NEW BOOKS.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16430, 25 January 1919, Page 7

NEW BOOKS.

ADMIRAL BRIDGE'S RECOLLECTIONS.

On personal grounds "Some Recollections," by Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge, G.C'.B., should be interesting, because the author was well known both in Australia and New Zealand. In fact, we doubt whether any Admiral on an Australian station ever gained more popularity or was more deservedly esteemed. But his book -will appeal to a yet wfder public, especially at a time when the English Navy is tho subject of so much interest. Soon after sending this uook to the press Admiral Bridge passed away. It is a matter of congratulation that he was persuaded by his friends to put on record the circumstances of lifo in the Navy in the middle of the 19th century, telling, as ho does, of a condition of things which very few now remember. The son of a Newfoundland Archdeacon, he entered the Navy in 1553, and was appointed as a naval cadet to H.M.S. Medea, fitting out c t Portsm juth. Thoro were still many sailing ships in •'ho Navv. but the Medea was a padd'.e-steamer, classed as a steam sloop, and, according to the measurement of the time, she was 850 tons. Her armament consisted of six guns of cast-iron smooth bore, the heaviest firing a solid 681b shot; At that time and for years afterwards, the officers of a map-of-war provided practically the. whole of their ! mess equipment, callod "mess traps," themselves. Spoons and forks and tablecloths were provided by a curious arrangement. Each'officer had to provide about a dozen pieces of plate. All had to be of silver, as even after eleoj tro-plate becamo known it was long prohibited in naval messes. Every member. of a mess in turn had to find « tablecloth. It was returned to him nfiter it had been used, and Ira had to se« that it was washed and kept ready when the turn came round again. The only internal lighting then known afloat was that by candles, usually in tubes with coiled springs inside them, l'ha meals in the midshipmen's mess were: 8 a-m., breakfast; noon, dinner; 5 p.m. tea. The last meal, as a rule, consisted of a cup or two of tea, at sea; without) milk, and biscuits and salt butter when salt butter was available, which was not always. Even the officers found it advisable to knock the biscuits on the table so, as to shake out tho weevils before tackling them. As there were no means of cold storage, fresh meat, fish, and many kinds of vegetables could not be kept for more than a day, and often not even that. Within forty-eight hours of being at sea, officers and men ' were practically reduced to salt meat.. In the. officers' messes there were to be found sardines and a few kinds of preserved and potted meats, but these things wero abundant. There was in existence a kind of preserved milk. It was in the lorm of a wliite powder, which had to be mixed with water before use. It . was not liked, and in most messes-was soon erased from tho list of mess stores. ■ Discipline was very strict, but in the majority of ships it was not v harsh «>r even particularly severe. Admiral Bridge was unfortunate in his first captain, wh#se character seemed to I/O made up of contradictions. Ho never flogged, he never uttered an oath or a foul expression, yet he abused the m v.i when he was v dissatisfied with them till they were goaded almost to madness, and nearly every punishment short or flogging was.inflicted with a lavish hand. His kindness to sick officers and men, however, was unbounded. His dress was remarkable. Even at sea and •in rough weather he generally wore a well-made frock-coat with-a velvet collar. As often as not at sea' he had cn ah old pair of coloured. plain-cloth js trousers. His watch had'a large and' heavy gold chain, which went round his neck, and to which the watch-key was attached by a piece of white tape, which became dirtier and dirtier as time went on. It is impossible to imagine such a figure on the quarter-deck ot one of his Majesty's ships in tho present day. puring the .Crimean War Admiral Bridge had some war- service in tho White Sea blockading He served on board ..the Brisk,'a-new ship. She was a screw-propelled • steam corvette. Sho was a full-rigged' ship, with very small coal capacity, so that' she noarly always .moved ' abbut under sail. Her screw propeller, when not in use. .could bo detached and hoisted up to the level of the upper deck by stout tackles. On ono occasion the Brisk and the Miranda were sent to destroy some fortifications on the island on which the Monastery of Soiovetski stands, which 'they did successfully, red-hot shot being used in the bombardment. They, had one man killed and one severely wounded. In tho long voyages under sail in the Pacific Ocean, lasting generally several weeks, and often months, men in the Royal Navy lived, "as far as meat was concerned, entirely on salt provisionssalt boef on one' day and salt pork on the next., To prevent the occurrence of scurvy an allowance of limejuice was issued to. each officer and man. This practice was. introduced into tho Royal Navy beforo the end of the 18th century, and its beneficial effect was most striking. Even in Admiral Bridge's early days in the service there were not" many naval officers who had ever seen a case of scurvy. Admiral Bridge in his whole service saw only twO cases, both occurring in the Pacific. In tho French ships then employed in the Pacific station limeiuice was not issued, and the French flagship had many cases of scurvy, some so bad that the men had to l>o kept in their hammocks. It is interesting to read Admiral Bridge's accounts of his early voyages, and contrast San Francisco as he knew it with the San Francisco of Tho latter part of tho book is devoted to the South Sea islands, of which Admiral Bridge saw a great many in the course of his servicO on the Australian station. He writes: — ' "I landed on more than a hundred of thorn. Once when I was at Apia, in Samoa, I was asked if I would like to be introduced to a German merchant-service captain, a very intelligent, pleasant-mannered man, who was bonoved to have landed on more South Sea islands than anyone else. I was glad,to be introduced to him. We compared notes, and it turned out that I beat him by four islands." _ Tho author "gives some idea in the course of his remarks ?f tho navld diplomatic work which is done by officers in out-of-the-way P°^ ts world. It maff be added that AdmuaJ Bridge was probably th© fi* l. Admirals on the Australian station who

