TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 95, 22 April 1912, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

If the nerve-shaking disaster that happened off Newfoundland Saving Life lias emphasised xme tiling at Sea. more than another, it is the fact that human ingenuity, in all its development, has not yet devised an adequate life-saving apparatus for tho ealvation on a large scale of paseengeiy from, a stricken Jin&r. Human invention has not in any souse neglected this line of activity, but it m a cold fact that beyond the modern lifeboat, the collapsible boat, and the email raft, nothing hae yet been planned that will meet such a tremendous emergency as the sinking of tho Titanic. Large rewards have been offered in the endea» your to stimulate the search for capacious safeguards in times of wreck, out thus far the specifications of candidate* have not met the case. There was a considerable number of entries for the Pollok prize at the Paris Exhibition of 1900, but tho ideas submitted werejeoneidered so poor that the large emolumeirt was withheld. A New Zealand inVenter brought out a non-sinkable liteboat with which he has travelled to Europe in the hope of 1 the authorities accepting hie design. He, ioo, had de* signs, (it is understood) ' on the Pollok prize ; but co far that prize has not been awarded to anyone. The raft system seems to have impressed experts as the more effective means of saying large numbers of pnssengers, and it must be said that in the ca6e of the Penguin, which went down in such leiTiblft weather off our own coast some yeara since, the rail* were the m«ans of rescuing a number of survivois who mufct otherwise have perished ; and thi6 in the (ace of tempestuous weather and a rockrugged coast line. In such frecaing and bitter lutiUidea as those in which the Tit»uic weat to Jier dogju £t it. dsts

that anything like a protracted exposure to th<? biting cold would meu» death to the occupant® of a raft, and again, there would not be much chance for such a vehicle of safety out. m the open Ailantic, with the league-long rolleis, mountain high, driving before a. gale. So meanwhile the sheet anchor in this matter of open ocean disasters is tho triumphant .wireless, und its logical aeaista-nt, ftu extended reliable system of life-saving, is etill in the brain of the inventor. In the case of the Titanic, of course, it seems abundantly clear that there were not sufficient boate, and to-day's messages show conclusively that had it not been for confidence of many of the passengeo* that the steamer would not sink many more Uves would have been saved. \ No appeal to New Zealanders in aid of the victims of The Kindness of misfortune or disNew Zealanders. aster hae been made in vain. This 1 country has come 6plendid records of generosity which Britain, Australia (when certain States were afflicted by floods or drought) and other countries have warmly acknowledged. Britain did not specially call to New Zealand for funds to help the women and children who have suffered much from the great coal strike. The mere reporting of their cad plight, was enough for tho openhearted people of this country, and money was gladly contributed. Up to last week a sum of about £3500 had been sent to Britain, and more is to go. In this total Dunedin is admirably represented by nearly £2000, of which some hundreds of pounds were raised by shilling subscription. Indeed, iv all districts, there i» evidence that many people of small means have cheerfully practised some self-denial for the «■• ' lort of sufferers in the Old Counti Wellington has not yet figured prominently in the movement, but something has been done here. Those who wished to see the oity higher up in the list of givers may feel a little disappointed, but they have to remember that th« people here have had very many calls on them during the past two years. In this matter one has to look not so much on any single city as or- the whole country, which has proved itself kind in a good cause, but in this general tribute to the good-heartedneee of the population as a whole Dunedin is entitled to special mention on uhis occasion. Just after the southern city had handed in about £2000 for the victims of the coal strike came the news of tho ( Titanic calamity. At onco some energetic Dunedin people started to make arrangements to assist in the relief of families bereft of breadwinners. British shipping during the past few ... , years has undergone Shipping in changes in administraEvolution. tion as radical as the design and construction of the ships themselves. Two straws in the form of cablegram* show in which direction the wind Bet*. They are the acquisition by the New Zealand Shipping Company of four Houlder steamers, and the passing of two Orient liners to foreign flags. The destinies of British shipping are getting into fewer hands day by day, so that it would seem that in time the possibility of one or two companies only controlling it is not at all remote. While human nature is as. it is, that contingency does not necessarily bode well for the travelling and business world. On the other hand, great combinations, although designed to increase profits by internal economies of management, do not always result in big dividends. The International Mercantile Marine Company New Jersey, which includes the White Star line, has a paid-up capital of £20,332,000, with £15,615,000 debentures, a fleet book-valued at £40,000,000, and has paid no dividend. The loss of the Titanic will not improve its position or prospects. Not only is the sailing ship being practically evolved out of existence, but steamers are becoming daily more and more obsolete, and the crack liner of ten years ago is considered out of date to-day. Shipping during 1911, and so far as this year ha* gone, has been generally lucrative for th 6 owners, calling into profitable service steamers that would have been sold to foreigners or broken up ; but lean years may be foreseen by the groat owners, and they are accordingly providing against them by eliminating competition and disposing of non-payable, "coal-eating," or out-of-date tonnage to toreignere who work under nioro elastic regulations than themselves. Spain is endeavouring to develop a gijea-t mercantile marine by the aid of subsidies, and it is possible that the huge British combines, which are and are yet to be, may meet with keen competition from hitherto unexpected quarters. JUerelopments, then, of a most interesting character in the ship ping world are to bo looked for during IQI9