NEW ZEALAND'S DANGERS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1986, 31 March 1885, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND'S DANGERS.

(Otar)o D/nl>/ Turn's ) TfiK daniiei ot an attach in cisc of war cannot possibly he (stiniated. It is vain, huwevii, to comfort out selves with the ii<a that the Russian navey will be blocked up in its poits in the Black Sim, the Biltic or the t'aulii: At least three oiiubeisin the liussian Pacific fleet me, accoiding to a lecent I'itll Mull Gazrtte, faster than any Kugliah mauof-wir m 'lie Austi.ili.in Mju.i lion, ami the Pacific is a laige ocean to piny at hulu and seek in. Moreovei,it has to be leinenibeied* that Russia stood aloof ftoin that clause of the Genev a Com on turn w hich abolished prnateeiing, ami that in 1878 she actually oukred and paid for the fittingtip on the Pacific Coast of America of tour 15 knot unarmored ci niseis. The gicat difficulty of the enemy would undoubtedly lie in the distance at which tlieir vesels would have to opeiate horn any coal in? station. But it would be foolish to suppose that they would c me over from Ann'ina undi r strain Until they got into ildugeiou-5 quartets they wculd natm.illv sail, and economist' then oal as niuoii as possible The Russian Pacific fkvt is at loist two thuds as strong as the British. It has no commei cc toiitttnd, while the Butish fleet has to be in half a-dozen places at a time, and to protect our shipping as far as possible A stray coa 1 ship overhauled, or any -ingle .successful descent on a minor port, would replenish the Russian bunkeis Nothing is clearer, a* Sir William Jervois pointed out, that we can expect little aid from the Impel ial navy in case of an attack. It ts vet y doubtlul w hether as many as two men-of war coulil be spared to defend the v hole of tbe NewZeal md coasts, and all our shipping to boot. Any bombardment will be an aflair of a very ftw houis. There is absolutely no chance of an attempt to take permanent possession of any place. 'I he tactics of the Russian cimseia would be pretty much those of highwaymen. It would be a c-.se of " Your money or your life ! " and two or three hours to decide. Dick Tin pin was not in the habit of waiting till whoever answeied in those days to the police could put in an appeal ance. It is upon our local defence*, and upon j those alone, that we must rely. We scarcely like to alarm people by discussing what should be done incises which are, after all, only possibilities, but we think theie can be but one opinion as to the position which this city should take up in case of a Russian cruiser appeal ing off the Ocean Bench before the nev. guns ordered from Home can arrive. To yield to any demand foi a ransom would be as impolitic as it would be de grading It is cv ident that to pay up at once would be equivalent to an invitation to the ci uisers to " cut and come again " The same cruiser might not come, but thpre would not be the slightest uason why another should not. But material considerations arc the least to 1)p considered in such a case. To preserve our self respect is the first law ot every community, as of eveiy individual, ami to submit to the Russian demands would be a humiliation and degradation vvor.se than the destmction of the whole city. Better to pay a whole million to compensate individual < ltu-tis f'>r d linage to then pro perty than £100,000 indemnity to the enemy And the extent of ths damage which a hostile cruiser coulddo, firing fiom out of range of our three mile guns, is at least questionable. The point ot oni recommendation that these puns should be erectid as speedily as possible is that, with the ail vantage on our side of tally a mile in distance, and of fixity of position, an enemy would probably find it ad viseable to stand out to sea almost to the extent of his five-mile range. If wo only hid five-mile guns, as Sir U illiam Jeivois recommended, we do not believe that tlieie would be any danger of serious injuiyto the city, and with our threemile guns put up we shall at least be in a veiy much better position than we are now.

A M\V IN THE WRITE l'l,A('E— An editor. Ay economical tailor having a I.ir»o lob of dude trousers left over, lias made them lip into pun cases They regime no alteration at all unless the gun bum-Is are laiger than ordinary. Don't call a man a donkey, my son, because he won't hear to reason ; but politely remind him that the man with the biggest ears is least inclined to use them. Never has been Known so heavy a f.ill of snow in the Italian Alps as has fallen this winter. Terribly distressing accounts continue to arrive of villages dcs troyerl and lives lost. Much heroism has been shown by the troops, and also in many cases by the victims of the disaster. An old woman of eighty-tin cc years, who, together with nine girls, was disinterred after many hours' labour, with much difficulty, insisted upon all the girls being rescued first. limit mei able touching incidents are related, enough to fill columns. The number of deaths tip to the present time is calculated at about 300. The rescuers work with much difficulty from fear of striking with their pickaxes those who may be buried beneath. As the bodies of the dead are recovered, sleighs, wtli the corpses, file down the valleys. Fears were entertained of yet worse disasters when the unprecedented quantity of snow melts and great floods ensue. The Emperor William, in a letter to the members of the Berlin Town Council, acknowledging their congratulations for the New Year, dwells upon the progress made during the past year in the different domains of the political life of the State, and upon the beneficial development of the conntrj's economic affairs. Hia Majesty then proceeds as follows :—": — " The settlements on a distant continent which have been placed under the protection of the Empire, will give an additional outlet to German enterpiise and activity, and will thus assuredly have a beneficial effect in stimulating trade and manufactures. Under the blessed auspices of the peaceful state of aff.urs which ushers in the new year, and which, I trust, will continue, there is every prospect of a gratifying progress in both the matenal and moral interests of my people " The discussion at the Royal United Service Institution concerning the unarmoured ends of our ironclads did not prove much beyond the existence of dissatisfaction in the service with ironclads which have no complete belt of armour from stem to stern. Fortunately the mischiff is not very serious. So far as the danger from machine gun and quickfiring gun fiie is concerned— and it was upon that alone that Lord Clanwilliatn based his objection to the ironclads which he had sanctioned when at the Board of Admiialty^— the exposed ends can be plated, as Mr Buinaby suggests in the case of the Agamemnon, with two extra inches of steel without rebuilding at a tn vial outlay. To put a belt which would keep out machine-gun fire completely round from stem to stern would cost, we aie (says the Pall Mall Budget) ciedibly informed by competent authorities, about £5000. The woik could be finished in a month or six weeks, and it would only sink the lionclud three inches deeper in the water. That is a mere bagatelle.

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