SPECIAL ARTICLE.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16412, 4 January 1919, Page 7

SPECIAL ARTICLE.

i- "DER TAG." GERMAN FLEET'S SURRENDER TRIUMPH OF BRITISH NAVAL POWER. HISTOBIC SCENE OFF THE ' FOBTH. (From "The Times" of November 22nd). Tho first and main instalment of the German High Sea Fleet surrendered to ) "i admiral Sir David Beatty, the Com-mander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet, off the Firth of Forth yesterday morning. The full list of the ships is as folows: — BATTLESHIPS. friedrich. der Grosse, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral von Reuter, who was in command of the whole force. Konig Albert Markgraf Jiaiser Prinz-Regent Kronprinz Wilhelm Luitpold Kaiserin Grosser Kurfurst Bayern __ BATTLE-CRUISERS. Seydlite, flying the broad pennant of Commodore Taegert. Derfflinger Hindenburg Von der Tann Moltke LIGHT CRUISERS. Karlsruhe, flying the broad pennant of Oommodose Harder. Frankfort Brummer Emden Koln Xurnborg Bremse DESTROYERS. 49 of the latest "type from the Ist, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7tii. flotillas. (jbom opb special cobbesfondent.) ' >H.M.S. QUEEN ELIZABETH, November 21. The sun has just gone down on the most wonderful , day in all the long his- - tory of war by sea. A great navy, once proud in its young strength afld in its high Imperial mission,.gave, thiß morning, into ignominious captivity,. more tlian threescore of .its biggest,and best ships. The finest vessels, in the German. Fleet, fashioned, at heavy cost in, taxes and debt, to be alike the; qrmbol; and; ' the' engine of Germany's world ambitions, have surrendered themselves as hostages to the Allies.

Even as I write, the captive ships lie j ' but a few mileß away in British waters ! "fast; bound in misery and iron," the tragi(4 semblance of a navy which lost its soul. History tells of many a good ship * which struck its flag under the stress of battle. History tells also of ships which faced destruction rather than surrender. Research may reveal cases in which a group of ships surrendered as it were/in cold, without the striking of & blow;. 7 Rut the annals of naval 'warfare \ hold no parallel to the memorable event (which it has been my privilege to witness to-day. It was the passing of a whole fleet, and it marked the final and ignoble abandonment of a vainglorious challenge .to . the naval supremacy o£ Britain. I watched the scene from the flagship of the British Commander-in-Chiif; • Never has pageant so majestic--1 ally demonstrated the might of Britain's Navy*,. The Dominions of Australia,' South Africa, and New Zealand nod their places in the spectacle. (American and French warships, too> were there.. But above all else, this was the (lay , of the British Navy, the supreme reward of uiteeasing vigilance and unrWnting noiseless pressure on the vitak of v«rmany. & f AWAITING THE DAY. /For the last two or tlfree dayß the Grand fleet has breathed a quickening, electrified air. You detected its ' invigorating virtue in the half-stifled exckement of the men of the .Fleet. Armistice night, when flag officers ( sang and danced on the forecastle deck witli 1 seamen and Marines, every ship attached to the Fleet, from the flagship to\the fussiest little motor launch, has >been full of joyousness, restrained in its but real and irrepressible •In the Queen Elizabeth, the * most xsrowded of all -the. ships, the an-ticipation-of surrender day has grown almost hour by hour as messages flashed hundreds of miles through the air to ; and .from the German High Sea oommand, Tjie coming of the Konigsbexg and .the-historic meeting between Sir David Beatty and Admiral Meurer were fresh in each mind when I came on board two days ago. . In the moonlight that evening three merry yoqng. officers reconstructed the scene on the quarterdeck for me with mock solemnity. Yesterday the expectation of. the unbeliev-. able -climax drove all other thoughts from the mind, and as time went by, and scraps of news passed from mouth to mouth, the atmosphere of eagerness grew even more intense. But it was still a controlled emotion. Naval men pretend to. be as unemotional as a -jelly.. fish. Of course, • they are not. Yet it must be, confessed that few in '.the- . Queen Elisabeth—the "Q.E.V as . the as sleepless • a your correspondent. = . ADMIRAL ORDERS. t ... Early • in.the-afternoon'. two notices were, posted fin v the ' ward j room, which ? deserve: - as follows j-r----'A EELATIdNS - WITH ;THEVGEBMANS. ia\acop-y'ofa-m<Tnonindam .... mtto' by 1 -the..'Commander-in-Chief, Grand Eleet• ,r,' , • (Ijut ia to b© impreaned on all officers and '■ ' mea. that. a; state of war- eriate during 1 - • ;th«'annistioe. • . (2) -Their relations. with 1 officers and men of : ■ j 'the German Navy with whom they may .- now be brought into contact are to ha •: ' -.