RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 227, 22 June 1936, Page 8

RANDOM NOTES

Sidelights on Current

Events

(By Kickshaws.)

The French nation, it is declared, must save itself. We want no more outside civilising missions for a while.

Mr. Eden set out to make Europe a Paradise, and Europe has left him an Edeu.

South Africa is determined to stand by sanctions. It is .a good cape, however, that has no leaks.

“When visiting Hawke’s Bay recent ly, a friend of mine submitted a pic ture for inspection over which her household had a difference of opinion as to its value,” says “H. Bay.” “I re piled that in our district, when any information was required on any sub ject whatever, the services of Kick shaws were requisitioned, and invariab ly a. satisfactory reply was received I was then asked to send a query fo. consideration and now do so to keep faith with my friend. Incidentally, i would say that when in Napier I received my ‘Dominion’ at about «i<» o’clock in the morning, a service whicl gives a subscriber every satisfaction and is a striking tribute to the management’s enterprise. At home my dog collects ‘The Dominion’ from the gat daily at 7 a.m. The description on th picture in question is: P. F. Poole, R.A. Aust. ‘Gipsy Queen.’ From collection of T. Birchall, Esq., Ribbleton Hal! Preston, R, Hand F. Joubert Sc. L. Part”

[The question was forwarded to thv New Zealand' Academy of Fine Arts, and the following facts have been kindly provided by the secretary: “The picture described by your reader is apparently an engraving by F. Joubert of the picture, ‘Gipsy Queen,’ by P. F. Poole, R.A. P. F. Poole was born in Bristol in 1810, was elected A.R.A. in 1846 and R.A. in 1861. He died in 1879. J. F. Joubert was born in in 1810 an<l died in 1881. He was for some time in London engraving portraits an 1 other works after well-known English artists. This is very probably the same person as the F. Joubert mentioned in the letter. I could not value the engraving without seeing it.”]

In the face of the humiliating series of events that has been chronicled in Europe the last few weeks, it is at least an indication of a resolute policy for Britain that stronger defences are to be undertaken in the Mediterranean. For the last few years there have been conflicting opinions on this subject The alternative to a sea route through the Mediterranean is that of ensuring a route via Cape Town. The Mediterranean is about 2000 miles long, wit.i Malta roughly half-way. The distance can be covered in a week or eight day; ’ steaming. The alternative route r< - quires the best part of a month’s steam • ing. Obviously, if Britain retreatc i from the Mediterranean, as well »’> from sanctions, the decision would hav ; important repercussions. It woul I mean, in fact, that Britain, in time o; war, was prepared to permit, unde certain eventualities, a hostile Mediterranean Power “picking up" the Sue; Canal, Egypt, Palestine and one or tw > other places such as Malta. The bio- ■ to the prestige of Britain in that event would be considerable.

The argument in favour of abandoning the Mediterranean, and all that is would mean, is that this sea is gei ■ ting too small for naval battles. Th - place for the British Fleet is the ope t ocean. There ‘is still argument as t > which ocean, but many upholders o ' the open ocean theory cast thq.tr eye; on the Atlantic Ocean., There is room there to figbt naval engagements wltl ■ out interruption from shore aircraft, speed sledges and other irritations. Th ‘ task, though, would be to persuad'.a hostile country to fight a naval engagement where it -best suited Britain. A further argument in the often oceantheory is that the job of the British Navy is to keep open communication • within the Empire. That can be;; be done in the oceans of the world than in a bottle of sea water calle the Mediterranean. This line thought naturally would make it nece- • sary to revise all manner of problem associated with the Mediterranean. I would, in fact, admit an undispute: Italian influence over all the smalle • countries that border the Meditetranean. In time of war that sen. would be closed to the British Navy, and therefore to the British Army.

The elaborate arrangements tha. were made to view the recent ecllps - of the sun from points all over tn world indicate bow important a: - tronomers consider the event. Th marvel is that they manage to tue' into the short space of time availahi so much measurement and observation All manner of phenomena may be or. served when the sun is eclipsed tha : cannot be observed at any other time. Normally, the central portion of th--sun, tihe part that shines, is so dazzling it is impossible to see anything els<. Actually, there is nearly as much agaii; of the sun, if in fact the sun does no - extend through various mediums t considerable way to our own world. At the time of a total eclipse the par: of the sun that shines is covered by the moon, and for a brief minute < so it is possible to study the atmospher > that surrounds the sun. Ib is also possible to measure the deflection of th > path of a ray of light from a distan star passing near the sun. By thi ■ means Einstein’s famous theory been confirmed sufficiently to make ex • perts realise that there is more in th-; universe than was at first imagined.

There is one aspect of eclipses of th-; sun and the moon that is apt to be overlooked. Eclipses may be calculate:; for the past as well as for the future. If future eclipses interest the astronomer, the past eclipses interest the historian. By this means it is possible to check many historical landmarks. Thi in its turn serves as a starting-plac .> from which to confirm other events. The earliest date accurately determin ed in this way is 911 8.C., from fact.: obtained from Assyrian sources. More over, the eclipse mentioned in Amo viii, 9, was probably the one in 76-' • 8.0. At any rate, there was no eclips'visible in Samaria in 787 8.C., tffi date often considered to be the correc one. In much the same manner a pas' eclipse of the moon has been used t< indicate that our Lord was born fbre< or four years before is commonly ac cepted to be the case. Even so, then is always doubt in some cases of thi. nature owing to lack of full data.

A reader has kindly written to say that the names of the Miles quadra plets are Ann. Paul, Ernest and Michael. It is said that their brother two-year-old Gordon, when he was firs: introduced to the new battalion, was so astonished that he was unable to speak a word for a verjr long