramahaio Mieeion, the Poona and Indian Village Mission, Dr. Harry Guinness. "Regions Bpyond" Mission, and the China Inland Mission.

There were several flashes of hmnou: in (Professor Clement AVragge"s lecture at Palmeraton Xorth. During a reference to the probable position, of the earth in 60,000 years, the lecturer facetiously remarked: I trust the East Coast railway wiU be finished then."

Aβ the Auckland AgricuFtural and PaetoraJ Aesociation could not see its way to allow the Defence authorities the use of the show grounds at Otahuhu for the annual training camp of the Third Regiment, other arrangements had to be made. Mr. F Andrew and Mr. T. R. W, Gill came to the rescue, and oflered the use of their paddocke, just outeide the village, between Nixon's Monument and the Tamaki River.

Two sailors, Hans Keilsen (28) and Emil Joandenberg (27), a Dane and a Dutchman, were arrested on the arrival of the barque Manurewa at Auckland from Newcastle, on a charge of having combined to disobey a lawful command of the master. They came before Mr. E. C. Cutten, S.M., 'this morning, when the evidence showed that when the master gave orders to batten down the hatches at Newcastle on February 26, as the ship was to be got ready to sail that night, the two men in question headed a deputation to the skipper that requested him to delay the sailing till the following morning. When he refused, the two men declined to turn-to, though the rest of the crew, on being remonstrated with, set to work. Some hours later the two men started to work again. They gave as their reason that it was working them too hard to get the vessel ready for sea on the night in question. "In a vessel of that class everyone has to get a hustle on," explained the mate of the ship. Hi" Worship told the men that it was the skipper, and not the men, who ran the ship, and he ordered that 19/ costs be docked from the pay of each of them.

The recent dry weather in New Zealand was also felt at the Chatham Islands, and was beginning to cause the residents there some anxiety. Mr. E. G. F. Zohrab, who lias just returned from the Chathams, informed a Wellington reporter that he had never before eeen the islands in so dry a state, but fortunately the day the Himitangi left for Lyttelton heavy rain fell, and this would no doubt greatly improve the conditions. Dry winds had also been adding to the difficulties. It had been arranged to send between 7,000 and 8,000 sheep away last month, 'but owing to the congestion at the freezing works this could not be done, and farmers were thus faced with another problem of securing the necessary food for the animals, the dry weather having caused a shortage. The heavy rain since no doubt relieved the farmers' anxiety.

During last week twenty-five headmasters of country • schools attended a course of instruction in dairy science in the old Technical College, Rutland Street. The instructor was Mr. J. P. Kalaugher, and a practical course included testing for butter fat and various dairy products. Comparative testa were made with the Babcoek and the Gerber methods of milk-testing. The owners of two dairy herds near Auckland'forwarded composite samples from the milk of individual cows, together with a record of the yield of milk for a given period. These milks were aIJ tested in duplicate, and the results sent to the owners. Other experimental work included testing amount of solids in milk, moisture in butter, moisture in cheese, acidity in milk and cream, and percentage of salt in butter. Yesterday afternoon Mr. Drummond, of Mason, StruthgTs, and Cjo., gave, an address on the Xl/a-Laval separator. The teachers ■were keenly interested, in the work, and in each, of their schools 'dairy science will, be regularly taken;as a subject of instruction during, the year.. It is stated that it'is the" intention of the Education Board to hofd further dairy science classes in the near future, 5* consequence of the many applications from teachers to be allowed to attend.

Besides the 5,000 sheep that have been shipped from Gisborne district during the past few weeks, steamers that are due. to load there will take another 10,000. With the exception of about 1,000, all the sheep have been sent to Lyttelton. The coast is supplying nearly all of the sheep, and the scarcity of feed in Hawke's Bay has necessitated farmers in that district sending their sheep South, .it is believed that when rain comes in Poverty Bay district and in Hawke's Bay, and the feed grows, many stations will be short stocked, and prices will rise correspondingly. '

On Friday, evening the Ponsonby Drum and Fife Band, under Bandmaster Tuck, rendered an open-air programme to aid the funds of the Queen Mary. Needlework Guild (St. John Ambulance), which has been busy in Auckland eince last October collecting moneys and making garments for tire sick and wounded soldiers. The boyis assembled at the Reservoir corner at 7.15. and marched along Karans*hape Road, followed by the Xo. 1 Troop Ponsonby Boy Scouts, under Scoutmaster Pearee. They took up tlrair principal stand at Upper Queen Street jcorner, wheTe a very excellent programme was rendered, during the course of which some of the boye were busy with their collecting boxes. The cum realised amounted to £3 11/6, which the committee of the Guild have much pleasure in acknowledging. Thsy also deeire to thank the members of the band, Mr. Callinan (the manager), aleo Scoutmaster Pearce and the Scout Bove.