-■of a atrictlyformal character. •V* s ~$), In dealing with the late enemy, while Ky >" courtesy is obligatory, the methods f ■ with , which they have waged the war i . must '.sot be forgotten. ; M ,No international compliments are to be ■ paid, and all conversation! is forbidden, except in regard to the immediate business to be transacted. ' (5) If it i« neceesary to provide food for : • German officers and men, they should net be entertained, but it should be served to them in a place specially set apart. If it is noooooary to accept food from the Gexmans a request is to ' be made that it is to be similarly served. V * Itmay be added at once that these against anything which night even appear to be fraternisation : with the enemy are thoroughly in keep- " ing with the attitude of mind, both of officers and of men, towards the Germans. In any ordinary circumstances •;Vi nobody is'more magnanimous towards -a* beaten foe ;than the British naval or seaman. But" I havo not tliese three .daysmet' a single man, ywhether of high, position or of the rank, who has the least come passion for* the present enemy. His | are still "the Huns," and though | > r£UMt naval men admit that the German

surface craft in the early days of the war generally observed the laws of humanity, it is, nevertheless,. remembered that German officers saved from German ships sunk in the Heligoland Bight in August, 1914, spat in the faces of the British rescuers. Even if that and much else were forgotten, there I would remain the inevitable shrinking from intercourse with any man who sailed under the pirate flag of the Imperial German Navy. A REMARKABLE NOTE. The second notice, posted yesterday evening, bears the signature of Geoffrey Blake, commander of the Queen Elizabeth. It is headed, "Programme for Operation ZZ." Parenthetically, I may explain, for the benefit of any who share my own previous ignoraipce, that "ZZ" is the description ap- . plied for the purpose of the manoeuvres and exercises of pre-war days to an 5 unspecified position in which sections a of the Fleet were to meet. The no- . tice begins: j "Queen Elizabeth will slip at 04.45, passing May Island at 08.00, and meeting the German Fleet at 09.40 approxi- " mately." This, being interpreted, meant that the ship was due to sail at a quarter to 5 this morning, and to come up with f the Germans at 20 minutes before 10 s o'clock. The notice went on to set out the time-table for the routine of sailing, leading up to "action stations" at 9 o'clock. Here came the significant reminder that "immediate readiness for action is to be assumed," and definite instructions with regard to the position and training of turrets and guns. "It is hoped," the f notice went on, "that arrangements may be made to allow all hands to see the German ships." Finally came the most remarkable note ever posted, cert(,:"v in this ship, and probably in anv ship: P "09.40 BATTLE FLEET MEET THE c GERMAN FLEET." It was generally, known that_.by the terms of th* armistice the German ships were to be unarmed and manned only by navigating crews, but the Navy does not believe in , taking unnecessary chances. Treachery was not 1 expected, but all was ready to blow the German ships out of the water should any trick be attempted. Last night the Grand Fleet lay at its moorings in the Firth of Forth. Above the bridge were battleships, destroyers, and submarines, and conspicuous among them was the French armoured cruiser Amiral Aube, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral Grasset, which, with two destroyers, represented the French Navy in the final act of the great drama. Below the bridge were battleships, battle-cruisers, and light cruisers, and again a prominent place*was taken by ships of a partner nation in the straggly, the New York, I flying the flag of Admiral Rodman, with Admiral Sims and his staff on board, and the Florida, Wyoming, and Arkansas. Canada was above the bridge with the First. Battle Squadron. Australia and New Zealand were below with the Second Battle Cruiser Squadron. Throughout the night the flagship was in touch by wireless with the German Fleet," noting its progress towards the place of rendezvous. At two o'clock in the morning the Fleet was reported about 70 miles from the spot. German envoys who came in the Konigsberg last Friday had stated that for some reason, of which I am not aware, perhaps for want of attention and perhaps for lack of fuel, their fleet would be unable to steam at more ; -than 12 knots. That, however, would be speed enough for punctuality. LEAVING THE FIRTH. I A few minutes before 4 o'clock the 5 First Battle Squadron, led by the Ro- , venge, flagship of Vice-Admiral Mad- • den, began to move. Tho fog had lift—' 3 ed, after five days, and the lower air ■ was clear, but clouds hid the moon and - stars and made the night dark. Silent- . lv through the darkness ship followed snip down to the open sea, an ominous ! awe-inspiring procession of black shapes, 1 each indistinctly silhouetted against the > sky and canopied with a smudge of a smoke. The Qyeen Elizabeth took her i place near the end of tho line. By dayj break the Grand .Fleet was at sea, and in the grey morning mist (.he squadrons took up position in two columns in 6 single 'line ahead. The Northern line > was composed as follows:— First Light Cruiser Squadron (four » ships). , Sixth Light Cruiser Squadron (four). First Cruiser Squadron (two). , Fifth Battle Squadron (four). Sixth Battle Squadron (five). Second Battle Squadron (nind). i Queen Elizabeth, : Lion.

