NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17873, 30 August 1921, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

A SOLUTION FOR IRELAND.

Addressing a gathering of the South African community in London, on his return from Ireland, General Smuts said that in his opinion the great problem in Ireland was soluble. All must help, if there wae a bitter atmosphere, to create a better one. They must all set less store by antipathy, and more by human goodwill and in the determination to" wipe out what had been a real stain on the record of the Empire. If that was done they would succeed. He said the problem was soluble because he had .seen it solved in his own country in circumstances not so embittered as in Ireland but certainly difficult. If ever the problem of the subjection of one people to another presented hopeless feelings it was in South Africa, but in the spirit of give and take and surrendering something to the point of view of the other side they solved that problem, and South Africa today was one of the happiest of the countries in the Empire. Sacrifice was the best thing a human being could do. General Botha taught them that lesson in South Africa.

THE WHEAT OUTLOOK. The Australian wheat crops are making satisfactory progress, and the amount of moisture now ,in the ground practically assures the position until the end of September, says the Australian Banking Record. Sufficient rains in October form the main desideratum for a good yield. The area under crop in Australia may be reckoned at about 15 per cent, increase over last season, and even if the high average yields per acre then obtained are not repeated, it should be easily possible to obtain a similar aggregate yield. The monetary value of the crop is another matter. The most important factors in the world's markets at present are the supplies available in the United States and Canada, as the principal exporting countries, together with the position of American exchange when conversion of dollars into sterling is concerned. On June 20 the Chicago quotation for September delivery was 120 cents, which would be equivalent at par of exchange to about 5s per bushel, and the, market is now at the same level. Sterling prices, however, receive support from the present level of exchange, but an improvement in exchange wOuld again tell in the opposite direction. In the realisation of wheat for export, two important factors to be reckoned with are the impoverished condition of Europe and the absence of speculative demand. So far as can be judged at present, 6s per bushel is as much as can be assumed as the probable f.o.b. value of Australian wheat, and assuming that the quantity available for export next year is the same as this year, the value for shipment would be about 28 millions, instead of 42 millions sterling.

INDUCING RAINFALL. The protracted drought in Britain has revived interest in methods designed to stimulate rainfall. Any expiriments continued diligently for a few weeks (a very short time for a scientific research) were certain to be followed by rain, and if the rain came in reason, by unreasonable gratitude, says the London Times. But we should have more confidence in the efficacy of any method did it appear to be successful in a rainless country. The first objection to all the methods of rain-making to which credence has been given is the absence of evidence as to the physical sequence. Very careful experiments have been conducted in laboratories, where temperatures, vapour-tensions, the presence or absence of dust, the electrical and other physical conditions can be estimated and varied. But as yet no one has succeeded in determining the precise conditions under which invisible water vapour condenses to visible mist or the droplets of mist coalesce to be precipitated as rain. The presence of some kind of nuclei—either minute particles of dust, or " ions" charged with negative electricity—seems an essential condition. As sunlight, Xrays, and other electrical discharges ionize saturated air, some success might be obtained by electric discharges from cable kites. It is claimed that the method has actually been employed in Queensland. But the vital question of cost has to be dealt with. Sir Napier Shaw worked out the energy rconsumption required to clear an aerodrome of fog; it came to 500 tons of coal per hour. Another scientific man has calculated the energy required to produce a rainfall of lin. over a square mile, and found it to be 50 million horse-power hours. Until a new cheep source of energy is discovered, it is plain that artificial rain-making, even if practical, would be prohibitive in cost. 14 would be cheaper to construct huge systems of irrigation.

POISON GAS IN WAR. The use in war of poison gas is discussed in the final report by the committee on the limitation of armaments, appointed by the League of Nations Union. The committee states that it recognises that "it is impracticable to restrict the progress of scientific thought and discovery which might be applied to warfare or be diverted to warlike purposes," and "that international prohibition would not prevent a nation determined to go to war from securing the initial advantages of surprise which might be won by some concealed or secret process of manufacture." It is doubtful of the efficacy of international agreement without somo system of control vrith power of inspection, which self-governing States would probably be unwilling to tolerate. The most that can be hoped fof on this score is the institution by the League of a code prohibiting such "gross abominations as the poisoning of wells the use of explosive or expanding bullets, the sinking at sight of neutral vessels! and regulating the conduct to be observed toward prisoners, sick and wounded, and non-combatants. The committee considers that the League could ensure that individuals guilty of breaches of the code were brought to justice when hostilities ceased, and declare nations uncivilised when infractions of the code were proved against them. This procedure, they believe, would ensuie observance of the code. They also point out that, although it is impracticable to restrict the progress of scientific thought and discovery applicable to war, much could in practice be done by promoting free intercourse of scientific thought among nations, and especially by interpreting article 8 of the Covenant to require members of the League to register all new discoveries applicable to warfare,.