3s6 



REVIEW OF REVIEWS. 



Sovemhcr I, 1013. 



a more thrilling spectacle been enacted 

 before the world. When the " Titanic " 

 sank there was, alas ! no such fleet with- 

 in call. There were no watchers, save 

 those in the boats, as she slid silently to 

 her last resting-place. 



Other Disasters. 



The Aisgill collision in Yorkshire has 

 been followed by several minor railway 

 accidents at home. The driver in the 

 second train in this accident has been 

 sentenced to two months' imprison- 

 ment. He certainly over-ran the signals, 

 but had the first train been supplied with 

 the right sort of coal the accident would 

 never have happened. Much has been 

 said about the danger of fire when gas is 

 used as the illuminant in trains. Ac- 

 tually, this has hardly ever been respon- 

 sible for the tragic fires which have so 

 often followed a smash. In almost 

 every case these were caused by the live 

 coals from the engine. Steel carriages 

 and improved automatic signalling 

 will probably result from the recent 

 disasters, but the human element can 

 never be entirely eliminated. As a 

 result of a terrible explosion in the 

 Universal Colliery, near Cardiff, on 

 October 14th, ever 417 men lost their 

 lives ; 935 men were in the pit at the 

 time, but 518 were saved. A rag- 

 ing Are prevented the heroic rescuers 

 reaching the other men, who probably 

 lost their lives in the explosion. A ter- 

 rific hurricane broke over Wales, and 

 though it lasted but three minutes, it did 

 i^50,ooo worth of damage. Several 

 people were killed, and many houses 

 utterly destroyed. 



Wedding Sea to Sea. 



On Friday, October 10, 191 3, occurred 

 what is probably the most notable event 

 of the century. At 9 a.m. the waters of 

 the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans were 

 admitted to the great Canal of Panama. 

 Phis marked the realisation of the 

 dreams of the early explorers of the 



Elizabethan era, of the ambition of de 

 Lesseps, and of the determination of the 

 American people. In thus joining sea 

 to sea America has placed all nations 

 under a great obligation. The ever 

 shrinking distances of the world are 

 now still further reduced, and trade will 

 be immensely stimulated. But the Canal 

 will do more than that. It will increase 

 the naval power of the English-speaking 

 {Deople in the Pacific enormously. The 

 United States has now the third largest 

 navy in the world ; the Canal puts the 

 whole of its battleships within easy 

 reach of the Pacific. At present the 

 eastern fleet is four weeks distant from 

 the Pacific Coast. When the Canal is 

 open it will be a few hours only. 



Tammany and Sulzer. 



Governor Sulzer, who was impeached 

 by the Legislature of the State of New 

 York, has now been formally found 

 guilty of corrupt practices, and has been 

 forced to abandon the gubernatorial 

 chair. Mr. Sulzer has been attacked for 

 his virtues rather than for his faults. He 

 refused to do Tammany's will, and so he 

 had to go. This is the larger Tammany 

 which, directly the State began to spend 

 millions on canals. State roads, new 

 prisons, and other important work, de- 

 sired to have control of such expendi- 

 ture. It, therefore, sallied forth from its 

 lair in New York City, and captured the 

 State Government at Albany. Sulzer 

 was a Tammany man himself in the old 

 days, but he had strayed from the fold. 

 Instead of coming to heel he remained 

 a rebel, so, perforce, he had to go. He 

 may have been guilty of indiscretions, 

 but these would have passed unnoticed 

 had he done as he was told. A fierce 

 fight is being made against Tammany 

 in its own particular stronghold, and if 

 the reform candidate, Mr. Mitchell, is 

 elected Mayor of New York, we are told 

 that the very existence of Tamman)- will 

 be threatened. We have heard that be- 