, First Battle Cruiser Squadron (four). Fourth Light.Cruiser Squadron (five). ' The Southern line, on a parallel i course six miles away, consisted of the i folio wingsThird Light Cruiser Squadron (four , ' ships). Second Light Cruiser ciquadron (four). Minotaur. Furious. Fourth Battle Squadron (five).First Battle Squadron (nine). Second Battle Cruiser Squadron (four). Seventh Light Cruiser Squadron (four). Between the lines were the King Ony, Blanche, Boadicea, Fearless,-and Blonde to act as repeating ships. In this order the Grand Fleet approached the rendezvous. "X position, lat. 66deg., 11 min. N., long., lOdeg. 20min. W." According to programme the First Light Cruiser Squadron "was due to meet the German Fleet at 10 minutes after 9 o'clock, but the position of greatest honour was to be filled by the Cardiff, of the Sixth Light Cruiser Squadron, for she was "to direct the movements of tho German main force and 6rder them to procccd, if possible) at a speed of 12 knots." About 8 o'clock the sun showed its. rim through a rift in the slate-grey clouds, and hore and there in the sky tho greyness of lead melted into light shades of bine and brick red, but a haze still hung over •the water and confined the vision to, perhaps, five or six miles. Somewhere away to the south, we knew thero were ships, but m a line which, from end to .end, measured at least 15 miles obviously were ships which were not to bo seen.. Now and then in the distance one could) pick dimly the outline oF a battleship ; to identify it was another 'matter. So the two lines moved towards, the oncoming enemy. Away to the north we jmssed the Amiral Aube and' her; attendant destroyer. THE ENEMY SIGHTED. Half-past 8 cam© and with it the report that the German Fleet had been sighted by our destroyers. An hour passed and the sun, rising in the heavens, began to tinge the sky with gold. , Presently three, tour, or h«.*e miles away "on our starboard bow there came into view a "sausage" balloon towed by the Cardiff. At first it was a mere faint speck in a grey mist, with a slight smoke train stretching out below. Then behind the Cardilf there emerged from the murk the first of the German shipe. At three miles range they appeared' to be little more than slowly-moving silhouettes. On coming abreast of the German fleet the British Fleet , turned by squadrons, 16 points outwards, wheeling, that is to say, back on its own track, retaining positions on both sides of the Germans to escort them to thoir an-, chorage. The order of squadrons as already given for the northern and southern lines was thus reversed. Between the lines came , the Germans. led' by the Cardiff, and looking for all the world like a school of leviathans led by a minnow. Oveirthem flew a British naval airship- First came the battle-cruisers, headed by the j Seidlitz, a ship which carries the j scars of the . Dogger Bank battle of January, 1915. The Moltke and the Hindenburg followed,' then the Deifflinger, also badly, battered in the Dogger Bank engagement, and finally the Von Der .Tann, which, according to report, Buffered heavily in the naval

> air raid on Cuxhaven. On either side E moved the Fearless and the Blonde it - their former stations. The nine batj tieships followed at intervals of three , cables. The fire ships of the Kaisei class came first, then the Bayern, and 5 then the three Konigs, but in what fc order within the classes could not be a told. _ A mile and a half astern was 5 the King Orry, and again at the same y interval the Phajton, of the First Light - Cruisers. The Castor, flying the pennant of Commodore Tweedie, Commodore of Flotillas, led the 50 Germar r destroyers, surrounded by nearly 15C _ British. j This bald description of the plan ol 3 the operation will not convey to the mind any conception of the scene, but I it must be placed on permanent' re- _ cord, for it indicates a disposition oi _ hostile fleets such as has never been seen before, and will in all likelihood x nevor be seen again. The operations were perfect, both in organisation and in execution. IVom the purely spectacular point of view the was robbed of some of its splendour by tho low mist, which blurred all outlines and " refused to yield to the cold brilliance of sunshine. But the significance of the l meeting and the procession was more important than its appearance. Men in uniform watching the German ships ■> come into view vied with one another in , idontifying them one by one, somep times with the aid of books of silhouettes. But underneath the-momentary excitement of determining whether this 3 ship was tho Hindenburg of the Der- " fflinger there was deep satisfaction that the tedious task of the Navy had been I fulfilled. There were one or "two little evidences of this which could not escape 3 notice. For example, there