The Star. MONDAY, MAY 1, 1916. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11686, 1 May 1916, Page 4

The Star. MONDAY, MAY 1, 1916. EDITORIAL NOTES.

5>N THE TIGRIS. The surrender of General Townshend and his nine thousand men at Kut-eI-..K Amara is a calamity which some may i: .attempt to minimise, but winch un- -. doubtedly will most seriously impair !■:■' British prestige in tho Asiatic spheres • - of war.' It is a more serious blow to ir ' our "'mana" than the withdrawal from Gallipoli, for tho reason that it gives the world'the spectacle of a force coni- ■ ■ manded by one of Britain's mc«t able generals surrendering unconditionally to a once-despised enemy. . Both the Gallipoli and the Mesopotamia campaigns are sad records, relieved only by the British and coJonial regiments. Both were begun and conducted under ' a false conception of the enemy's strength; both were prodigally waste- • '■ ful of good men, whoso efforts ques- '■ •■■ tions in the House of Commons showed .., ; i were imperfectly backed up by those responsible for the conduct of the campaigns. The Gallipoli campaign, however, was redeemed, by tho splendid skill displayed in the withdrawal of iiie troop*, without loss in tho face of a'lpowerfei foe; it was not tarnished by the surrender of a whole army. -. The morel effect upon tho TurkirJi . i *■ world will be great, and will more than compensate the enemy in that respect for the loss of Erzerum and Trebizond.

' The dash for Bagdad, which has been /•General Townshend's undoing, was daringly conceived and attempted. Nothing could exceed in plnok and endurance the great marches of the British and - (Indian troops, -under torturing climatio - ' conditions, short of food and water, and -beset by an activ© enemy, inured to '■ the country and the climate, and the story of General Townshend's defenoe of 'Kut-el-Amara wilJ remain as a record of a stout-hearted resistance against most formidable odds, cut off from all help, hoping ever for the relief tnat never came. A contributing cause to his surrender, no doubt, was the impos1 * ability of providing for the large native population within his lines, and '*.■ tit is morally certain that the white .T-, flag was not run up until his food ' :- stores had come to vanishing point, and with them the last hope of successful re.cistance. Detailb of the last days and 'of the considerations. which compelled The surrender the Empire will await J«mth a painful concern. The full story may increase admiration for the man- ' Her of the defence and sorrow for the ♦/plight of the gallant leader, but it will ! (also inevitably compel a searching in- '*"- quiry into the whoDe campaign in Mesoi' Jjotamia and an endeavour to allocate jto the right shoulders the blamo for Another unfortunate tactical failure.

'THE IRISH REVOLT. , A Eeuter message to-day states that ~_" ,'ft is reported that all the leaders of the ; rebellion in Dublin have surrendered "■ nnconditionally. The insurrection was foredoomed to failure, but cabled de- . Jails of the fighting show that it was & much more desperate and bloody af•fair than was at first reported. Even [ making allowance for the floating and - criminal population which there, us in levery large city, would seize the opportunity of burning and looting, the ,Binn Feitt force appears to have num- . Jibered several thousands and to havo ': tbeen liberally supplied with arms and "'' (ammunition. Machine-guns even were ramong tho warlike stores smuggled l ,/. Snto Liberty Hall and distributed Jthence to the insurgents. The attempt .to seise I>uhlin Castle was boldly and Mdlfully conceived, and the obvious in'iu tention was to proclaim there , the " Irish Republic " under the green ■> ;Jlag, and, with that spectacular success ,\as mi encouragement to win over to the rebel side likely districts in the south Wd vrest. Fortunately, the great body ■of the Dublin population remained ;,; fr «dliclly loyal, and armed citiz«iu rigor|l Wsly co-operated with the troops in i /idriving the rebels out of their holds. j,j>- ,■ ■' ■ - L, TSo chain of evidence vhioh oonneota JGennaa plot* and German gold with * flfcfcls iaeffectoal attempt to raise Ireland fin revolt against tho Empire is strengthened by the latest messages. Hie captured papers belonging to the teernmn official, Von Igel, are stated to sjaave contained information regarding Jfiir Roger Casements' scheme, und the and neutral newspapers are praoyjjcally unanimous in their opinion that '-. ;^i@ennaaiDlii.eaceAandrmoae^.areLia^.:thfi

bottom of the trouble. Tliat any considerable body of Irishmen .should bo mad enough to imagine that they would be better off under German rulo is almost beyond bolief, but tho delusive cry of "Irish Republic" appears to h&vo beon the slogan that attracted thousands of wild unthinking spirits to the misused green flag. As a heartening set-off to this spectable of Dublin in flames, its streets barricaded like those of Paris in the days of the Commune, a-rattle with rifle and machinegun fire, and echoing with tho sound of field-guns, there is tho story to-day of tho gallant 16th Irish Division at Loos, who broke up a German attack and drove out tho enemy with heavy loss. The splendid fighting record oF the Irish, regiments stands out in bright contrast to the deeds of a comparatively small section of the home-staying men whoso leaders must pay tho penalty of their treachery to the Hag which has protected them and the Empire whose brave men are righting in tho common cause of liberty and justice, and but for whom tho Irish renegades themselves would be in a plight little removed from that of Belgium.

CANTERBURY'S FINE EFFORT. Our city and province have every reason to be proud ;of the splendid record put -up by -the organisers of the Canterbury Queen Election, which has resulted in tho raising of close on £135,000 for the district's Patriotio Fund. The effort which culminated in Saturday night's pageant was well conceived and skilfully carried out, and the many public-spirited workers who spared neither energy nor time nor money in their attiempts to set the war funds on a more satisfactory basis have the joy of knowing that success has crowned their offorts. The results, as the Mayor has declared officially, exceeded even the most hopeful anticipations. The district now has between £160,000 or £170,000 available for use in making provision for soldiers and their dependents, and this sum, which , is being invested to the best advantage, will furnish such an annual sum as will vastly relieve the committee responsilbe for the assistance of Canterbury's fighting men and their families.

A very considerable degree of the success of the Queen camr/aign is due to the excellent! organisation of the country sections, who worked vigorously and contributed most generously. The election of Miss Kutherfoid may be taken as a recognition of the very practical assistance which she has rendered to the patriotic cause? in the capacity of a worker for the soldiers at Hanmer Springs, but all the candidates are entitled to the public congratulations, and the public thanks, and all who helped wiH have their reward in the knowledge that what they have done is so much done in the nation's cause and for the Dominion's gallant little field force.

HIGH SCHOOLS. Tho statement of tho Minister of Education, with reference to the work dono in the High Schools will come as an unpleasant surprise to many people. For some years there has been a steady demand for the inclusion of rural courses and domestic science in the syllabus of the secondary schools, and there must be something radically wrong when provision is made for teaching these important subjects at a high school and not a single scholar takes advantage of the opportunit.es offered. Mr Hannn has not mentioned the institutions where this condition oi affairs prevails, but it woula be interesting to know the cause for the shunning of practical subjects in tins way. The Minister has referred to " the bias given" in the direction oi commercial and professional callings, presumably by the teachers, and that, too, should be investigated.

There is a great deal in the Minister's contention that the worn: of a school must not be jii'-jrcd solely by examination results. In many secondary schools the desire to secure a large number of passes in the matriculation examination overshadows everything else, and in some places the i.uruber of pupils who h.ive secured employment in the Civil Service by passing the Junior Civil Service examination is advanced as a proof of the success of the school. In a country devoted to agricultural ani pastoral x>;irsuits, rural courses should figure prominently in our system of education, and it is encouragi ig to find the Minister of Education determined to give them more attention.