ETHERGRAMS.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13332, 26 January 1909, Page 6

ETHERGRAMS.

The collision between a White Star liner and emigrant ship off the coast of Massachusetts .rirrgs. into prominence once more the vaikie of wireless telegraphy at sea. There is something that appeals to the imagination in the thought of the captain of tho disabled liner summoning assistance from vessels of whose identity and wherei_boii_.. he was as ignorant as they were of his, but confident that before long his signals would' attract notice nnd' bring him aid. And it must have been some satisfaction to those oii board to know that the apparent solitude of the ocean, in--tensified by the surrounding fog, had been rendered less lonely by this aipplifation of science to man's purposes. What the telephone might mean to the isolated settler, tbe ethergraph means to ships that pass in the dark' noes, or out of sight of each other, or that, in the dire extremity ox fire or wreck, call to each other for aid. Happily in this particular case the services of tbo vessel- that came swlftlT in response to tbe Republic's appeals were not absolutely required, but under other circumstances they . might have been the means of saving many hundreds of lives. It waa _eo_r nised as soon as wireless telegraphy passed out of the purely experimental stage that it might be of immense value in lessening the dangers of sea travel, and the Atlantic steamship companies were'quick to adopt it on that account, while tbo importance attached to it by all nations that have pressed it into their Service is seen in the provision of the Intercolonial Convention of 1006 which binds wireless telegraph stations to give absolute priority to messages of distress from vessels at sea and to replies to such messages. This latest incident suggests once more the advisa bleness of having the intercolonial boats in these waters equipped with wireless telegraph installations. They arc no more exempt from the perils of the sea, than any other vessels, and experience has shown more than once in recent years that the breaking of a bliaft may mean not only great anxiety on tho part of many people in New Zealand and Australia but heavy expenditure on the part of the shipowners. The Hewoa's drift and the means adopted to find her are understood, for instance, to havo cost tho Union Steam Ship Company £5000. and it is difficult to believe that if she had been able to communicate by ethergraph with other vessels or soma station on the NewSouth Wales coast, she would not have been picked up much earlier than was the case.. Of course, the installation of wireless "telegraphy on board the steamers would necessitate tbe estaolishment of land stations, and tho Governments cf Australia and New Zealand would have to co-operate with the steamship companies. The establishment of wireless telegraphic communication across the Tasman Sea has been talked about off and on for years past, but we seem to got no nearer its accomplishment than we were when the scheme was first mooted. Yet the advantages that would follow its adoption are so many and so obvious that one would, think something definite would have been done long ago. Wireless telegraphy may' be capable of great improvements yet, but the Governments oannot wait uptil perfection is attained before they follow the lead of other nations and take this latest dovelopent of electrical science into their service.

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THE AGE OF RHODES SCHOLARS. Among the subjects to be discussed at the present meeting of the University Senate in Auckland is a motion by Mr Uaumo that, in the opinion of the Senate, it would be in accord with the views held and expressed by the late Cecil Rhodes if the ago limits of Rhodes scholars were altered to eighteen years minimum and twenty maximum. At present the limits.are nineteen and twenty-five years respectively. There is no doubt that if it is decided that the Rhodes scholars shall derive full benefit from the corporate life of Oxford they ought to go there much earlier than is the case at present. As a rule they tako

a degree iv the colony first of all and when they arrive at Oxford they find themselves in a kind of nondescript position. They are too old to associate with tho ordinary freshmen, they do not find it easy to get to know the older men, and there is a tendency for them to drift into a class apart and ''keep themselves to themselves." Now Mr Cecil Rhodes, in his will, in enumerating tho advantages of a college education to young colonists .laid stress on the fact of its giving breadth to thoir views, and instruction in life and manners. These objects can only bo fully attained when the student goes through the ordinary college course, rubbing shoulders with his fellows, living the ordinary college life. They are not to be realised by students who are practically grown up and whose habits and views are to a very large extent formed before they go to the ancient university of whioh Cecil Rhodes was such an admiring and devoted son.

Of course there is something to be _aid on tho other side of tho question and in xavour of the present practice. It may be urged that there is great risk in sending a lad of eighteen or nineteen to the other side of the world, leaving him practically to his own resources. We do not know that the risks are much greater in the case of a young New Zealander than in the case of an English lad when he first goes up to Oxford or Camoridge. It is not the distance from his homo which really matters so much as the way in which ho has been brought up and tho extent to which ho is able to keep himself under control. With the system of careful selection under which the Rhodes scholars are chosen, wo think there is very little danger of the confidence reposed in the candidates being misplaced, even if they wero selected _t a younger age than is. the case at present. The motion of Mr Baamc, to our mind, has a good deal to be Baid in its favour, and we hope that it will be carried.