was a cer--3 tain finality in the hoisting at the peak 3 of the Queen Elizabeth of the Ensign 5 flown by the Lion in the Jutland Battle. Part of the Union Jack had been shot 1 away, and if tho few Germans who could be seen on the decks of their 2 ships troubled to scan the flag it must have aroused bitter, thoughts in their ; minds. Again, the justifiable pleasure i of the Fleet in a work well done was I shown unmistakably by the cheers from 3 the ships of the northern line as they - passed the stationary Queen Elizabeth ; on their way to harbour. From a r dozen ships as they came abreast of the • flagship, which had hoisted, the blue pennant and drawn out of tho line, ; there came the roar of full-throated cheers, given in tribute, not only of - Sir David Beatty personally, Jjut &> tho . majestic living force whose destinies'he i controls. : A TREMENDOUS ARMADA. [ The other heavy ships of the Grand ; Fleet had left the flagship well behind I when the German and British destroy- [ ers came dut of the mist. In ordered ■ array, flotilla on flotilla moved across ! the sea, the Germans completely encased by the British. So vast was the area they covered, that both the head | and the rear of the columns stretched I away into the haze and were lost to , sight. The eye could not count ] them. They were in themselves a , tremendous armada. All this time the . great captive Fleet and the greater | Fleet which encircled it were moving slowly—almost at a funeral pace, and j certainly not at the 12 knots stipulated bv Admiral Meurer—towards the an- ! chorage appointed for the Germans off ' May Island, the rocky island which ! stands in the middle of the Firth of i Forth some miles eastward of tne | bridge. Presently the German ships ; came to rest, and it was seen that.on ' every side of them were their British warders. Then the main body of the | Grand Fleet made its. way back to the stations from which it started in the early hours of the morning. As the Queen Elizabeth steamed along the lines to her mooring she was cheered again and again by the men who . crowded the decks of the ships, she leads. The day came to a peculiarly fitting close. GERMAN FLAG HAULED DOW. About an hour before noon the Com-mander-in-Chief issued the .following signal to the Fleet and it was received beyond doubt by the Germans: — "The Gorman flag will be hauled down at sunset to-day (Thursday) and will not be hoisted again without permission." ' Tne German ships, I should explain, were flying the German naval flag at the .'main. At 4 o'clock all hands in the Queen Elizabeth were piped _ aft. They had assembled, and were waiting perhaps- for a speech, when suddenly the bugle rang out "making sunset." Instantly all turned to the flag and saluted. The next minute cheers for the Commander-in-Chief were called for, and with deafening heartiness. Admiral Beatty acknowledged the tribute with a "Thank you," and added: "I abvays told you they would have to come out." Then the ship's company went back to their duties. In the meantime the Germahs- in the 71 ships which lay out of sight in the mist^had.'undepfone the mortification of seeing their ag hauled down, perhaps never to be hoisted again. ' To-morrow, I understand, those ships will set out under a strong escort" for Scapa Flow, to remain there until the Peace Treaty decides jtheir fate. I bring this dispatch to an end with a signal and a message issued by the Commander-in-Chief to every ship in the fleet to-day. The signal was. this: — "It is my intention to hold aservioe of thanksgiving at 18.00 (six p.m.) "today (Thursday) for the victory which Almighty God has vouchsafed to H.M. j arms, and every ship is recommended to do-tbe same." The message was as follows:— "I wish to express to the flag officers, captains, officers, and men of the Grand Fleet my congratulations on the victory which has been gained over the sea power of our enemy. The greatness of this achievement is in no way lessened] by the fact that tho final episode did: not take the form of a fleet action. Although deprived of this opportunity whicn we had so long and eagerly awaited and of striking the final blow for the freedom of the world, we may derivo satisfaction from the singular tribute which tho enemy has accorded to the Grand if'leet. Without joining us in action he has given testimony to the prestige and efficiency of the Fleet without parallel in history, and it is to be remembered that this testimony has been accorded to us by those who were in the best position to judge. I desire to express my thanks and appreciation to all who have assisted me in maintaining, the Fleet in instant readiness for action, and who have borne tho arduous and exacting labours which have been. necessary for the perfecting of the efficiency which has accomplished so much.'

