1907---1908

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume L, Issue 12145, 31 December 1907, Page 4

1907---1908

It would be strange indeed if in this busy ago it were' possible to record an uneventful year. With us every year is crowded with achievements and' crammed with happenings of moment to the world1 at large. In this respect, therefore, it may be said that 1907, the last sands cf which will have run out cv& another morn shall break, will go down to history neither more nor less distin-; guished than its immediate predecessors. But it has beem a great year for tall that—a year of triumphant achievement in almost every branch of human activity and thought. Science, as is her wont, has made wonderful strides, while in the great field of invention the march of progress haa gone on not only unchecked, but with accentuated energy and phenomenal success. The problem of the air has practically been solved, and the struggle for supremacy has l>ecomo a matter of international rivalry. Edison, If reports be true, lias by his genius and indomitable perseverance, given toi the world a storage battery that will bring electric motor traction., within the reach of people of ordinary, means; and Bre'nnan, of torpedo" fame, has evolved from' the gyroscopic toy a method of mono-rail locomotion which bids fair to revolutionise the railroad systems of the world. And so we might go on, if space and' time permitted, enumerating the year's produlcts of in-

ventive skill until th© hare catalogue itself had overrun tihe limit© of. the paper. In the realm of medical science, too, a host of earnest workers havo been delving deeper into the secrets of Nature, aud1 humanity is the richer dV>r the rewards which have followed' thoir beneficent, but unofttrustivo labours.' Everywhere Man, armed with the wisdom of the ages, lhas been busy and successful, yet hie has but garnered a tithe of the great harvest that is to be his for the reaping. The future is full of promise, and the new year domes to us laden with alluring possibilities. In material things, the old year has been kind and generous. The pinch of famine has been felt here and there, and some communities have suffered1 the pangs of adversity and misfortune; but on the whole trade and commerce have continued to flourish abundantly under the genial sun of unbroken prosperity. The Great Powers havo been at peace, and, thou#i the building of ships and th© making of engines of destruction have been carried on with unabated vigour, there is no present indication,1 that the bonds of international amity are likely to be broken. There have been disasters many and serious, both oni land and sea, and many hundreds of men and women have been accidentally hurried into eternity. In addition to these major tragedies, Death has claimed his thousands of victims with relentless indiscrimination, and a countless number of empty chairs proclaim the invincibility of the Great Leveller. But these things cannot be counted against one year1 more than another : they are the inevitable consequences of life, predestined and unavoidable. We can but mourn for those that are gone, sympathise with those who have been -bereaved, and pray that Time, tho ihiealer, will make all things well. On the whole, however, we have reason to treasure the dying year in grateful,rtemembranoe, for it; has certainly been kind to civilisation and beneficent to the great -majority of mankind. In the hope that 1908'■ will prove equally rich in good things, we extend1 to all our readers our heartfelt wish that they may be privileged to enjoy A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW TEAR.