Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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Dawn In The Mountains Have you ever wakened early, When the morn is fresh and gay, And watched the sky, from an inky black Turn to a faint streaked gray? Have you ever watched the mist rise up From the lakes in the valleys below? Have you ever heard the whip-poor-will ' s call? Whip-poor-will! Whip-poor-will! Hello! And then when the east turned faintly pink And the sun came up — a great red ball, Did something within you soar up and up? Did something within you seem to call? Did the sight of the first stray sunbeam Thrill you right through and through? Did it make you want to follow the gleam To a life that is pure and true? Anne Thom, Form IVb. Hamir Jaffa ( A S I came through the desert, thus it was ... These were the words that greeted my ears £ . as I entered my club in London. I went over and joined the group of men lounging in comfortable chairs in a corner of the lounge. I ordered a drink, pulled up an easy chair and sat down. There were four of us in the group. Bill Kingman, a young physician with a good sized practice; Dennis Johnston, an artist of no mean repute; Sir Hugh Tremaine, Bart., who, with an assured income with which to live in ease and luxury for the rest of his days, could never sit down to a quiet life and who had visited almost all the corners of the earth in search of adventure; and myself, Tom Llangley, who, in the eyes of Tom Llangley, was not such a bad writer of the kind of novels that half the public devour and the other half — well! It was Tremaine who had just spoken and, as I wanted to hear his story, which was generally very good, I said, I heard you mention just now some adventure in the desert, did I not? Yes, he answered, I have just been requested to spin a yarn of one of my escapades in the Sahara, so here goes. [ 19 ]

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Although the mind of the Aborigine is too primitive to be trained, Australia is taking good care of the education of the white children. Primary education is a government function and is free. Children must go to school between the ages of six and fourteen. In all the states there are junior and senior technical colleges, in which are given, in the first, general courses in technical and cultural subjects; in the second, special courses in trade, commerce, law, medicine, science, music and architecture can be taken. There are many scholarships for the schools and colleges offered each year. Up till 1901 each State of Australia was independent, deriving its power from the British Crown, and ' having a Governor representing the King. This was not very satisfactory, one of the inconveniences being the difference of the gauge in the railways, and it was necessary to change trains at each border. On January 1st, 1901, the Australian Commonwealth was formed. This gave to Australia the status of Dominion. The Government was modelled on that of the United States of America. There is a Governor-General appointed by the Crown. Then there is a Federal Parlia- ment composed of six members from each State, and a House of Representatives elected from districts. There is a ministry which has power to force a decision if there is a deadlock between the houses. A High Court was formed which is very like the Supreme Court of the United States. The Commonwealth is very powerful and has successfully put down coloured labour. It has looked after the interests of agriculture and all Australia ' s other activities so well that now she is a power that counts. Australia owes the solidity and soundness of her finance to the wisdom and foresight of her Government. In the year 1932-33 Australia ' s imports came to the value of £58,000,000, but the value of her exports came to £97,000,000. This balance has done much to keep up her credit in America, Canada and Britain. In 1931 an agreement was reached between Australia and Canada in which the two countries agreed that Australia would not send to Canada that which she herself produced, and Canada would not send to Australia what she produced. The two countries grow one or two of the same things but in many wavs thev are different. The chief export of Australia to Canada is raisins and currants and with these go wines. Many people know this because the name is always printed on the packages of raisins and the bottles of wine; but what many people do not know is that Canada uses a great amount of Australian wool, and since no other country in the Empire produces wool of such a high standard, Canada might possibly use Australian wool exclusively. Not long ago a pact was signed between Canada, Australia, U.S.A. and the Argentine, as the four greatest wheat producers. These countries agreed not to export more than a certain amount of wheat per year. Canada, Australia and the United States have so far kept the rules, but the Argentine shows signs of selling as much as she can and no less. In the year ending March 30th, 1934, Canada imported Australian goods to the value of $5,902,587. Of the products Canada exports to Australia, timber is the most important. The Australian timber is mostly hardwood, and Canadian softwood is in demand. Australia also imports Swedish timber. Next in importance comes canned salmon and, as Australia will never have more salmon than she has now, that trade is likely to flourish. Canada sends cotton manufactured goods to Australia and also automobiles, more than she sends to any other country. The total value of Canada ' s exports to Australia in the year ending March 30th, 1934, was $7,312,574. Very soon I expect Australia ' s exports to, will