THE SURRENDER OF THE SUBMARINES. As a kind of curtain-raiser to the great nautical drama described above, the surrender of 20 German submarines had taken place on the preceding day. The sceno is thus described by "The Times" correspondent i . HARWICH, Wednesday. I At the still, cold hour of dawn to-day five British light cruisers, escorted by dostroyors, received the surrender of German submarines, the first of the enemy warships to be delivered to us under the terms of the armistice. The occasion had no parallel in history, and vet the most enduring impression I have retained of a memorable morning is that the surrender was completed in silonee. Our 6eamen raised no cheers. Kestramt was surely needed when a British crew boarded the first of the U-boats and hoisted the White Ensign abov© the conuing tower, but even those who were nearest to the submarines report tna., not ono voice was heard to'' acclaim the j '* H.M.S. DRAGOX. koats had come under our control they glided by the Dragon, the ship 111 which I was stationed, at irrtv guiftr intervals during a period of two *K m llff e i°! e i r -j k of the cruiser % e i 6tol,dl y at pipes, and wat&aea the passing pests of the

i'sea with scarcely a word of comment, i Tlie only remarks one heard were those •i in which information was exchanged. 11 "Them's 'Uns on the fo'c'sle," one sea- ■ | man would say. ''Ay, they re uns all . i right,'' came the answer. "0^ r ® r: have got clean sweaters on, anotne . ■' volunteered. Somehow one got .an idea i! that the ship's company felt »n----i temptuous of the U-boat crows ? but th , feehng did not find expression in wonls. . If the craft so ignominiously handed . over had been destroyers there ; have been a little sympathy for the omi cers and men who had to give U'> ships, hut these were boats whose liK had fouled the traditions of the sea, f and humiliation was a light punishment for those who manned them. . The British and the German ships ■ met a few minutes after 7 o clock at rendezvous in the North Sea about oo miles from Harwich. Two hours ea " the cruisers had left their anchorag and 6teamed out to the meeting-plac in bright moonlight. Rear-Admiral S Reginald Tvrwhitt, than whom no sailor had a harder oarnod right to take tn. e submission of the submarines, new 11s flag in the Curacao, and m his wake fie had the I>anae, Coventry, Centaur and Dragon. Dimlv to port and starboard could he seen the phantom shapes or the escorting dostroyers. THE MEETING. At half-past 6 the stars were fading out of the eastern sky, and 20 minutes afterwards, when the, buglers sounded "Actior. stations,'' visibility w aa proving. Thin mist rested on the placid sea, but above the haze a rosy glow made the morning "beautiful. I tooK advantage of an invitation to scramoie into the foretop, and waited there to} the drama to fc>egin. Almost immediately a ship loomed out of the mist o our port how, and a dozen binoculars were focused on her. She held to he course and showed Dutch colours. Ay five minutes past 7 the Dragon swerved from hor station. A transport had been sighted. We were at the and the Germans were punctual. Our "part of tho day's work was to leid the surrendering squadrons _ and the ships with them to the Cork liigh - ship, where British officers and ratings would take over tho submarines. While the Dragon moved towards the transport the other cruisers went on ahead, and the grey veil soon received and cloaked them. We closed with a vessel of about 8000 tons, the Sierra Ventana, which showed the distinguishing marks of a hospital ship. The hull was painteda dirty white, with an encircling belt of green. Her decks appeared to be deseited except for a small group of men gathered aft. Half a mile astern a second ship followed', apparently another transport. Then we saw the U-boats, dark lines on the sea, wtith their conning towers showing like humps. Peering into the mist we could count four. Straining eyes made the number five. Four hours went by before we knew from our own observation that the tally was a, complete score. It wqs not our business at daybreak to ascertain, whether the Germans had obeyed orders and sent out the number of ships arranged. By the commercial code the Dragon made a signal to the Sierra Ventana to follow her accurately," and after an exchange of messages the speed of the convoy was fixed at i*o knots. As the rim of a blood-red sun rose out of the haze towards a narrow bar of cloud an amazing procession 6et a oourso towards the Essex coast. The Dragon led, a new ship, spick and span if ever the phrase could be used; the transports —rather uncertain in keeping line— steamed behind. Then came a destroyer with five enemy submarines m her wake; beyond out vision more destroye«s and more submarines. When the Kaiser dreamed of sea-power