"AT EIGHT BELLS."

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 967, 7 November 1910, Page 6

"AT EIGHT BELLS."

SIR HARRY RAWSON AT ZANZfr BAR. In a brief note appended to tha cabled news of the death of Admiral Sir Harry Raw6on in Saturday's . Dominion it was stated that he bombarded the palace of the Sultan of Zanzibar in 1896, when in charge of the West African station. How this came about makes .highly dramatic reading. Though Zanzibar was then under British suzerainty, a Pretender with a largo following had seized upon the place, and ho with his retinue ousted the lawful ruler, and in place of the Union Jack, hoisted his own particular pattern in. bunting. In due time the news of this grave breach of national etiquette readied Sir Harry Rawson, and the fleet hurried on to Zanzibar, where, sure enough, something foreign waved in the air where the Jack should have fluttered. Lord Salisbury was then in power in England, and to him he bluff Sir Harry cabled for. instnicons. The Prime Minister replied thai be was hicapau.e of advising, and that e left it to Sir Harry's discretion aa to what action he should take. Sir liarry was quite equal to the occasion. he 6ame afternoon he sent ashore a messenger to state that if the rebel flag was not lowered before 8 o'clock the next morning the palace would be blown down. Now, tho palace at Zanzibar wao the centre of the town—all streets radiated from its liko the spokes from the hub of a wheel (or after the fashion of Washington, U.S.A.), and the main street led straight down to the quay, so that a warship lying off the quaj opposite the street, had a clear rangei with the palace as the fairest of tar. gets gleaming stark white in . the African sunshine. At an early hour next morning anxious eyes were directed, to .the palace, but still the Pretenders flag flopped lazily in the dawn wind from the ocean. A second messenger • was dispatched, repeating tho message of the day before, and stating that at eight bells the guns would play. Still no response. At 7 a.m. an officer was dispatched, instructing the Pretender to remove all the women and children from the. palace, and shortly afterwards the officers, .with glasses glued to their faces, saw the women leave the palace in droves. ... All glasses on the quarter-deck' were now directed to the flagstaff of tho palace, while down below the gunners made de'iherate preparation for action. . . . One minute ,to 8 . .■. tho Pretender's flag still waved. .'. , . Eight bells 1 . . . .■. Fire!!! And when the smoke cleared away there was no palaco at all. All through a little bit of .bunting. ,