THE BATTLESHIP.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1712, 1 April 1913, Page 7

THE BATTLESHIP.

RECEPTION PROGRAMME.

COUNCIL AND NAVY LEAGUE.

SOME FRICTION.

A LIVELY DISCUSSION.

Arrangements for the reception of the ljaltlo cruiser New Zealand in Wellington were discussed at a special meeting of tho City Council yesterday afternoon. As the following account' ot tho meeting shows tho proceedings were anything but trail--quil.' and there were evidences 'that councillors were by no means' satisfied with things"; a3 J . they. have progressed.'. ThereTho Mayor (Mr. D. M'La'ren)Lt 11 /Councillors J; Godber, RFletoivev, Ff blion, J. E.' ,; Fitzgerald. IS. Tregear, A;' , $ Hindmavsh, li. M'Kenzie, U: lUst, A.VR. Atkinson, -W. H. "P. Barber,, i>nd J. I'ullcr.

.. . Th> Mayor Explains, The Mayor said the meeting had been called to consider what the council should (to in respect to the. arrival of tho battler cruisea- New Zealand. 4 ' He had been in consultation with the Minister for Internal' A'ffairs on. this liiatter in order .that t|\ere,-might: be no conflict in the arrangements come to by, tho general Government and by tho city. After his consultation with the Hon. H. D. Bell there had been djawn up -a programme of arrangements, a.' copy of which programme had been sent to him. ■ Also, he had conjointly with Councillor Fletcher, chairman of the Harbour Board, sighed a. letter which had been duly sent on, making a request that the, authorities would do their best to have the battleship arrive on Saturday, April' 12th( at about 2 p.m. His opinion ■was 'that if - the battleship arrived at 1! o'clock there-would bo a general turn-out of the citizens, and all the craft in the oould be brought into requisitionto\ make an adequate demonstration in the harbour. Ha trusted that his action would meet with the approval of. tho council. The ship would be here for ten days, and'there were'.certain social clubs •in the'city that were taking part in entertaining th© officers of the Now Zealand. He had been informed .that the Savage Club and the Orphans' Club were joining forces in order to'entertain the officers'oii the 'eyeiung of Saturday, April 19th, and; tho suggestion had been made to him that the council shquld assist in the eriter'tiiinpient to the extent of granting the use of the Council Chamber free. Ho recommended the,.suggestion ,favourahly to" the qouitqil. Ho had no official news as to what was being done in other cities, but indirectly the information had reached'him that the city of Cliristchurch had ; douated, 4)250 towards the cost of entertaining the and men on the cruiser. It was a question for the council determine whether Wellington city should not do something similar. The first functions to take place would be the . officjal.,visit to the ship of his Excellency the Governor, and tho return visit of the Commander to Gqvemipent , House. Next in order would 'be the official visit of . representatives of the Government. The proper etiquette was that Ministers of the Crown should receive the officers of the warship' on ..water, and the council, on behalf of the citizons, should reqeivo them ,on land.- 'The Minister had undertaken that; after the janie Seddon had been used' for the official visit of the Ministry, she'' would be placed at the disposal of the Mayor' and councillors for their; yisit to the ship. "* ..

' The Citizens' Ball. In regard to the proposed citizens' ball, tho psople of the siayy League had been in '(tonsultation with the Ministers, and they-.had fished- to. make the..ball, a $avy I/eagiio ball.At: the .last moment'the Minister suggested to : him ■ that ; it woukl bp batter'to inake if a -citizens' ball. A, meeitißg.'oi'. tKe'lNavy ,'lieagu'e had been calle'd; :to bo held in' his room. . The meeting was q large,on?, and when the question of the ball was discussed, the A meeting was of opinion that it should bo , Cpunoillor Shirtoliffe, \vho had. been , present • moved a motion endorsing that proposal, -and it was also proposed-that there should, be a large open-air, fete oi\ "Wednesday, April 15. for ,the entertainment of the men. The ineetijis l set up u small committee to take charge of the arrangements, for the ball, and of that committee councillors and their wives were--to-he ex-officip members, in order to make tho coniuiittee fully re-. : presen'tgftve,.o{ the citizens.. . - , The Mayor'also read a letter from the Minister (or In.t«?nAl Affairs, advising him, that the Commander -of the New . Zealand approved of the draft pro.gfajinmc, and that the request that the. ship should. tyrriyed on Saturday after- . noon, would have, hisi consideration. . Councillor Tletcher : D'cTmombers of the committee buy their own tickets? The Mayor: Yes. _ ' Councillor Pitcher: It's a pretty tall price. The Mayor: The'meeting was strongly of opinion that there should be no free list whatever: Councillor Ifletcher: There , won t be many ..people there.' ; (To another councillor):' How many tickets do you. ■want?

