EMPIRE NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10443, 24 April 1912, Page 1

EMPIRE NOTES.

A LETTER FROM LONDON. [From Our Correspondent.] LONDON, March 15. NEW ZEALAND'S "HIGHER PATRIOTISM."

In his memorandum upon the Navy Estimates for the new financial year, which were issued last Tuesday evening, Mr Winston Churchill made the interesting announcement that "it is intended that his Majesty's ship New Zealand, the battle-cruiser which the dominion has generously presented to the Royal .Navy, shall visit New Zealand 'immediately, after commissioning, probably, early in 1013." According to the naval correspondent- of the London "Telegraph." it was originally agreed that the New Zealand should be the flagship of the China Squadron, and that another battle-cruiser should be at tho head of the East Indies Squadron, thua-jivith tho Australian battle-cruiser co§B>leting the three large armoured ships originally laid down for duty in or near the Pacific. "It is now known," "tho correspondent adds, " that a battle-cruiser v ill not be sent to* the East Indies. The pre-Dreadnought armoured-cruiser Defence has just been commissioned as flagship of the China station, from which it may be assumed that the New Zealand people, in pursuance of that higher patriotism which they have always exhibited, have agreed that their presentation ship, after visiting their home waters, shall bo permanently stationed where it can render best service to the Empire, namely, in the English Channel and the North Sea." A GOOD IDEA.

Mr T. E. Sedgwick, tho prime mover in the emigration of youths to the dominions beyond the seas, has recently undertaken a new campaign which, if successful, should prove a valuable factor in promoting a knowledge of the Empire among the rising generation at Home, and create a desire to emigrate among the youth of the Old Country. During his wanderings in school-land Mr Sedgwick was "much struck by the absence from the class-room walls of pictures representing scenery, farming operations, and so on, in the King's oversea dominions. Tho primary reason, he discovered, was that such pictures are not readily obtainable in this country, and consequently tho bare walls are decorated with German and other lithographs representing Continental agriculture and pastoral scenes and tourist resorts.

Being distressed at the neglect of such a unique opportunity of impressing 011 the minds of the children, at the most receptive period of their lives, the natural features and typical conditions of life in . other parts of the Empire, Mr Sedgwick inquired whether the London County Council would display such pictures if the of the several oversea States of tho Empire would present them. Major Levita, the chairman of the Books and Apparatus Sub-committee of the London County Council Education Department, lu , course of a sympathetic repiv, told Mr Sedgwick that his query had been tho subject of an informal discussion, and the committee would be very pleased to consider any offers from dominion and colonial Governments to present framed pictures for use ' in schools maintained by the London County Council.

Mr Sedgwick, immediately on receipt of this reply, wrote to all the High Commissioners and Agents - General suggesting that they should take the matter up, and induce their respective Governments to take advantage of the opportunities offered by school-room vails to bring before the eyes of young England the charms of the Empire be yond the seas. In tho course of his letter to the overseas representatives Mr Sedgwick points out that tho London County Council alone is responsible for the education of 740,000 children, and if tho possibilities and attractions of life overseas were to be brought before them by a series of well-repro-duced pictures in colour and monochrome, it would, ho thinks, make a large number wish to proceed abroad. Girls and boys now enter offices, shops, factories, domestic service and other callings without realising the splendid chances which await the industrious overseas.

In England and Wales there is accommodation for over seven million scholars in the primary schools, and tho school accommodation in Scotland and Ireland amounts to nearly two million places. In addition to those, there are, Mr Sedgwick points out, innumerable orphanages ami homes, public libraries, public halls, working men's and lads' chins, and other institutions where such pictures would he welcomed. As the pictures could bo distributed gratis or disposed of through the usual trade channels at a low margin of profit, and would bo permanent, tho advantage of such expenditure over posters and newspaper advertisements is, Mr Sedgwick thinks, obvious. It is also obvious, however, that- such advertising must' only be supplementary to tho less permanent forms of advertising which are designed to produce immediate effect among people who luivo already readied the emigration ago. \Vere each overseas State to publish only f)000 or 10,000 g«od reproductions of each of a. dozen typical views at the outset, the impetus given by their display to emigration would, Sir Sedgwick thinks, be enormous, and the cost per copy, even in several colours, would lie very small. As regards the pictures tor tho London County Council schools, as the Council invariably reserves the right to determine aft&r inspection whether or not any pictures shall be issued to the schools, Sir Sedgwick suggests that originals should bo submitted to the committee dealing with such matters before arrangements are made for their reproduction in quantities.

Mr- Sedgwick's idea for advertising the. dominions overseas in tho schools and public institutions is a good one and it is to be hoped that effect will bo given to it. Apart from its prospective value to the dominions, the scheme has an educational value which must not be overlooked. r I he presence of such pictures, especially if changed now and then, would teach children to "think beyond Brighton beach," and assist them to a better conception of the Empire upon which they aro told the sun never sets.

