INTERESTING ITEMS

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 696, 19 August 1914, Page 6

INTERESTING ITEMS

GERMAN-OWNED STEAMERS Some mystery surrounds the movements of a number of German-owned steamers which left Sydney ami Newcastle harbours a few hours before the declaration of war between Britain and Germany, under sealed orders, which were to be opened on getting well to sea. There is a be--1 lief, probably well founded, that the I sealed orders contained instructions ! for the vessels to meet at a certain I rendezvous in the Pacific Island.where they would find German warships to convoy thum to a neutral port. The J Australian fleet left port a day or two I later for an unknown destination, and | its operations, of course, have since been kept secret. It is quite possible, • again,that more than one of the liners which so hastily left Australian ports steered for the naval coaling station I of Matupi, where they could fit out as armed cruisers. It is known that i numbers of German liners carried guns in their hold?, with complete mountings and the necessary ammunition, for months before the war boke out, and it was stated by a British liner captain in Sydney recently that the steamers of the Nurddeutßcher Lloyd trading to Australia each had four 4-inch guns ready for i mounting. Torres Sstrait is suggested

8s a liksly place for interference with the British steamers trading between Australia and the Eust Indies and Asiatic ports, but it is scarcely likely that thß enemy will molest traffic in narrow seas patrolled by the Australian Navy. HOLLAND AND GERMANY There has been a persistent suggestion in recent yeara that Holland has an understanding with Germany that would enable her to retain her independence even if Germany were the dominant Power on the Continent, but during the last few days the disposition haa been to consider quite another aspect of this question. The Dutch won their independence by unexampled heroism, and there is no re&Bon to suppose that the ppirit of the nation has deteriorated. Rather more than two centuries ago, Holland, then a little country with only three millions of inhabitants, held out against the hostß of Louiß XIV. Louis wanted to round off his possessions, and he chose for the enterprise a time when the rest of Europe was heartily sick of war. The French march down the Rhine was virtually uncontested, and within a few weeks of the declaration of war m 1672. the fires of the French camps could be seen from the towers of Amsterdam. The reduction of the country proceeded apace, until only Amsterdam and a few other cities held out.

Thrf Dutch position was so helpless now that an embassy was sent to sue for peace. The French terms were galling—the surrender of every city and fortresg, the restoration of the Catholic religion, and the payment of a heavy tribute —and the Djtch appeared to be in no condition to bargain. But at this stage the p3ople were rallied by the young Prince of Orange, under whose advice they decided to face a measure of unparalleled heroism. "He told the deputies," says Marcaulay, "that even if their natal soil and the marvels with which human industry covered it were buried under the ocean, all was not lost. The Hollanders might survive Holland. Liberty and pure religion, diiven by tyrants and bigots from Europe, might find a refuge in the farthest isles of Asia. . There the Dutch commonwealth might commence a new and more glorious exsiterce; and might rear, under the Southern Cross, amidst the BUgar canes and nutmeg trees, the exchange of a. wealthier Amsterdam and the schools of a more learned Leyden. The national spirit swelled and rose high. The dykes were opened. The whole country was turned into one great lake, from which the cities, with their ramparts and steeples, rose like islands. The invaders were forced to save themselves by a precipitate retreat." , PANAMA CANAL DEFENCE Six monster cannotis, each of which will throw a 24001b projectile a distance of twenty-three miles,will shortly be transferred from the Sandy Hook testing grounds, whera they are being tried, and installed on modern disappearing carriages on one of the small islands off the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal for the purpose of guarding the entrance to the great waterway. Tho projectiles thrown by these guns will be capabla of penetrating 20iri of Krupp Bteel and then exploding. It will take 5761b of smokeless powder and a bursting charge of 1501b of "dunnite" to fire a shot from theae'giant weapons. According to Colonel George W. Goethals, who completed the Panama Canal, so overwhelming will be the fire of these 16in gunß that no hostile ship can live within sixteen miles of the entrance of the canal. Furthermore, these remarkable guns will be capable of dealing with any Hying machinps, and will shoot 29,926 feet, or nearly six miles into the air—higher than any aviator could fly and live. They will be mounted on specially devised carriages, which permit of a 6udeg elevation. Hitherto 45deg was the greatest elevation obtainable, and effective aeroplane attack was out of the question. In addition to these 16in guns, however, the canal vill be guarded by a huge battery of 14in and 12in weapons, as well as a number of .guns of smaller calibre. Colonel Goethals points so that even if an enemy effects a landing on territory ajacent to the canal zone, attack would be almost doomed to failure, for the locks of the canal are placed so that they are protected by the hills and topography from artillery fire, and the invader would be exposed to destruction before he could do any damage. "Furthermore," saya Colonel Goethals, "I have pointed out in an official statement that hundreds of miles of fever-haunted swamp and wilderness adjacent to the zone in which there is no subsistence for human beings, constitute an important defence of the canal."