South Canterbury Times. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1881.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2719, 6 December 1881, Page 2

South Canterbury Times. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1881.

The earthquake which was felt in the northern half of this island yesterday was not a very severe one, but it was sufficiently so to suggest the question whether it is wise to erect high buildings in brick or stone in this country. It is reported from Christchurch that many buildings there were more or less cracked by the shock. A shock but little sharper might involve Immense destruction of buildings. New Zealand is said to form part of the great circle of vulcanic activity surrounding the Pacific Ocean, and this fact, or even say probability, taken in connection with the fact that slight earthquake shocks are by no means rare, should caution us to be on our guard against erecting too high buildings. The likelihood of at least sensible shocks occurring during the life of a building ought to be taken into account by architects, and in the long run it may be found wisest to make a liberal estimate of, this danger. Whenever a town is destroyed by an earthquake iuEurope, as unfortunately they often are, a usual comment is that towns should not be built of brick or stone in countries liable to violent earthquakes. If this is a fair comment, and it plainly is so, it follow:? that a similar one is applicable to countries liable to less violent ones, —that moderation in the height of buildings of such materials should be observed. If such compare.'.. v harm-

less shocks as that of yesierday were of frequent occurrence we should undoubtedly see more regard paid to their destructive force by architects and builders, but as they are of rare occurrence they are neglected. And yet the destructive power of an earthquake is not less great because the shocks occur at long intervals. It would be wise to bear in mind that New Zealand is liable to have its foundations shaken every now and then, and to exercise continually such caution as more frequent manifestations of internal commotions would most certainly enforce.

Thk Czar of Russia, poor fellow, must be at his wits’ end to avoid his enemies. We have beard of numerous attempts to blow up palaces, railway trains and carriages, by dynamite. His life on land seemed to be held on a most precarious tenure. Next we beard of extraordinary precautions being taken to ensure his meeting the German Emperor safely on the sea,submarine mines, torpedoes, and naval infernal machines threatening his safety on the water, no less than the bomb and the cartridge on land. And now a third devilish device is spoken of. The powers of the air aie to be invoked to assist in the destruction of the Czar of all the Russias, and if he escapes all three modes of attack he has a charmed life indeed. The Nihilists have not been very successful in attempts to blow up their constitutional ruler, so they are going to try blowing him down. Our cable news to-day states that it is proposed to use balloons in this terrifying contest, charging them with dynamite, and causing them to descend upon the palace to be destroyed, with all that it may contain. At first sight this seems very ingenious, but a second glance shows it to be very stupid ; unless the Nihilists —some of them clever fellows, no doubt—have discovered some way of guiding balloons as yet unknown to the rest of the world. Hitherto balloons have been the most refractory of man’s servants ; they go, as far as man can control them, pretty much as they please ; and the ghost of a dynamite balloonist would be as likely to find his proper body scattered among the fragments of a polar iceberg as among those of an Imperial Russian palace. The balloons, however, would give a completeness to the system of warfare adopted by the Nihilists that it at present lacks, and if they do so complete Jfcheir system their name should be changed (perhaps it should if they do not) to Annihilists.