NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13456, 5 June 1907, Page 6

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

THE WORLD'S GREAT CANALS.

There are nine great ship canals in the world, and all of these have' been built within the last 75 years. They are the Suez Canal, the Cronstadt and St. Peters-

burg Canal, the Corinth Canal, the Manchester Ship Canal; the Kaiser Wilhelm, the Elbe and Trave, the Wetland, and the two canals connecting Lake Superior and Lake Huron, between Canada and America. In a single year a greater number of ships pass through the lake canals of America than* through the Suez Canal, though there is no doubt that the latter is by far the;

most important water link in the world. It is the longest, being 90 miles from entrance to exit, and it cost more than £20,000,000 to build f About 4000 ships pass through the Suez Canal annually. It takes 18 hours for a vessel to go the entire length of the canal. ' There are no locks, and a part of the route, about two-thirds of it, is made up of a series of shallow lakes. The Cronstadt and St. Petersburg

Canal is altogether about 16 miles, including the bay channel. It is an important commercial waterway, and connects the capital of Russia with the Bay of Cronstadt. After the construction of the

Corinth Canal, which is only four miles long, a saving of 175 miles was made by; ships sailing from Adriatic ports. A part of this canal was cut through solid rock, and, short as it is,, it took nine years to build. A direct route from Manchester, England, to the Atlantic Ocean was obtained by the digging of the Manchester I Canal. From M&nchester ships, now go through the artificial waterway to the Mersey River, and from there to the open sea. This canal is fitted with hydraulic locks. Fo'r the express use and convenience of military and naval forces the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal was begun in 1887, and completed less than 10 years later. Since it

has been opened it has been found of great value to mercantile traffic. The canal is 61 miles long, and extends from Kiel, on

the Baltic, to the North Sea. The Elbe and Trave Canal is another important con-

necting link between the Baltic and North Seas. In America are three great canals, all of them links between the Great Lakes.

The Welland connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, on the Canadian side of the river. It is 27 miles long, and has 25 sets of, locks. « LORD ROBERTS* WARNING. Lord Roberts' latest pronouncement on the subject of national service is made by way of introduction to a collection of his speeches and letters on the subject just issued by Mr. John Murray. "In publishing in book form," says the field-mar-shal, " the several speeches and addresses I have been impelled to make during the past eighteen months on the unpreparedness of the country for war, it seems desirable to endeavour to clear up the doubts that have been expressed as to the .objects of the National Service League,

- and. to the .precise interpretation of the - words ' National Service' and ' Consort ' tion.'" Then comes this solemn wars-; . ing: — In the face of the great competi- , tion for world power we should indeed be ( improvident to rely solely for national security on the traditions of our naval [ superiority, and to defer oil attempt to perfect, our fighting machine until the finger of fate points irrevocably to the penalty of disaster that awaits a people who, in time of ease and prosperity, refuse to be 1 warned or to take the most ordinary precautions." If his warning is disregarded Lord Roberts promises us no uncertain doom: "If we persist in taking no count of our wider responsibilities, and in ignoring the growing naval and military development of nations which lie strategically across our line of communication, or ! whose borders are practically conterminous with our own; and if we hold on to the fallacy that any attempt to reorganise our military system is to encourage ' militarism' I think wo could hardly be surprised if we were brought not only to the verge of war itself, but to war, and war with disastrous results." In conclusion, Lord Roberts explains what he means by an army " raised by the free and uncontrolled act" of the entire nation. " It. is the

army," he says, " not of a despot, but of the nation ; and, as a nation's army, or, rather, as a nation in arms, its very nature is a warranty of peace whenever peace is

consistent with national honour and the

sacred duty of protecting the Fatherland."