COSMIC INFLUENCES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 3 May 1938, Page 8

COSMIC INFLUENCES

I L'o The Editor!

y. Sir.—We have now reached the end of the first four months in 1938, and h- are entering the month of May. This month is always deeply interesting to me. seeing that my birthday falls on n 3rd May. s. To-morrow I expect to celebrate my 80th birthday, which, of course, is a d- rather notable occasion, as well as a pleasant surprise, for which I should be, and am, profoundly thankful to Divine Providence. But I wish at present to briefly re- _ ter to certain cosmic factors, aspects, causes and consequences, which have j providentially occurred during the last i four months and have more or less strikingly affected this country and all others on this earth. The planetary positions relative to each other, as well as in relation to our earth, the moon and the sun, have during the whole period been very specially congregated, and closely con- j i- joined in their aspects in one and the ; 1, same quarter of our solar system as I is viewed from the earth; and more esir | pecially during the last three months. ! During this period the major planets—e Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus—--11 have been closely aspected with the s sun and each other, and have played ° the most conspicuous part, but the lf moon and other factors (especially meteorites and minor planets) have ens I tered into the equation, giving rise to l > the appearance of an unusual number " of large sunspots (as they are erron®j eously called. The general effect on our earth and 8 i its atmosphere has been very unusuaie; ly marked. Earthquakes and tremen- ’; dous storms have taken place. Both ‘ i electric storms and storms of hail, rain ‘ and wind have been unusually prevalent and powerful in many countries, j And then New Zealand has registered i a large share of mishaps, accidents and *! disasters, as well as phenomenal rain- , storms and freakish floods. Everybody j! is aware of the very trying spells of intensely hot weather we had during the. summer months, alternating with very -cold snaps, and foggy weather, so perplexing to aviators. Careless people soon forget such happenings, but some of the most recent cloud bursts, floods and railway disasters are still quite fresh in memory, and need to be accounted for in calmer moments. Think for a moment of only a few of the most serious occurrences, and of those nearest home. On 19th January strong earth tremors brought down chimneys in Wel- ! lington Cfty, and in many parts of the ; Wairarapa. And the cables about that ' time reported heavy storms in England. , I Jupiter was then closely approaching conjunction with the sun. On 19th February the Kopuawhara cloud burst aisaster, near Gisborne ? caused 22 deaths, to say nothing of . damage to property; Mars and Saturn , being then in close conjunction. Cali- . j fornia about the same time experienced much worse cloud bursts and heavt der floods, causing about 300 deaths, t and much desolation, rendering many , thousands homeless. The planet Mercury was then near Jupiter. Venus had just passed conjunction with the sun, and Mars and Jupiter were not far apart. The combined influence of these " planets, barticularly of Mars and of !Saturn (known as the malefics by the ancients) was much in evidence throughout March, particularly about the time of the Ratana yailway train smash on 26th March, and it was then complicated with many other factors, too numerous and subtle to be described in detail at present. The most glaring ; and powerful of these was the actual conjunction of Saturn with the sun on 29th March. It will be remembered that in February and March intensest summei heat prevailed in New Zealand and Australia. The intensity on several occasions was reported to be unprecedented. In New South Wales not a blade of grass was to be seen, and the drought destroyed hundreds of thousands of sheep and cattle. At the same time there was in England one of the severest . epidemics ever known of foot and mouth disease among cattle, and in New Zealand eczema became terribly epidemic among sheep, causing heavy losses to many farmers. The influence of Mars on metals has long been known. Its effect on iron and steel is traditional. and all modern metallurgists, and chemists are familiar with the results of temperature variations on the strength of metals. They have even prepared elaborate tables of figures, showing the precise coefficient of expansion and contraction under heat and cold, especially as concerns iron and steel for machinery, engines, and structural purposes. And who shall say that these cosmic causes operating from Mars. Jupiter and Saturn, plus the electric potential prevailing at that particular time and locality, had nothing to do with the disastrous train derailment and smash at Rataira? There is really very much evidem*-e that looks in this direction, had I room to enumerate the well known facts. The Hon Mr Sullivan. Minister of Railways, published a long list of railway mishaps already during this year. In about three months he showed that over a ‘core of the mishaps were due to derailment trains. I contend that most of these could be traced to distinctively cosmic causes, and especially to the- planetary influences and electrical variations at which Lhave so briefly hinted. That sweeping and very unusual electrical st.rms have been in evidence during the last few months and even * during the last few weeks, especially 1 throughout April, none can deny. There * has been 1 much concrete and tangible 1 evidence of this, in the Nelson district, and throughout New Zealand 1 Everybody knows that there were re- 1 markable displays on Easter Sunday. F and the Saturday before of the South- - ern Lights, known as the Aurora Aus- f tralis. Jn many parts of the northern h hemisphere the Aurora Borealis was 1 seen and reported, showing that the V whole earth has been abnormally af- f fected electrically, from some unusual t cause. And what cause has been, or o can be. assigned for such electric and li atmospheric disturbances other than s the planetary and other cosmic in- h fluences and factors to which I am drawing attention’ At Anatolia in n Turkey, six villages were wiped out by c earthquakes. Q The cloud bursts and phenomenal n rainfalls and floods in the North Island a stand out as landmarks in the history ri of meteorology since European occupation. And the terrible cloud burst at i and around the French Pass on 19th w April, has been so graphically describ- b ed through "The Mail" that Nelsonians cl can never forget the havoc and trag- a edy. ../ n But the heaviest rainfalls and severest floods during April have occurred in the neighbourhood of Napier and

Hastings. Twelve inches of rain in 48 hours were reported. A depth of over 10 feet of water overwhelmed the Esk Valley locality, and a depth of three feet of water inundated the whole of the level country in the neighbourhood of Clive Napier was completely isolated by an inundation strikingly resembling the deluge spoken of in Bible history. All the phenomena of Nature I have now so racialy referred to can only be classed as extraordinary, and they can only be fully accounted for on astronomic and providential principles. In a very literal sense “the Heavens do rule.” During my brief period of earth life. l have witnessed many •of Nature's wonders, geologically and otherwise, but I never before observed terrestrial changes which were more clearly traceable to the general and particular influences of man's cosmic environment. —I am. etc., JOSEPH TAYLOR, j Nelson, 2nd May. •