did he ever think of such an end to his hopes? AN AERIAL ESCORT. The sun had not long been up when a British rigid airship of the Zeppelin type, R 26, oame out from Harwich, •and at a height of 800 ft sailed majestically down the line. .a. eilverv Blimp I followed, ami later three flying boats. For the next two hours the aircraft kept company with the procession, flying low. and passing and repassing over the German ships. ,At half-past 10 we mot destroyers carrying the men who were to board the U-boats and take them into harbour. The transports got the signal, to anchor, the second two cables astern of the first, but they failed to understand, and destroyers, assuming a role very much likte that of sheep dogs, were sent to make the orders clear. Within a few minutes tho anchors were out, the submarines in their "turn stopped engines, and all was ready for the most intense hour of the day. Men emerged from the conning towers and stood on the decks of the U-boats. Motor-launches came alongside the destroyers and embarked British crews for the humbled squadrons. The submarines treally surrendered when at dawn they obeyed the admiral's signal tt> follow the destroyers, but for more than three hours.they continued to be navigated by their own officers and men. The testing moment had' still to be faced. It was no proud surrender. Only one of the 20 boats the German and from every ship, without exception, the nuigber, had been painted out. Warships have struck their flags to the enemy without being dishonoured. Here there was no attempt claim honour, and certainlv none to suggest that it was due. The only courtesy observed was that the British officer to take charge of eijch boat saluted as he stepped on bnard. No -unnecessary sentences were spoken. The German officer produced the papers, which he had ready in his hand. The British officer, in return, showed his authorising papers. The conning tower was taken over, the German crew sent on deck forward, an (J British engineer officers went below. It was still left to the enemy erigineors to navicate the ship, but they did so under British supervision. GERMAN OFFICER IN TEARS. Generally, the situation was "accepted meekly, but I hear of'one German who wept, and of another officer who protested against carrying on duty after the surrender. Between the German and British crews there was no fraternising. Orders forbidding it had been issued on our ships, but it is unlikely that in any case tho men would have sought communication with the Germans or responded to overtures from sailors' who brought over discredited and often mur-der-stained boats. In the one case where the enemy flag was uispiavetl the White Ensign iras run up above it. Over the other ships the flag of the Royal Navy by midday flew alone. • No exciting incident occurred during the transference of authority. Units of a navy which had revolted against a call to battle had no spirit to be anything but abject in the hour of submission to the foe they would not fight. In addition, our terms required that each submarine on delivery should bo in running order, with the poriscopes intact, and that the torpedoes should have been unloaded. ENTERING HARBOUR. The 20 U-boats were taken in groups of fives to the harbour by the destrov- ! ers with four of the light cruisers bring- j ! ing up the rear. All the Germans, ex- : cept those required below, stood on do?k as the squadrons passed towards the river. If British sailors were also on deck the Germans kept forward or the conning tower. The boats after- , wards completed by themselves the last ■ journey to a point about a mile above Parkeston Quay- -Motor launches then took off the German crews, put them oh board the destroyors by the guarchbips off Harwich, and the destroyers carried back to the transports for the reI turn journey to their own country. While they were in the submarines, not I only the men,_ but some of the officers had given obvious signs of nervousness. Conscience, or, perhaps, downright fear, had them in its cold gnp. More than one officer, I am tow, had sought the solace of wine befor® giving up his ship. During the short passage out to sea in the destroyers there was a marked