Substantial progress has been made during the past month or two with the construction of woollen mills for the Commonwealth Governmeitf; at Geelon". All the buildings are up wtth the exception of the power-house, and the contract for that portion of the mill i's well in hand. The installation of machinery for the powM r-generating plant i s to be entered upon within the next few weeks.

Sister Esther wishes to acknowledge with thankfulness contributions for the relief of local distress from: Employees railway workshops, • Newmarket, £6 4/employees Devonport Ferry Co., £2 14/' from the Great North Road Methodist Church, produce from, the harvest thanksgiving services.

A reunion of persons who arrived by the ship Bombay in 1865 will take place at the jubilee and sports to be held next Ihursday at Bombay. A coach will meet the (.lo and 9.15 a.m. trains from Auckland at Druxy. •

Messrs. Bradney and Binne will run excursions to Riverhead and the fishine grounds to-morrow.

King's Court Private Hotel has been purchaeed by Mrs. M. Barry, late of the Metropohtan Hotel, and will in future be conducted on the Continental plan. See announcement in this issue.—(Ad.) The product of mineral springe absolutely unique and, wonderful. Tox-O-fen the famous Hydrp treatment for rheumatism, gout, ecia-tica, lumbago, and all functional disorders now on sale. Auckland chemists and stores; price 2/ bottle.—(Ad.)

Wβ have nearly finished our stocktaking, and have thrown out a number of oddments and remnants, and all will be cleared on Monday at half-price at Meiklee \alu House, Queen Street Ad. The beverage that DeneUta—Wolfe'. Schnapps-a driuk ,. a .

Almost the last of the sale goods on Monday at Meakle's Stock-tokin/sale. Ad

The Government have been asfced W flourmfllen to allow the export of fci? and pollard, of .which .there: a »»id to be a large quantity stored in 'Sew- &«. land. A few email shipments fen' allowed to go to Australia .'for: defeat* purposae, and for special reasons, hot the export of bran and pollard * j«[ prohibited. . Addressing the jury in the final erh^ ''"'■- nal case befoTe the sittings of. tW ' Supreme Court at Napier, Sir Boberi* Stout, Chref Justice, said thai frpij what he had eeen of Napier t.ji»rke.tW seemed to imagine that the respoaeibajti ■£ r did not iest on them. TBe jnry m* ~-.ff the protectors of the community, indif '■ they chose to ignore the evidence art believe men who were telling Jiee tijn were not protecting the community. Whilst excavating for the foundation of the new police station in WdliMtoa ; it wae found necessary to go down ahout 1.5 feet in the partly reclaimed ground. In doing so the workmen came across the remains of an old breastwork estenijinj f from east to west, .which evidently it some remote time in the history of Wet : lington served as the dividing Hne bt-: : tween the beach and the higher land ot; the old town, the break that separate the soil from the 6and. Another iajir, : eeting find was a boiler of old'-faehfaiai , ' design- that must hare - belonged, to qijjof the first steamers that' ploughed thiwaters of the harbour. The bofle though heavily encrusted with rut, it still in a fairly good state of present.: tion. Speaking at a meeting of the Wang* nui Agricultural Association, Jit A Sek. inson said that oaten r-heaf chaff Sns ''■?■ one of the greatest distributors of nfiifc ous weeds. 'He knew of one instance at Walton, near Te Aroha, in connectiot with an area of 12,000 acres of «lai■-'■.'■ Horses were brought there from Mata--mata to winter, and chaff came with them.. The result was that the area n|'Jsoon covered with. Californian tiktle. The announcement of the deata of Sfa. A. H. Benge, late headmaster of ttt Waihi District High School, came m a great chock to numerous friend* hot (telegraphs our Waihi correeponA-nt). Deceased resided in Waihi for some nia* teen years, and took an active p»rt » I everything pertaining to the. adns» meat of the district. He wae also tmeti- .'.'l ated in cricket and howling.- circlet, I was a layreader of St. .Tnhn'e ApfiHyf. -■■ Church. During 1914 the number of penoit o> rested in Wellington for drnnkejaoi was 2,551 males and 393 females («*ji the "Post"). In Auckland the'naeWt was 1,774 -males and 219 females;. c-Kurcli, 1.003 and 18!) femaleijiii Dunedin, 853 and 58 female. In reporting the opening of the <mt ?reebyterian Church at Tapanui hit ■week, the "Tapaiiui Courier" says t!«V the church treasurer made uitinot appeal to the congregation to" wipe »t tlip ' remain"? 'Mit. "rid ''xal-oi ■ ■> forty-five subscribers »t £* mtk, u| ; tiic choir then bung, ' U Lord, tie liera-\: fill." , ; :*"'. A number of bullocks that wiae^Mg driven from an East Coast station were so exhausted for the want of water,tlit they died on the road. _ : *:.;:?> The price of 5/a for 100 sacks of AJgtrian oats has been paid-in the Sort! You know you enoiiw reatrj'iStm km a cold; it'ie a sign of physical .condition. Get.ffKTfj ut health by using Baxter , » a' true "tonic for : thiE - •yßtejn^J^l^^p;