NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15930, 29 May 1915, Page 6

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

BELGIUM'S KING.

"When the reign of Albert I. began everything led to the hope that it would pass in a tranquil and serene prosperity; and now, after several happy years, the abominable war and invasion broken upon our country," said the Belgian Minister at a meeting held in London on April 8, in connection with the" birthday of his king. " The pacific prince became a warlike king. He placed himself at the hand of his troops and never left thorn. He. lives in the centre of the army and makes himself one with it He shares .with- his heroic soldiers the fatigues of the, campaign and the laurels conquered on tho battlefields. Duty was immediate and imperious. A neutral nation by the desire of Europe, we had to defend our neutrality and our independence. We owed it to ourselves; we owed it to the Powers who had imposed upon and guaranteed to us neutrality. There was no hesitation or giving way. In order to keep faith with our honour, to preserve that liberty which is as dear as life itself to us, we opposed without fear the most formidable military Power in the world.

I saw the king on the tragic night when this opposition was decided upon. He was the picture of calm duty, stern and resolute. Since then heUias never ceased to give his people the example of calm constancy. United to do honour to the king, we cannot separate from him in our thoughts the queen, who has shed upon all sufferings the grace of her smile, and the perfume of ha charity, and the royal children, of whom the 'eldest, the young Duke of Brabant,. has just entered one of our most valorous regiments acclaimed by the troops."

"TELEPHONING" FOR BULLETS.

War is a stimulus to science, and this is reflected very strikingly in matters pertaining to the relief of the wounded. The search for and extraction of fragments of shells is no simple matter, although surgical endeavour has been facilitated by the perfection of the X-rays. But these are insufficient. A bullet may bo located speedily, but the difficulty is to ascertain its precise position by the probe and lancet. As a result of study and investigation, a simple and effective method of discovery has been perfected, which may he described as telephoning for bullets. Ordinary telephonic receivers are clamped over the 6urgeon's head, one wire being led to a carbon plate, and the second wound round the knife, probo, needles, forceps, or whatever instrument is used. With this implement 'the search is made, and directly it comes into contact with, say, a bullet, a distinct click is heard on the telephone. If the instrument is rubbed across tho surface of the buried object a rattle is observed, and by following this clue it is possible to withdraw the bullet or fragment of metal. The idea Is by no means new, inasmuch as it was employed for the first time during the Boer war; but the present campaign has served,to bring it to a high state of perfection.

THE SUBMARINE DANGEK. The question of the protection of liners against?* submarines is dealt with by a) correspondent in the London Tiroes. * "J landed at Tilbury from a White Star steamer which brought me from Teneriffe," ho says. " Coming up the, Channel there was little • to ;give tho idea that a. great war was being waged. We, saw a. few destroyers and gunboats, and some minesweepers in the distance, ' ( but the traffic' was proceeding r as ■ usual and • the ' Downs were.full of shipping," Our 300- passengers were perfectly calm. We know that every: prudent precaution had; been taken by those responsible—' provisioned and', swung out,, lifebelts distributed, watertight doors all closed, • and at night all lights were shuttered and l bells muffled. Thecaptain (a smart officer), while he aaid ho no wish to ',*«•, a, Bubmarine, added ;

'I am not going, if attacked, to take our fate lying down. We have two 4.7 guns on the poop served by a. trained crew. We have & strong prow, and' I can .manoeuve my ship very rapidly, and I think if we are attacked it may be worse for the submarine, and if we are torpedoed I calculate that our watertight compartments ano? our cargo will .keep us afloat some hours at least, and .enable us to get into a place of safety.' My object in writing this letter is to urge that our cross-Channel steamers and our liners should be armed with a gun—fore and aft. The submarine commander fears nothing so much as a gun. Ho knows that his . craft is very frail. As he ranges himself up alongside a ship, as he must do to fire his torpedo, he must present an excellent target, and the chances' are if the ship attacked is armed the submarine will be sunk. He never attacks a destroyer or a gunboat, because they are armed. Underwater bell signals are now generally adopted to warn ships of their approach to a lightship. These signals can be heard through a telephonic receiver 12 or 14 miles. If so, the 'swish' of a submarine going through the water and the 'thud' of her propellers might bo heard four or five miles. Our ships might be* fitted with temporary telephonic rece'vors, which they could suspend over the side when in a danger zone. I think this idea is one capable of being worked out by si practical electrician. A submarine submerged turns slowly and with difficulty, and if a ship is warned she ought to bo I able to get out of the way."