JUST A FARCE.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 49, 3 April 1914, Page 6

JUST A FARCE.

BIG GUN PRACTICE. ON THE AUSTRALIAN CRUISERS. THE RAILWAY TRAGEDY. From Our Special Correspondent. SYDNEY, March 28. While the flagship Australia and the other ships of the first Australian fleet unit were away . down south at Storm Bay, in Tasmania, glowing accounts of the flagship's excellent shooting were received, in Sydney. And it seemed only right and proper that the; flagship should to the point of elimination, the. other ships of the fleet. But, with the return of. the fleet to Sydney, what, a. different complexion is [put upon the matter by the true-stories of the shooting which each ship's company tells! On board the cruisers Melbourne and Encounter, the battle practice appears to have been a farce; at any rate it was a hopeless muddle. In this evolution, the ship is supposed to be engaging, not an immobile unmanouvred target, but an astute, tactful enemy under, as far as possible, actual warfare conditions, , • In the case of the Melbourne it is said that almost immediately after she opened fire, her electrical firing circuit was disconnected, and resort had to be made to the old-fashioned percussion tubes. It would haA r e taken but a few seconds to -restore the electric circuit, and a hueand cry fpr the responsible persons was made, but that individual could not be found art time. On the Encounter, the chances of a good record Ayere spoilt by the amazing blundering of the '/spotters." Her shooting' WaS magnificent, but the spottersj ,wljq, with binoculars, are supposed to-watch the shots strike; evidently mistook misses for hits, when in reality they were aimed too high. And thus inaccurate shooting at the wrong range was allowed to go on. These errors of course have not depreciated:: the excellent shooting made by the Australia, but many of the members of .the.crews of the-fleet consider that the, to them, deliberate spoiling of the chances of the cruisers was another effort tQ make the Australia appear to be an indispensable adjunct to Australia, at a -time when there are many who are" ready to make political capital out of her if they get a chance. AUSTRALIAN GIRL'S RIDE. A message from Albury, the border town between New South Wales and Victoria on the railway line, received in Sydney yesterday, announced the ar« rival there of Miss Grace Waugh, and her pony. Jack Waugh. This plucky 18-year-old Australian gfrl is riding on horseback from Melbounre to Sydney, a distance byroad of . 565-1 miles. Her arrival at the border marks the end of the fourth day, and the Covering ' of 200 miles of her journey. The .through journey will occupy 12 days' riding. Miss Waugh is a nati\ r e xrf New South Wales, and has spent the whole of her time with horses. Her average day's ride, on her present trip, is about 50 miles. At Albury she was given a ciAde welcome, and in New South Wales keen interest is being taken in her romantic adA Tenture. Even in these days of swift machines, the old glamour still clings to the horse—as, it ever will in Australia. END or RAILWAY INQUIRY. The coroner's inquest into the -recent accident to the Temora mail train at Exeter closed this week. It was a foregone conclusion that .the blame Avould fall upon Driver IrAvin, of the Temora mail, and there was not a person at the enquiry who.Avas not touched to the heart by the pitiful figure DriA ? er Irwin presented. He sat all through the inquest like a man in a dream; his face was set and expressionless, his eyes were focussed upon something which 110 one but ho could see. When a question Avas addressed to him by his solicitor lie startj ed, and was at a loss for ' Avords to ansAver. No ~ doubt, in Lis mind, lie Avas going over and over the scene, re-enacting the catastrophe, unable to turn his mind from it for a moment. Whether the distant signal Avas green or red, it seems as though no proof can ever be adduced. Irwin had passed there every night for so long, and rarely had the signal been against him, and perhaps he saAv a green when the light was red. And, apart from all railway enquiries or any censure the law can put upon him, poor IrAvin is paying for his supposed mistake in the terrible Avay that only a sensitive nature can suffer. Much comment has been made, in many quarters, upon the disaster. One expression Avhich I overheard struck me as being intensely human. "Rules or no rules," the speaker said, "it Avas playing a low-down trick on IrAvin to stick a 600-ton train on the main line, so close up to the signals, on a night like that." •The doing of the action mentioned, of course, av£s not the stationmaster's fault;

he had to put the goods train somewhere. But it seems & pity that Irwin could not haA'e been told before he left Werai, three miles away. It would have saved him and many others from being the pitiful, haunted folk they are, and saved all the suffering that occurred in the wreck. * >' NEW PUBLIC DANCING HALL. The latest departure in Sydney, in the matter of public amusements, is the opening '-pf a public dancing hall. For threepence each a man and his maid may enter the Imperial Dancing Hall de Luxe and be entitled to one dance. No unattached ladies are admitted, though this prohibition does not apply to the men kind. . After every dance the floor is cleared, and the clink of the nimble threepenny is heard ere the couples are allowed to resume their terpichorean exercises. Tlie hall is an enormous one, formerly used as a skating rink, and it is fitted up in a most attractive and comfortable way. The success of the venture appears to be assured, for, while the price is only threepence per dance, there are usually 18 dances on a programme, so that the evening's enjoyment costs nearer 5/each than 3d. Patrons have the advantage, -however, of selecting their dance 3, as well as their partners, and if they don't like it they can go,home in a happier frame of mind than they would if they had planted down 5/- at the outset. The rule debarring lonely girls from participating is, of course, aimed at the exclusion of the undesirables. SMALLPOX AGAIN. Although the smallpox scare has been relegated to the limbo of forgotten things, from time to time there have been cases occurring in various parts of the State. And these have all been isolated at North Head, at the entrance to Sydney Harbour. The question of who should pay for the cost of the smallpox outbreak has been a hot one between the Federal and New South Wales Premiers, and, in fact, it is not settled yet. To-day the Orsova -arrived with smallpox on board, and is lying off the quarantine station at North Head. In expectation of her arrival, the Federal authorities, who run the station, decided ""that it Avas not in a fit state to receive the notable personages who are among the passengers by the Orsova. So the State Government was compelled to erect temporary quarters at Long Bay for- the recent occupants "of the quarantine station, and that bare and desolatelooking building, or collection of buildings, has been renovated and made quite presentable, 1 while special arrangements have been made for the amusement of the contacts while they are marooned there. „ Through the consistent wrangling between the Federal, and the State authorities there is no shadow of doubt that hundreds Of patients and contacts during the smallpox epidemic suffered inconvenience and despondency at the miserable station. But what was good enough for poor Australians was out of the question for wealthy visitors to this boastful land. So the bands will play and pic-1 ture shows flicker while the contacts recline in comfortable loungeis and smoke cigars or sew and watch the Manly boats glide past. Truly Australia is a hospitable country! ! WILL LAWSON. .