TOPICS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 112, 13 May 1914, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY

A brief telegram from New Plymouth has mentioned that Taranaki '' several ' AucklandIronsand. ers interested in iron and steel metallurgy have discovered a process for producing from the Taranaki ironsand excellent iron at a cost not exceeding that of the best iron produced in England. An ex« perimental plant will be erected at New Plymouth, and it is anticipated that considerable capital will be employed subsequently in erecting the latest type of blast furnace to deal with a big output." The reference to "blast furnace" suggests that the inventors have a briquetting process. The hope of success by a consolidation of the finely divided ore engaged the late Mr. E. M. Smith for many a year. Certainly many peopie outside expectant New Plymouth will be eager for more information about the venture, and the workihg of any experimental plant will be studied keenly. There is much ore awaiting treatment by any process which will bear favourable comparison, in cost, with English methods, but the deposits are not nearly so enormous as they have been built up in the popular imagination. At certain points there are considerable accumulations, concentrated by the action of wind or waves, or both, but a careful survey shows that the iron* sand tract is much more remarkable for its length than for its breadth or depth, riio proportion of impurities varies in different localities, but the residual ore is uniform in quality. Economic exploitation of the blue-black beaches needs more than a t furnace, successful from the metallurgical viewpoint. There are other factors, which altogether call for exceptional skill, but the difficulties are not insuperable. It is a hard task, but it is practicable. The ore has been reduced by at least one process—partlyelectrical—during the past few years. The succession of by-election reverses that has damaged the Liberal-Labour British Liberal Gov-Vote-splitting, vernment's prestige has been largely due to triangular contests, and the consequent vote-splitting of Liberal and Labour candidates. Unfortunately, ' Unionist minority wins, arising from the same cause, are i likely to continue. Efforts on the Liberal side to induce Labour candidates to stand aside have hitherto been unavailing, and now, in the campaign for North-East Derbyshire, the boot is on the other foot. The vacancy occurs this time not in a Liberal but in a Labour seat, and the Liberals, reciprocating Labour tactics, are putting forward a candidate. At the last election in 1910 the deceased Labour member, Mr. W. E. Harvey, beat the Unionist candidate (Dr. J. Court) in a, dual contest by 1750 votes, out of a- total poll of 13,926. ( Therefore, on the figures, the Unionist's chance in a triangular fight, on the first-past-the-post principle, is very good. If ho wins, the world will be told that the country has con-

demned Home Rule; ahd, though this argument has no foundation in fact, tho damage to the niana of the Government will be real enough. Mr. J. Ramsay Macdonald describes the Liberal retaliation as throwing down the gauntlet to Labour, ahd declares in effect that it removes all hope of reducing the triangular conflicts. So much tlie worse tor Liberalism and Labour. "How it feels to be blind" is the title _ of an article by Mr. C. Books for Arthur Pearson in the the Blind;. Royal Magazine. This . well-known philanthropist is &lowly losing his sight, but Ins cheerfulness is hot failing. He does not .complain about his own plight; he has described his own feelings in the hope of_ arousing sympathy for others. His wish is. to obtain the aid of kind folk in the Dominions Overseas for the Na tional Institute for the Blind. This organisation, which has the services of good-hearted, active men and women, i« now making a world-wide appeal for those whose reading has to be done by the sense of touch. It is a call for books of the Braille type to give helpful knowledge for the earning of a living and pleasant entertainment for the hours of leisure. Louis Braille was a French magician who opened up a new worid for the blind and so made his name immortal. "It must be evident to you that lives so trammelled as are those of the sightless, cannot fail to find an unspeakable joy and resource in the ability to read," says Mr. Pearson. "It is not > too much to say that the Emancipation of the Blind began with the introduction of embossed reading. Their pleasure and their opportunities of making good in the world will increase as this reading matter becomes cheaper and more widely disseminated among them." Even a shilling can buy a small Braille book in London and bo spread sunshine to some dark corner. It is a chance to do a kindness for unfortunate men and women, boys nnd girls, who do need those Bmlle books. Subscriptions should be addressed to Mr. C. A. Pearson, honorary treasurer, National Institute' for the Blind, 206, Great Portland-street, London,

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