did great work in fostering the Imperial spirit. It is not mentioned m this book, but we believe it is correct, that we really owe to Admiral Bridge "Deeds Which "Won the Empire,' ana other works from Dr. Fitchett's pen. which have had such a great influence in spreading amongst British people tho knowledge of the glorious history ot the Empire. We understand that Admiral Bridge first suggested to the "'Melbourne Argus' 1 the idea of a series of articles dealing with great events in British militarv and naval history, and the work was placed in tho hands of T>r Fitchett, who was then a contributor to the '"'Argus.'' How _ well he soizfil the idea, and how admirably he carried it out, all readers of his books are aware. . (London: John Murray. Albemarle street- W. Christchurch : Whitcombe and Tombs, Ltd.) GENERAL SMUTS' CAMPAIGN. Among tho remarkable side-shows of tho great war, General Smuts' campaign in East Africa is one of the most i remarkable. We are glad, therefore, that an account of it has been written by ono so competent to deal with it as Briga-dier-General J. H. V. Crowe, C.8., who was in command of the Royal Artillery, and accompanied General Smuts in the field throughout the campaign. A very interesting introduction is written by Genoral Smuts himself, who remarks that the enemy's. stubborn defence of his last colony is not only a great tribute to the military qualities of General von Lettow, but is a proof of tho supreme importance attached by tho Gorman Imperial Government to this African colony, both as an economic assot arid as a strategic point of departure for the .establishment of the future Central African Empire, which is a cardinal feature in the Pan-Ger-manic dream. He writes: — "With German East Africa restored to tho Kaiser at the end of the war, • and a large Askari army recruited and trained from its 8,000,000 natives, tho conquest or forced acquisition of the Congo Free State, Portuguese East and West Africa, and, perhaps, even the recovery of the Kamoroons, may be only a matter of time. In this way this immense tropical-, territory, with _ almost unlimited ecofiomic and military possi- ' bilities. and provided with excellent submarine bases on both the Atlantic and Indian seaboards, might yot become an important milestone on the road to World-Empire. The East African campaign, therefore, while apparently a minor side-show in this great world-war, may yet have im- » portant bearings on the future history of the world. And it is to be hoped that our rulers will bear these wider and obstiu'rer issues in mind when terms of peace come to be. arranged at the end of this war." General Crowe points out that the campaign in East . Africa was fought under conditions which render it absolutely unique in our history. The composition of. staff and troops, the armament of those troops, and. the nature of the country fought over, all combined to' create, unprecedented difficulties, which had to be faced and overcome by tho General entrusted with the control of the "operations. At the time General Smuts was called to take over tho command, he held tho portfolio of D<> fonco in the Union Government. A lawyer by profession, with a distinguished Cambridge career behind him, nis previous actual experience of soldiering was gained in the South' African War, in which, like ' General . Botha, who did so magnificently in the Southwest African campaign, he fought against the British. Not the least remarkable feature of the campaign is that' at the heads of the important) branches there were officers who, howover capable, had received no previous training in the duties they were to undertake, if we except 'General Collyer, .who'had the training gained in a similar position in tho campaign in Southwest Africa. The troops composing the force of which General Smuts took command were indeed a heterogeneous assortment, tho general • policy of the Home authorities being, that as far as possible, l no troops which could be employed in the theatre of operations m Europe should be made available for East Africa. In other words, that this campaign should not be allowed to absorb any of the forces which could be usefully employed in the decisive point. Tho mixture of nationalities entailed as a consequence a variety of languages. There were English, Dutch, Swahili the languages spoken by the regiments from the West Coast, in addition to the different languages spoken by the various tribes from which, the fighting raon iind porters were drawn in Eastern Africa. Well may General Crowe say that to take over the command of such a force, to work them a$ a harmonious whole in a country- offering every obstacle and difficulty to military operations and movement generally, with tho aid of an improvised staff, was a task which demanded a big leader of men. The story of the campaign is told in a very interesting way, and illustrated-by maps and military documents. .It is a pity tliat this book is not provided with an index. (London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, W. Christchurch: Whitcombe arid Tombs.) "ordeaiTby SEA." Perhaps the greatest of tho many which blacken the German name are the fiendish atrocities with which the Huns have violated every dictate of humanity in their sea warfare. This is very forcibly pointed- out by Mr Archibald Hurd in his Litest book, "Ordeal by Sea," the story of the British seamen's fight for freedom. Mr Hurd shows that a fine sense of community of sentiment has always distinguished seamen. They have created a code of helpfulness which has no exact counterpart on land. Perhaps they feci their weakness when at the mercy of the waves; they are all involved in the never-ceasing struggle against the elements; they have a common enemy. There is in fact a close brotherhood, in which in all" conditions, whether peaco or war, seamen of civilised nations have been united. Mr Hurd quotes Nelson's memorable prayer before going into action:— "May tho great God whom I worship grant to my country, and for the benefit of Europe in general, a great and glorious victory; and may no misconduct in any one tarnish it; and may humanity after victory bo tho predominant feature in the British Fleet. For myself individually, I commit my life to Him who .made me. and may His blessing light upon my endeavours for serving my country faithfully. To Him I resign myself and the just- cause which is entrusted to mo to defend. Amen, amen, amen." He L.hows how Nelson always carried out tho spirit of that prayer, and how British officers have endeavoured to emulate his example. Mr Hurd contrasts Nelson's triumph with the "great victory" achieved by the German Fleet when the Lusitania was sunk. "Plans," he says, "were prepared weeks in advance by Grand Admiral von Tirpitz and his staff; the Emperor can hardly have been ignorant of them. . . . It was an act of wholesale and calculated murder on tho part not merely of Grand Admiral von Tirpitz, but of his master, the German Emperor, and the whole German people, who condoned and applauded the act." We need not follow the author in the recital of the whole catalogue of ghastly crimes committed by the Germans against the brother- j

