25 YEARS AGO

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 92, 12 January 1935, Page 6

25 YEARS AGO

Military Mistake

(From "The Dominion,” January 11, 1910.)

Lord Kitchener’s inspection of Sydney’s defences included a trip round the harbour by night to see the working of the searchlights at the various forts. Accompanied by his staff and the heads of the Commonwealth Forces, the FieldMarshal embarked on board a steamer and made a trip, but for some unexplained reason the lights faUed to work. Au ■ inquiry into the matter will be held. * s »

"In this age of centenaries is not a laudable custom in danger of being overdone?” asks Air. Frederic Harrison in “The Times.” "This annus rairabilis, 11)09. brings us round to the birthdays of four great Englishmen, Darwin, Tennyson, Johnson, Gladstone, to say nothing of others, such as Calvin qua Tom Paine, who have been commemorated by their respective admirers. AV hat with aviation ‘records,’ rival Budgets and Halley’s Comet, we can hardly live up to the successive sensations that race across our thoughts like flying men at Blackpool in a gale. I see more centenaries coming along Diekens, Thackeray, to be followed by Shakespeare himself. Now, I have a proposal to offer which will greatly mitigate this stormburst of centenaries, which pelt us like November meteors —coming and going before we have recovered, cur breath. In one word, my suggestion :s to limit our commemorations to the centenary only of the death, not the birth, of our worthies.”

It is officially stated in Victoria that the new train which has just, been turned out at the Newport workshops fbr use on the St. Kilda line lias been designed "with a view to electrification.