The . Mayor said it had .also been .siigxes&l that there should be a church parade in'the Town Hall on tlio Sunday after the ship arrived. He had had no communication with the clergymen of the eity.qii tlio subjeot, but h? believed they wero considering it. What the caun<JH had ,to consider chiefly was whether they would donate a certain sum towards the entertainment of the officers and crew, of tho , battleship, and what'arrangements they desired' to make in respect to tho citijsep" ball, and tl}6 citizens' open-air ■fete. ' ' ' _ Whose is the Ship? Councillor'Fletcher said he had understood from Mr. Bell that tho reception was entirely in the hands of the Government. and that the Government would foot' tho bill right through. He did not think' the council should spend =£250 or any ?um'like that on the entertainment of the'crew, but the. council might quite propqrly devoto a sum of money to pay for ' the litre of sqmo 'staiinors oil two or three days to take, oil' to the ship poor people and their children. The Mayor said it 'had been put to liira-that' there was a disposition of tha Navy League Committee to arrange for, the carriage to the ship of only those ■'children who belonged to" tho league. Councillor M'lvenaio: Why? • The Mayor i T. think it is wrong. Councillor Metcher.i Of course it is. The vessel doesn't bfloug to the Navy League. He moved that ■ portion of the money voted by the council be expended on the hire of steamers to run to the ship on two or three days to convey children and poor people to the battleship. "I -(lout know anything much about the citizens' ball," he concluded. "I an! .quite of the opinion that if they are going to charge, for the tickets what is 'advertised in the papers; it is an extravagant price for what, is to bo called a citusens' ball./ It is inure, like a ball for the ■Wellington! Club than a citizens' ball." ' 1 ■ .

The Navy -League..Again.- , Councillor Frost Seconded the motion. He want on to vofer to a matter which had come baforo t<Mo • Committee. Tho Navy League hadfniade application 'to tho Reserves Committae of tho council fr>r_ the use *of; NewtoiWi Park for an. open-air reception, to/the crew of tho battleship. Ho ..wished t6 know whether the ontertainmont was bolng given by the Navy Leagua or by the-.'citizens. The Mayor: They had no right to make any such application. Councillor Frost said the committee had held over tho application until they hair a dlreotion from the council. It seemed to him that tho Navy League were usurping the rights'of the citizens in this matter. Ho asked for a direction as to 1 whether the park should be granted to the citizens of-Wellington or to the Navy iiaguo. If tho' Navy Leiiguo desired to entertain' the men this city should "lot thorn do it 011 their own." The Mayor: The explanation is this: I am afraid Mr. Palnier is so carried away by mi- for the Navy League that, im eojnetimos goes a iittlo outside . ordors given. No instruction was given to Jl-r. Palmer to make such a".request to tho Reserves Committee.' This council alone should dec.W'3 what is Co be doiic. Viy frnggeation wilh regard to the AVednesdaj

entertainment is this: I .have called ii public meeting l'or fivo o'clock t.o-hight. From that meeting we may get the assistnnce from a body of oitizens such as wo had at the carnival, possibly; the carnival committee might he asked'to act, and with such a committee we could make the feto a very great success indeed. Councillor Frost said the council should not play second fiddle to the Navy League, and all the arrangements should bo liiatlo by tho civic, body.

Where Should the Ship Lie? Councillor Fitzgerald said ho rather admired tho persons referred to tor their zeal. Ho did not condemn them. It seemed to him that the only peaplo who wero taking any interest in tho arrival of the ship, an ovent of national ance, were these outside bodies, the Savages,' and the Orphans, and the iN'avy League. Why had the council, the representatives of the people, been tho last to bo called together '• As to the motion lie the proposal was a .very wrong one. If lli.e came to Wellington she should come'' "'W) wharves,of Wellington. AccoibH provided for her, an},- old mop! in the matte* as a .ni«"4oei f inoved that tne - 'Tow 11 Clerk 'write to'tlie Hurbour Board pointing out that it was_ advisable that accommodation be" provided for tho ship at one of tho wharves ,of Welliugton. ; Councillor Fletoher: It is impossible for the Harbour Board to make arrangements to have the vessel berthed. There are only about two berths that the ship could go into, and they will be occupied. Are you going to dislocate the whole trade of the port? . The Mayor suggested that : Councillor Fletcher's motion be added to tho. amendment.. ' Councillor Fitzgerald refused to accept the suggestion, ..'saying that he felt very strongly on the matter.

