NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15914, 11 May 1915, Page 6

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

THE DARDANELLES.

Evert other event in the campaign of 1915 is, according to Swiss opinion, overshadowed by the- attack of tho combined British and French fleets on the Dardanelles, writes Mr. A. Beaumont to the Daily Telegraph, from Basle. Whilst the German press at first tried to minimise its importance and published the short telegrams concerning the operations almost without any remark, the entrance of the Allied fleet into the passage leading up to the Sea of Marmora; has called forth pages of comment in the papers printed at Geneva and Lausanne which, it might be said, very often reflect the views of the intellectual classes of other countries. They were the first to express their full belief in tho possibility of forcing the Straits which the German press tried to deny, and they agreed with tho opiniou of British and French military experts to tho effect that the Allied fleets would soon appear before Constantinople. The impression created by this event is admittedly immense, and the taking of Constantinople by the Allies is already set down as the greatest achievement of this year. By striking at the heart of Turkey, they say, the Allies completely upset the whole military campaign of Turkey- They deliver the Suez Canal from all danger, and put an end to the Turkish menace against Egypt. So said tho Journal de Geneve at the very outset. It added that; by making themselves masters of Constantinople and the Bosphorus, tho Allies not only open up communications between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea for the export of Russian cereals, but they also give a freo passage to the Russian men-of-war, which had hitherto always found the Straits closed. Germany will find that ono of her greatest mistakes was to entangle herself with the alliance of Turkey. She has actually been playing into the hinds of the Allies.

UNIVERSITIES AND THE WAR. A tribute to the patriotism of university men was paid by Sir 'John Simon in the House of Commons in introducing a Bill to give universities and colleges powers to make statutes for purposes connected with the war. " Nowhere," he said, "has the response to the call for men been more piompt and spirited than in our ancient universities. No ono who visited them at this moment could fail to be struck by the change-which had come over them." At Oxford technical schools had been turned into military hospitals; colleges were housing soldiers instead of students; and university parks had become training grounds. The only undergraduates in active residence were those physically disqualified from military service. About two-thirds of the students who would ordinarily bo in residence at Oxford had joined the army, and he was assurred by the member for Cambridge that torresponding figures were available for Cambridge. The loss of students meant a serious loss of revenue, and tho Bill conferred upon the universities and colleges powers to suspend sinking fund repayments in recpect of capital expenditure authorised in time of peace. The Bill, tho Attorney-General' added, was permissive, and its operation was limited to the period of emergency. It would extend to the end of the year in which the war ended, or if the war ended in the second half of i the year to twclvo months after that date.

IN SOUTH-WEST AFRICA. Writing from Johannesburg in March the special correspondent of the Daily Mail said:—" General Botha's army, which probably numbers about 50,000 men, has begun its delayed campaign against Germm South-West Africa. -In all probability it will bo a long business. No part of tho Empire has undertaken a more difficult task than the Union of South Africa. Indeed, in one way the rebellion was a blessing in disguise. It stopped operations for which a few months ago, the Union was not adequately prepared. In the interval, the magnitude of the task has been bettor appreciated, and arrangements mado accordingly. General Botha- has now aeroplanes and heavy and other equipment from England, without which the advance would have been very risky. The habitable part of German South-West Africa lies in the centre of a sun-scorched, waterless, shadeless desert of shifting sand. Only those with practical experience of tins sand belt can realise tho difficulties it produces. Even at the coast towns of Luderitz Bay and Swakopmund, now in the hands of tho Union forces, every drop of water has to bo obtained from condenser plants. The desert belt varies in breadth from forty to eighty or a hundred miles., /cross it the army of invasion must carry water, fodder for animals, food supplies—in fact, every conceivable thing it needs. The mid-day heat goes up to abmt 122 degrees. The usual mid-day sanditorm is so denso fhat the next tent in camp is but a blur and the one beyond that is invisible'. The troops havo to take refuge in sweltering fonts, in which clothing beyond a spine pad, a gun helmet, olid a pair of boots is unbearable. Scores of men have been so blistered by tho sun that they have had to been sent to hospital. Tens" of thousands of veils and ' goggles' have been served out for the struggle against the sand and the glare. The horses got as thin as fence rails and dio like flies. With every breezo the dunes shift and the railway inland has to be dug out about once a day as well as rebuilt. But there is no other way of getting at the Germans, who have taken refuge in the centre of their colony. This middle stretch of country is fairly hard. It. contains water-holes and springs. In general appearance it resembles the Karoo. But on all sides.it is bounded by the sand belt. On the land side of tho Union the drtert belt is worse than ever." .

VALUE OF MARCHING SONGS. The great value of singing on tho march has always been fully recognised in every army, Plates tho report of the Naval and Military Union for 1913-14, and it is one. of the objects of the union, of which General Sir H. L. Smith-Dorrien is- president, to encourage such singing in every way possible. At Aldershot, Major-Gen-eral S. H. Loraax has presented a cup for infantry companies, and marching songs are specially included in tho competition. In certain battalions of tho Guards, regimental prizes are given to j companies for the best performance of a! , marching song when passing a given point. I There is no doubt that this part of the I movement is steadily gaining ground. It has been decided to proceed forthwith with tho preparation and issuo of a small pocket-book of marching songs, and to bring this to the notice of every commanding officer. Competitions between naval choruses, it is pointed out, ■ are increasingly difficult to arrange, but friendly rivalry between ships in port and garrison units is lencouraged in music, as in sports and other directions. The formation of a junior branch of tho union, open to officers)) training corps, boy : scouts, cadet and schools gen--1 scouts, "u under Consideration. generally," ia under Consideration.