difference between the attitude of tHe officers and the men. The officers wero glum and moody, the men bright and cheerful. One party began to sing, but obeyed a command, a German command, to cease. Another group set> the ship's gramophone going. Smiles were general; someone said that the men had "the 500-mark look," the reference being to a reported monetary reward to be given them for making the voyage, but the smiles were prompted by other sentiments as well. Most of the crews -were stockily built, did not look ill-fed, and wore good clothing and boots. They had cigars to smoke and nearly all of them carried parcels of food and other articles brought? away from their own ships. Any idea that they hav<j thrown away their discipline may be discounted for the present. Any orders given by their officers J werQ promptly and satisfactorily obeyed, and the men saluted punctiliously. Altogether the German crews numbered well over 500 men. There was a total of 143 on the first five submarines. By the time the destroyers came alongside the transports had awakened to greater activity. Quite a lot of people were looking over the deck rails of the Sierra Ventana, and they included a German naval officer and two women. In the second transport, the Titania, a Hamburg boat, were several men in civilian clothing. Not much time was taken in transferring the crews to the transports, and the two ships were then led out bv the Dragon to the place "at sea where they were first picked up in the morning. On arrival there they were dismissed and ordered to proceed to Germany. THE SURRENDERED BOATS. As the day was closing in I went up the river on a motor launch to get a close look at the surrendered boats. One, a ship of the Deutschland type, originally supposed to. have been planned for commercial purposes, but which was quickly adapted for fighting, lay alongside a British warship by the quay. The others, bunched in groups of three, wero interned together up stream. They included U 43, U 90, U 96, U 98, U 107 (the boat which flew the German ensign), TJ 162 x and U B 143. So far as one could see. in the deepening dusk, several would have boen better for repainting, and from oflicers I have heard that they wero anything but clean inside. There j was a general demand in fact for sup--1 plies of Izal. One boat, fresh out of the shipbuilding yard, provided a contrast ; ner gun had not been fired.Comparatively few souvenirs had been left by the Germans. Odd books, several sextants, and a couple of loaves of black bread represented practically the whole of the loose property found by our .men. No glamour hung over the craft. They looked what their crews had made them, instruments of murder and inhumanity. One could only, be grateful that retribution had come to them, and that the menace they levelled at the mercantile marine of the world has been removecr —removed it may surely be hoped for ever. More submarines are to be surrendered during the week. By Saturday nis»ht the number should have reached 96, and some of those to come are df the latest and largest types. The procedure to-morrow and on Friday and Saturdav will be identical with that observed to-day. The light cruisers are already lying out at sea ready to move out with another dawn to the appointed place. THE KAISER'S BOAST AFTER . JUTLAND. Jn view of the: surrender of the. German Fleet, it is of interest to recall the boastful speech made by the Kaiser when he visited his Fleet, at Wilhelms.haven on. June sth and 6th, 1916, shortly after the battle of Jutland. From the deck of the Admiral's flagship he addressed delegations from the vessels which took part in the battle, and he told them that he had never visited the •Fleet in 6Uch high spirits. The Kaiser proceeded:— Thus the superior British Armida approached, and our Fleet engaged it, and what happened ? The British Fleet was beaten. The first great hammer blow was struck, and the nimbus of British, world supremacy had disappeared. Like an electric spark the news rushed through the world, and caused unprecedented jubilation everywhere where German hearts beat, and also "among our brave allies. That iB the success of the battle of the North Sea.

A new chapter in the history of the world has be mi opened by you. The Grrman Fleet has been able to defeat a superior English Meet. God Almighty has steeled your arms and kept your eyes clear, but I am standing here tdday as your Supreme War-Lord, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am standing here as the representative and in the name /of the Fatherland, to express to you its thanks, and in the name of my Army to bring you the greetings of the sisterservice. Every one of you has done his duty, at the gun, at the boiler/in the wireless, but every one thought of the same thing. Nobody thought-of himself. Only one thought filled the whole Fleet —namely, "We must succeed. The •enemy must bo beaten." Thus I express to leaders, officers,' and crews my fullest appreciation and thanks. In theso days, when the enemy before Verdun is slowly beginning to collapse, when our allies have driven, the Italians from mountain to mountain, arid are still driving them back, you have accomplished this beautiful and grand deed. The world waß prepared for anyr thing, but never for the victory of the Gorman Fleet over the British. A start has been made. Fear will creep into the bones of the eneitay. " I