VOLCANOES OF NEW ZEALAND. Br J. Mackintosh Bell read an interesting paper on "Some New Zealand Volcanoes" before the Royal Geographical Society last, Monday night. From the most remote days of geological tinm tliey knew of in New Zealand, ho said, these Southern Pacific islands had been scarred and burnt by volcanoes and racked and torn by earthquakcis. Volcanic fires rose from New Zealand's earliest land, and,, like beacons, had never throughout tho long ages, save perhaps for brief periods, ceased to glimmer. Throughout the length and breadth of the land thev read, by the natural features, tho record—here of a gigantic outburst changing completely for broad stretches the configuration of the land; there, of a minor ontbreak, leaving but scant evidence,of an event long since faded from the'geological memory. R«cent volcanic a'ctivi-

! ty had been limited to the central and 1 northern parts of the North Island and to tho islands lying off its coast in the Bay of Plenty. Referring to the Taupo volcanic zone, he said that connected with this zone and the name of its most important volcanic centre was one of those pleasing Maori legends that showed the power of observation possessed by the native mind. On arrival at Maketu, from the ancient racial home of flawaiki, the great chief. Ngatiroirangi, started off into the interior on a journey of exploration. Desiring to obtain a better view of the country than was obtainable from the forest-clad plains, he and his faithful follower, Ngauruhoe, ascended the highest peak of Tongariro. Whilst on the summit they became numbed by the intense cold and, afraid of being frozen to death, Ngatiroirangi shouted to his sisters, who lived in White Island, to send him some of the fire they had brought from Hawaiki in the great canoes Pupp and Te Haeto. Shortly afterwards the fire, arriving by way of a subterranean passage, burst forth from the crest of Tongariro. The fire came just in time to save thf life of thp chief, but the spirit of the poor Ngauruhoe was already in its flight for "the land of the great beyond." Hence the hole from which the lire hurst forth was called by the faithful Nganrnhoe. To this day on this crest and along the whole subterranean passage the sacred fire still brightly burned. Spealcinc of the Waimangu geyser, Dr Bell said that the " sliots" from the gev.ser wi re gigantic in their proportions. Thnufdi accurate data relating to the measurement of these outbursts were, difficult to obtain, tho lii ah est "shot" was said to hjive ascended to a, height-- of about 1500 feet above tho mouth of the. gev&er, and to have carried a volume of 800 tons. The visual effect of the great column, ns it rose in tho shape of a huge cann-flower-like mass, showering mud, sand and boulders bark into the water below and even high up on the surrounding walls, must have been awe-inspir-ing and wonderful; while the thuvideroils roar must have (.nvon an infernal sound to this remarkable phenomenon. AX ALL-PR TTTSH CABLE.

At. a meeting of the Association of Chambers of Commerce- of the United Kingdom, held in London last "Wcdnesday, Sir Albert Spicer moved a motion urging on tho .Imperial Government the desirability of co-operating with the Governments of the dominions ith a view to the establishment of an independent and strictly all-British Transatlantic cable and laiul-lino connecting with the Imperial Pacific cable. Speaking upon this motion. Sir John Barran, M P., said that the Post Office heartily concurred in the idea of linking up tho Empire whether for strategical or commercial purposes. The Post Office did not adopt in this matter a stick-in-the-mud or obscurantist policy. Only recently it had been active in promoting reforms with, regard to Press rates and other matters. As things were there was no monopoly in cables. There were two groups of cables which competed with each other, and which were unlikely ever to be combined. AVith regard to the important question of control in times of emergencv, tho thirteen cables crossing the Atlantic started from British territory and landed on British territory, and it was clear that the country which controlled both ends controlled the cables absolutely. According to an estimate dealt with at the Imperial Conference, the working of a State-owned cable across the Atlantic would involve a deficit of something like £25,000 a year. The Pacific Cable Board incurred a loss of £60.000 a year, and there could be 110 justification for asking for State aid for an object, which would lead to an annual loss, especially as the control was already practically ' secured. Tho extension of wireless telegraphy was an important matter to be borne in mind. The Government had decided to erect wireless stations in Cyprus, Ceylon, the Straits Settlements, Australia and New Zealand, thus linking up the Old Country with the dominions. This system would be worked by an automatic method at tho rate of 50 words a minute, each station working practically simultaneously and repeating to the other. Tn this way they were now within measurable distance of a regular automatic flow »« telegraphic communication rough stations entirely on British territory. Under all these circumstances, and seeing that the cable system might- conceivably be knocked out by wireless, he desired to recall the fact that, in .the view of most of tho colonial Premiere, the present was not the time for embarking on cable extensions at a heavy expenditure. He suggested that the consideration of the project might be deferred and proceeded with at a later date if substantial reductions were not made in the cable rates. In view of Sir John Barran's statement, Sir Albert Spicer, with the concurrence of the seconder, withdrew tho motion on tho understanding that, if necessary, it might be brought forward at 6ome luture date.