The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning. Tuesday, April 7, 1891.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume IV, Issue 591, 7 April 1891, Page 2

The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning.

Tuesday, April 7, 1891.

Be just and fear not; Let all the ends than aim’at at be thy eountry'a, Thy God’s, and truth’s.

THE SYDNEY EXPLOSION. The account of the terrible gun cotton explosion in Sydney is painful reading, Unfortunately, it is a sort of horror the news of which we are getting accustomed to hear. In its effect it has been more terrible than the previous disasters, but all have occurred in connection with the Colonial Defence Forces. It is only a few weeks since the Shelly Bay explosion at Wellington : that was soon followed oy the terrible gun accident at Queenscliff, Victoria, and now Sydney is a companion in misfortune. The frequency of these accidents seem to point most decidedly to one of two things, that members of the colonial forces are either inexperienced in the handling of the dangerous articles of destruction, or else that they are in cases criminally incautious Colonel de Wolski blames the New South Wales Defence authorities for allowing hasty charges to be made merely to give ladies a pleasant afternoon in witnessing the exhibition of the powers of destruction. That may be true of the terrible affair in Sydney, but could not be said of the Shelley Bay explosion, which occurred while the men were engaged in their ordinary duties. If it were true, however, what a strange thing must be the defence forces which have cost so much, and which have been so highly praised ? If it is not safe to hold an exhibition for the edification of ladies or others, at a time when there is nothing to cause a fljtrry in the preparations, what would be the case in the event of a real war, with the shot and shell flying over the heads, or through the ranks of the men ? If the engines of destruction are not safe for show, they would be of little use to anyone but the enemy in time of actual need. There is of course always a liability of an accident in the handling of dangerous articles, but the frequency of these terrible disasters, each attended with loss of life, makes one look for some other explanation than that of accident. Inexperience, or bad materials, seems the most probable cause to which the shocking affair may be attributed Deep sympathy will be felt for the relatives of those killed or injured, but that should not deter such an investigation into the cause of the calamity as will perhaps lead to few risks of the kind in the future.