TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 62, 11 September 1911, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

The establishment of an aerial post between London and The Aerial Windsor not only *&• Post. pr«e«nt« an advance iii the useful application of the flying machine, but also shows that t England is awaking to tlte possibilities of higher development in aviation. A regular service is the tru© test of any means of locomotion. It is not enough to fly in fine weather j one must fly in all weathafts, except such as would bar land or sea locomotion. The aeroplane ie rapidly prcgreasing to the stage whsn it may take th« air in high winds, in rain, in anything but a storm. The achievem«nte of MM. Beaumont and V«Mn«B in the Daily Mail aerial voyage v when on. two days there were blustering squall.'' and *«t weather, is sufficient to inspire the increasing body of ambitious airmen, flying is still a matter of «xtraordifwry skill on the part of the pilot and of staunchness and reliability on \he part of the machine. A failure in either spells disaster. But there are indications that the problem of automatic stability may at no distant futui* be solved. The Wright Brother* have .«pent a good deal of tbjk Iqiturajtimc

since they retired f»m active flight in attempting t*> devke some apparfttUß for almost instantaneously TOnwettaff the balance oi an «eropl&«« in move' ment through an inwibstMrtUl medium . full of tinAeeh abysses, in what are technically known as "pocket*," The bhrd does all this by inetinct, And ilw super'airmen, such as Vedrhw*, Otaliafii "Wnitp, and Bewtment, seem to have ac quh<ed something like a *imila,r p.wer. Thcif own tftorits t>f the perils of tht «'"r go to prore this. Until the asm plane ftt-iaihs veMtjn*ble automatic bla. bility it will, be only a fair weather tti&ehihe fov the fimatenr. It ih ft difficult pfcftlem, arwl cabte intimation of its soitttion will have to be accepted with resirmtion until fullcT account* arrive. Meanwhile it ia t-ottp fiientaty on th« promws of the art to rater to to-dfty's cabl* av»«ge on the «6riftl post. Oaly «r» of three aviators, Mr. ttustnv UhWel, wm Ntei* to set' through frofti Hendoo to Windeot. The other aviakfl* were blocked by the «ferong wittd. Mr. Ho.m«l c*n-i<»d a pretty Iwge mail, thoagh, of 9SS) tettere and p<*tcard*. The postmen of the air have some *to6wb ix> vwrk of! in a hundred th&t«and tetters, whicb are said, k> be fewa.it ing favonrable wetbthev for delivery. TV i* dtew the mail tr*i:\ 6tt<l ih* motor-cikv &hd th« humble letter carrier, who plods hit wotury w«y along <our thoTOughfarw, -ate itot yet to be superseded.

Mr. J. H, Gttaeem, chairman ol th« Auckland Harbour Frisndly Boa^d, wk*o name AuckUndeffl, i« {airly tMHilku 1 its tJw pe^te of Wellington, h»B come to the cipitftj, h« h*fi seen th« port, «*vl 1« lia« been' reasonably conquered by kindflMii, wiiiwfut Sr&judiee. H* has frankly admitted that its Atwskkhd So**d oam lewn something fi'em lie VVdHnffton. contftnipenwy, with | * pwdonfcble qaalincation thut Welling ton c«m learn something from Auckland. The board here does not claim to li*ve a monopoly of wisdom, and it haa displayed no wiih to glorify itself by comparison* with thb Northern body. The iwcfently m«d» were not tha eeeking of th* Wellington Board in tli« Rwst itfttAhtfe, At all times the local chairman (Mr. Fletcher) | wid hi# effleers hftve been nnWlling to coithtenance controversy which might in any way tend to prompt unfriendly fMuig between the *i«ter cities. Ew>h ha« it« own destiny to work out tor iteelf. bnt ©ach h»« & dak/ to th© othet for the good of New Zealand. UnfortanAtely m««y mkundet. «ta.nding« and euipictons have disturbed the \m<& between the two busy, pragreseive cities. This wag natural enough in the old «l»yi when AbcWmWl ! wa« much more thin twenty kmm' travelling remote from Wellington. There, m little wetnie now Fot thai •pint of distrust which ehwtld have «x- j pired decades ago. At the opening of the Main Trunk railway tho hope wm expressed that the people of the tw& citiee would «oon have a better understanding of ons another, and we dave no doubt that the power of the exttfett train lias puriwd Away much bi«*. Such j visit* a* Mr, Gon«on *nd hii colleaaoe, Mr. Alison, h*ve wade to t3to city fie'lp toward* that harmony and spirit of tolerance which the bent citieenG of Auckland und Wellington hope to ««?© fltmly estftbltehed. There tt ground between. Wellington and Auckland oft which the btwiijiw men of the two cities meet in competition, but it i« possible to have*h«&Hhy rivalry, on fair line§, All power to the hands of the b&yts of Island Bay ! They have I 1 Boys as ghßed upon that little Beautifiers. island, gaunt, bare, bleak, a grey and yellow smudge on the blue of the bay, and they ha-v« resolved to put totne verdant raiment by thoee sea-worn and windbitten ecarps. They appealed to the City Council for help, and they have been gladdened by a gift of a hundred hardy young plants. The aid plight of thte isfahd ww» set mil in The Post a few months ag&. History wa* mad» there long ago in the wtiTiw days of 1 the Maoris. It wae a stronghold, but even the intervening sea did not save the defenders from daaghter. The ; ««nd« where the HtWe children now play were once tinged red. Years ago greenery clothed toe rock, bill improving man introduced the omnivorous goat to ky the place waste. It i* good now to hare boya trying heartily to atone for the blonder df their elder*. W« hope to see the 6XfefM}i(l« of thew ytmng beautifierft widely copied h«re attd In other part* of New Zealand. The boy . destructive has been a very common affliction, regarded a* more or less in- j evitftble, but the boy creative is » refreshing surprise in thi* oart oi the world. May he flourish and prosper, advancing from success to triumph! He has predecessors in America. An article in The Port a few week* back showed how lads in some American towns were 1 bandi&g thewweltw together for the advantage of the community, by planting ftowefs and trees in waste spates. Wellington «uppliee a splendid opportunity to the boy to prove father to the man in the*bult of beaittiy,