NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 139, 8 March 1929, Page 10

NOTES OF THE DAY

Kingsford Smith to-day will take the air on his next great adventure, a record-time flight from Australia to England in the famous Southern Cross. New Zealanders now have a. personal interest in the,, fortunes of this capable airman, the first to achieve the entire’ crossing of the Pacific and of the treacherous Tasman. Listeners-in generally may not be able to follow his flight with the same ease as they did when he was crossing and recrossing the Tasman, but no doubt arrangements have been made for relaying his messages. In one sense the Australia to England flight is'less hazardous than the Pacific. With the exception of one or two fairly, long sea hops; he will'be in closer touch with the land throughout his. journey. On the other hand, while he had a long stretch of open air on the Pacific flight, his journey to. England will be fraught with the dangers of mountainous country over which at times his heavy machine, with its limited “ceiling,” must pass. Should he achieve the success he deserves, he will be entitled to be acclaimed, as Lindbergh, the, American air hero, declares he is now, the greatest airman of his time. .■ * ♦ ♦ ■ '

1 ■ . Apparently anxious to ■be perfectly sure of his ground, the Minister, of Education now says that before committing himself to a definite statement of his intentions regarding the junior high school question, he will invite the executiy.es of the New Zealand Educational Institute, the Secondary Schools’ Association, and the Technical . Schools’ Association to discuss it with’ him.' Mr. Atmore probably has been made aware of certain differences of opinion between these three bodies as to whether the junior high school should be part of ' the primary or of the secondary departments of the education system. ’ t hese differences may be due to honest conviction as to their educational merits, or they may have arisen from a certain professional jea ousy. However that may be,-it is to be hoped that the Minister will not be tempted to compromise on a question so fundamentally important to the future of our educational system. He ought by this time to have formed his own opinion. It is admitted, of course, that ways and means enter largely into the determination of the matter, but these considerations should not prevent him from making a frank and courageous statement of his opinion whether the junior high school system is sound or not. . /

txr an b e . doubt that the recent violent explosions at -Woolwich Arsenal were sufficiently ■ serious .to assume almost the proportions of a catastrophe. The explosive in a fuse, although small in quantity, is one of the most powerful known to science. In any bulk it is capable of doing very extensive damage. Extraordinary precautions are always taken to ensure that in the event of a small explosion it is virtually impossible.for it to extend to the dimensions of a catastrophe. In fact, short of culpable negligence, it is difficult to understand how such a wholesale series of explosions could have occurred. During the last few years there have been all too many scares of fire and explosion at Woolwich Arsenal, and it is no secret ‘ that in many cases they have been attributed to Bolshevistic agencies Only a few months ago avowed Bolsheviks were ordered to leave the arsenal. Phis in itself, apart from giving a curious ifisight into he inner working of one of Britain’s great munition factories, showed that the atlthoriiiaa had a-nod reaacin to L» unwsu