! hood of the sea—the sinking of hospital ' ships, the murder of castaways 1 boats, or while they were struggling the sea. ''German? sailors,' savs - Hurd, ''have broken the vows of t brotherhood of the sea as no pirates 1 the past ever broke them, to expia • their crimes on the gallows, for to i modern Huns have not only deatroj _ ; property, sending millions of P°P 11C } S i worth of goods to the bottom ot tn 1 sea to rot, but they have strew n tno ; bods of tne oceans with thousands ° ! corpses of unarmed men, defonceles women, and little children, their souls stainless before the eyes of God an man. ' That constitutes the condemnation of Germany for all time, an( J, , spirit in which the sailors of our blcoci have opposed those acts represents a glorious record which will never be fp l "- gotten." -It is this last sentence whicn gives us light in the darkness, the one cheering feature in the whole horrible story. That the Germans did not triumph is due not only to the gallantry and resourcefulness of the British Navv, but to the courage, tenacity, and ti>° spirit of the men of the mercantile marine and the British fishermen. "So,", as the author remarks, ''in the days to como, shall our children s ctuldron turn to this troubled page of history, . and,. dark though it was, ana ruthlessly diabolical the gathering n } el *7 ace of submarine malignity, they shall read that then, as ever, neither torture nor death could- drag the co "j stancv of our seamen into the abyss. Sir Archibald Hurd is perhaps _ the ablest writer of the day on subjects connected with tho Navy, and wo cordially commend this book to our readers. (London : Jarrold, Publishors, Ltd.)