equal her imports from, Canada. Australia has 27,798 route miles of railways and 6,099 miles of airwavs, which is a very great achievement for so young a country. Travelling is also now very comfortable and modern, as many who have visited Australia have said. We are hearing a good deal about Australia just now; in the papers and in the magazines are pictures of the Duke of Gloucester attending races and meetings, giving speeches and receiving flowers. In the London K[ews and many Canadian magazines have appeared pictures and diagrams of Melbourne ' s Armistice Memorial. Over three hundred thousand Australians volunteered for active service in the Great War; and Australia, having been through her baptism of blood, has a right to call herself a nation. Australia and Canada, the two largest Dominions of the British Empire, almost exactly on top, or underneath, each other, have always been linked in people ' s minds. Yet there are great differences between them, and these differencs, some big, some small, should be taken advantage of to bring them more closely together. Jean Scrimger, Age 15 years. 181

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I was travelling through the Sahara Desert during one of the hottest •• on I ■ mounted on one of those trusty ships of the desert, the camel. I was equipped with bedding, food, water, camel fodder and, tucked well inside my riding boot, a very important document. On government service at the time, I was travelling from one desert fort to the other, a day and a half of hard riding, over many weary miles of burning sand. This particular part of the country was inhabited by fierce Toureg tribes who never spared the hated white Infidel. More dangerous than these Touregs was another band, powerful, well disciplined and well organized. This tribe wa I commanded by Hamir Jaffa, a cunning, clever Arab, educated at one of the best schools in England, and later at a well-known military college. He would have given a great deal to obtain the papers I was carrying but, as every precaution had been taken, I thought myself practically safe. I had travelled about halfway when, with a yell, a band of Arabs bore down upon me. It is very easy for the enemy to creep up upon you without your being any the wiser, amongst the numerous sand dunes. I immediately dismounted, forced my camel into a kneeling position and, crouching down behind the protection thus afforded, brought my rifle to bear upon the swiftly advancing horsemen. You could not possibly miss with such a large target before you and several horses and riders came crashing to the ground. There were so many Arabs, however, that as one fell another took his place. These men were dressed in desert style : long, flowing robes and bournows, flourishing the short, curved swords they were accustomed to carry. Some, however, had modern rifles and a bullet from one of these hit my camel in a vital spot and he rolled over with a shrill shriek. On and on this seething wave of humanity rushed. I expected no quarter from this lawless tribe, for I thought them to be Touregs, but to my surprise, with cries of ' Allah il Allah Abbas, ' ' they bore down upon me and with a rifle butt I was knocked unconscious. I awoke to find myself bound hand and foot in a small, ' ill-ventilated, dark cell. My head was aching violently and at first I could not place my whereabouts, but at last realization dawned on me. I decided that I had been carried here, the chief abode of their leader, by the tribe which had attacked me. I was wondering what could be their reason for sparing me when I remembered my mission. My boots had disappeared, as well as my papers. I must then be in the hands of Hamir Jaffa for no other chieftain would waste good men for a seemingly valueless thing. Suddenly my door was thrown open and two powerful Arabs entered, unbound me, and took me before the most clever, ruthless Arab I ever hope to see. He informed me in faultless English that he should like me to give him a little information concerning the strength and number of men in several forts which he mentioned. I told him coldly with great contempt that he would get nothing from me. He laughed mockingly and with words full of meaning he said, ' We shall see, after I have obtained some amusement from you! 1 I knew what that meant. No swift death but slow, terrible death by torture. I was told that I had till the next day before my ordeal commenced; that meant seven hours of respite in which to think of some plan of escape. I was taken back to my cell and there I sat on the floor (there had once been a bench but it now lay broken) and racked my brains to think of a way of escaping with the documents. It was not until I heard the jailor coming along the corridor that a plan came to me. I must admit it was not original, and I suppose I must have read it in my boyhood days in some books of adventure ' — (Tremaine looked at me and smiled, then he resumed his story) — but I hoped it would serve my purpose. I therefore slipped behind the door of my cupboard (it was little more), picked up a heavy piece of wood from amongst the ruins of the bench and, as the jailor entered. I dealt him a hearty knock over the head and he dropped senseless to the floor. I quickly donned the man ' s cloths, gagged and bound him, slipped into the corridor and closed and locked the door — from the outside! There was no one about, so I crept along the corridor towards the apartments of Jaffa. He was sitting at his desk with his back towards me and mercifully alone. I hated the thought of killing him in cold blood so, using the hilt of the jailor ' s sword, I hit him over the head, snatched up [ 20 I