TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12966, 20 November 1907, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

S The trip of the airship A Triumph Nnlli Secundus to Lonand <lon was most satisfacg A Disaster, tory up to a certain 0 point. Tho vessel tra,f yelled from Aldershot to London at tho iato of 21 miles an hour, passed over 0 tho War Office, circled round St. 1 Paul's, passed over Buckingham Pal- - ace, and manoeuvred above the lawn, s and camo to rest in the grounds of j tho Crystal Palace. The balloon behaved admirably, being under perfect 5 control, and travelling at one time at a speed of forty miles nn hour. Tho " crew claimed that thoy had remained longer in tho air than any other airship had dono, and that they could have remained in the air for another six hours. But the triumph had a melancholy sequel. It was found impossible to start the ship on her return journey from the Crystal Palace to Aldershot liecauso she had got wet! *. Liability to bo reduced to incapacity , by a passing shower seems to bo a . slight drawback to a military airship. t Next day, a southerly gale sprang up, and it. was expected that tho ship would soon bo dried. So she was, but she was also badly damaged in the process. Tlie wind broke some of the " stays, bumped her about, and did con- - siderable damage to the framework. 1 She l«ecame, in short, a wreck, but n the valuable balloon of gold-beater's . skin and the engines were uninjured. c I'he crew maintained their confidence in the face of this disaster. "I am not disappointed at all." said Colonel Templar. "The experience which was 1 wanted wo have gained. It is in no ° sense a catastrophe. Indeed, if the I- ship had gone back to Farnborough. \ instead of lying up here at tho Crvfe: '-■"■

«tal Palace, we should have lost much valuable knowledge. We have learned for one thing, that the balloon cannot stand in the open. It must be protected from the weather, and there must be a stronger team of men to look after it. - ' The disaster seems to indicate very clearly the limitations of the airship. . The authorities are said to have nearly completed a much more powerful ship, designed to carry a crew of six men. and to contend with winds of as swift a velocity as 30 miles an hour. The one regret of those responsible for the ships is that the engines havo to be obtained from France. Great Britain seems to lie unable to produce engines which will combine the necessary lightness and strength.

Tho reports sent by "ObTho server from Adelaide to M.C.C. the' Argus.'of the M.C.C. Team. team's first important match give the visitors high praise. Though there wero a fow mistakes, tho fielding of the Englishmen was excellent on the opening day, in spite of tho gieat heat, and tlm bowling was never loose. Their butting was delightful. Jones, who failed completely on his first visit to Australia, proved to the Australians that ho is a great batsman. His innings was a fine free exhibition, his driving being particularly good. The forceful Hutchings, of whom so much is expected, stayed long enough to show the critics that his English form has not been over-praised. He is described as playing "with tho combination ot ease and fore© that means perfect batting," ai.d a.s looking the picture ot health and fitness. His 2G included five boundaries. Ho is al*o a magnificent outfield, with a beautiful return. Tho long partnership of Hardstaff and Braund produced beautiful cricket. Of the two Hardstaff was the more brilliant. "I cannot say too much in praise of this innings. Everyone who watched it was charmed with Hardstaff's batting. Many old watchers ot cricket declared that since opened with a big score on the Oval thoy havo seen no new comer who played all-round the wicket like Hardstaff. But his driving and cutting wero particularly fine." The team is said to need steady first-wicket batsmen, but "Observor" thinks Fane will do for one, though thero was a want of confidence in his play, and ho was missed three times in making 32. Crawford's sensational hitting was tho result of a decision to leave by next day's train. The side wanted runs quickly, so as to leave time to dispose of South Australia, and Crawford flogged tho tired bowling mercilessly. He hit fivo boundaries and followed them two balls later with a six, most of thci strokes going in different directions. With Braund at tho other end scoring 60 in thirty-five minutes, it must havo been tho champagne of cricket. A hundred was added to the score in thirty sensational minutes, and when Rhodes joined Crawford another hundred was put on in thirty-four minutes. Crawford's 111 in 58 minutes was probably the biggest bit of hitting over seen on tho Adelaide ground.

The Newcastle corresponThe Cost dent of the "Sydney of Morning Herald" makes A Strike, an interesting attempt to estimate the loss to. Newcastle if the coal strike is prolonged. The present year has bceni the most prosperous on record, and it was expected, before the strike, that last year's output, 5,000,000 tons, would be exceeded this year. If the strike is not stopped the export trade will receive a blow from which it will not recover for many years. Markets in South and North America, In> dia and the East have been exploited by the companies, until the exports to these markets aro almost equal to the shipments to Australian and Now Zealand ports. A striko would prove disastrous to this trade. Newcastle's competitor}}—and they ar© many and strong—would be only too glad of tho opportunity to snatch /the trade. Tho greatest foreign market, the West Coast of South America, has already taken several shipments of British coal, which has the advantage of cheap freights. Trade with the East has been steadily increasing, but it is not twelve months sine© the Government commercial agent in tho East sounded a warning note. "If you havo a strike here, your coal trado in the East is killed.'' It is difficult to estimate tho number of people who are thrown idle at Newcastle by th© strike, but thero ar© between 7000 and 8000 men and boys in the Miners' Federation,, and there aro oijO coal-trimmers*. SOO wharflabourers, and several hundred men engaged in other subsidiary occupations. Th© correspondent's estimate gives a total of over 9000 men who would bo actually idle, while several thousands of other workers would suffer indirectly. Tlie loss in wages would bo enormous, and would probably amount to £50,000 per fortnight, which would he lost altogether to the district. A Union official declared that tho striko would give the proprietors a "pain in the pocket," but the miners would recover from it as they had dono in the past. Tho writer thinks the strike will '-boomerang back into the miners." and that the process of recovery will be accompanied by a long spell of poverty. It is said that the Miners,' Federation is not over-bur-dened with money, and that its surplus is not moro than £6000. Whatever it is, it is lielieved to lie totally inadequate to carry on a strenuous struggle for any length of time.