Topics of the Day.

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume IX, Issue 427, 15 July 1913, Page 1

Topics of the Day.

(By Bystander),

An agitation has started m EngI land m favour of being prepared i for aerial defence. And it is time ! I Whilst Colonel Seely, the British Secretary for War — who, by-the-i bye is a seceder from the Unionibt ranks — is relying upon aeroplanes for the defence of the country, Germany has, it is known, forty huge airships, and perhaps more. An airship of the Zeppelin type opposing an aeroplane is like a Dreadnought opposing a torpedo boat. An article that recently appeared m the .Review of lieviews, written by two experts on the question, Messrs T. R. Macmechin and Carl Diensbach, threw a lurid light On this new addition to th*. horrors of war. They state : Germany is adding nine units to it* fleets of air fighters, and it is probable that this number will be doubled within another twelve months. Thiß is what Germany has achieved. During target practice, armour piercing tosis were made. Armour such as that ordinarily used was cut through. This was done while the airship was m fullj[f-ight, and at a height that made it nearly impossible for the airship to be hit from the ground. Now let us see what the airships will do. Bomb-dropping from airships includes one that sheds a bright light. This bomb serves the double purpose of setting fire to any inflammable material, and furnishing sufficient light for tbe airship to see the object on which they wish to centre their shots. Another bomb of German manufacture explodes high m air, and throws out quantities of dense heavy smoke. 'Ihis smoke spreads m a great cloud, and gives to tbe airship cover through which to escape from danger. A trailing torch will spread Hames through a village or ripening grain fields, and an active machine gun will prevent any attempt to extinguish the fires. By means of hooks at the end of strong wire cables, small structures will be oyerturned on railway tracks, gas tanks will be exploded, power houses rendered useless, railway terminals destroyed, and such general havoc worked that the > population will have to move out of the territory. Mammoth airßhips with __l>oo miles radius of activity, will operate independently ot the army. They will fly hundreds of miles, and raid territory that would otherwise remain untouched by the hand of war. ln face of such tremendous lorces as this, Britain's aeroplanes appear a farce, and it is well that Germany and Britain appear now ou beiter terms, lt is very evident that Mr Wills' work of fiction, ** War m tbe Air," is not so far fetched as it originally appeared.

The subscription that is being raised m England to retain the Crystal Palace, and lo which lhe King and Queen have each given £100, diawa aiu.n_.on to a historic edifice, 'lhe original Gryßtal Palace was raised for the first ex* hibition of 1851. The Prince Albert who wab the originator of the scheme, happened to ba walking m the magnificent conservatory attached to the Duke of .Devonshire's mansion at c^ats worth m Derbyshire. He entered into conversation with the head gardener, and told him that he did not know what form of building the exhibition would takß. The gardener, Joseph PaxtoM, looked up and said, " Make it like this." His sugges : tion was carried out, and eventually he was knighted. After the exhibition was closed, the building was removed to Sydenham, and has been a source of enjoyment to visitors ever since. The fireworks display carried out by Messrs Brock used to be a great event. To show the dimensions of the building, 1 may meu.ion that I was once there when 80,000 people were present.