' "1 won't Withdraw." Councillor M'Kenzie said he would second Councillor Fitzgerald's amendment. He did not altogether disapprove of Councillor -Fletcher's suggestion, but the pro--posal "was impracticable. The boats %ould 4 -ooflW afford to pay for them. He had m his hand an invitation to attend a meeting of the committee of a citizens' bail. And he .understood that the Mayor had_sanctioncd the holding of this ball. "But, ,he went, "what right has the Mayor to give authority to, have a citizens' ball? Surely that is the council's duty. The Mayor is only chairman of the council.' What tho deuce has he got to do with it?" ' , . The Mayor: Will you resume your seat, please? ■ Councillor M'Kenzie (sitting down): What for? . - , The Mayor: I think you should _ have sufficient "consideration for tho dignity 9f the council to refrain from expressions as "What the deuce." 1 must ask you to withdraw the expression. „ ... Councillor M'lvenzie: No, I won t withdraw it. I -feel strongly about it. I won't withdraw it, ■ ' • The Mayor: You won't withdraw it! Yon "will make yourself absolutely ridiculous if you don't. ' ' Councillor M'Kenzie: I think we have been absolutely slighted in this matter. . . . I might have spoken a bit heatedly, but I think we ought to have been in the game ourselves. ' * " ~ ■ Councillor Tregear said he would liketo know what was going to be done, for the men on the. warship.. .Lots of people ivere going to take care that the officers had a good time, but if nioney was to be voted, it should be voted for the " entertalunieht of the ' men. Wero the visits ?f the school children'going- to : be" amusing.''to. either the officers'of the -men? It seemed to him 'that -all. the schemes w»re- not for the entertainment of the visitors, but tor the amusement of the people of vyellington.. • , ' The Mayor said it was proposed to entertain the men, but'"tho arrangements, for that BUVPO S6 ,vori? bcill ? m?" 6 «)' the Government. He asked the council to ratify the arrangements already for th; 4 citizens' f'<Ste," and: he suggested. that, the committee to'manage it be the executive of the recent wrnival. i Councillor Godber said lio happened to knmy' that-, the - Government were.'..making arrangements to entertain the men, but surely there would bei expenses in connection with the ' citizens' 'open-fir fete, and' the council should proviao for that.- : Councillor Cohen did not approve of 'voting money for the hire of steamers. People would, 'bo "murdering one- another to .get free "jirips." He wquld be. glad to fall in with a proposal to vot<j a reasonable, sum for the entertainment of the meii. '

Mr, Hindmarsh Wanted "Private ' Effort." . Councilor Hindmarsh thought the reception of the warship and the orow might, very well be left to the Government and to private effort. The council should. exercise a restraining . influence rotter than "rusli into the thing." It would cost about » thousand pounds before it was done with, .and lie did not see why they should go into ecstasies nbont'the matter. Ha would oppose the resolutions. . Councillor Fletcher said that lie had never proposed that all the money voted slionklbe spent on the hire of boats, hut only <i portion of it. He would amend his motion by the addition to it at the beginning: "In the event of it beingimpossible to berth tho warship at the wharf." He had been' advised that this' particular fortnight when the vessel would bo in port would' be a very busy one'in the''port, and :it would'"bo surely absurd as a business proposition to turn trading "ships "away 'to inake room for the New Zealand. He did not think the. Harbour Board would agree to' 'anything of the sprt. Councillor Fitzgerald refused to accept tho amendment and pressed his own. ;

. Councillor Fletcher's amendment ' was carried with only'tiv'o'dissentients—Councillors Fitagerald and Frost . The Mayor asked the council to confirm the arrangement tentatively made already that there should bo u citizens' fete, and he suggested that the council agree to contribute a; sum towards the expenses iot exceeding' _ • ' Councillor Fletcher said it would be perfectly farcical to vote only .£250.' The ship would have a crew of 700 or gOO'men. Councillor ll'Kenzie suggested that the council should vote a specific sun) 'and empower the Citizens' Committee to provide entertainment. More funds would bo obtained outside of this vqte. Councillor Fuller asked whether other suburban boroughs had been asked to cooperate.-

The Mayor said that they had not'. U© repeated his suggestion that tlib Carnival' Coiiifhitteo be asked to control the fete. Councillor Tregeai- (smiling); I suggest that instead of tho c(uuiuitfoß being called tho Carnival Committee* it should ha called the' Ward Committee, in honour of the gentleman who gavo tho battleship to the Niivy. The Mayor: I am afraid you are out of order. Tho suggestion of the Mayor was approved, and 'if was further decided that, admission to the park bo free on tb(Mju.Y the fete Is held.

More Abqut the Ball. 'l'lie Mayor said that with replied to the citizens' ball ho liacl been unable to promise to the Ball Contmittqe that the council would subsidise the ball, especially in view of the fact that the charges were such that .very few .citizens would attend it. But on the other hand tho council' could not allow the bull to be a poor .sort of function, unworthy of tho city. Personally, he would linve liked to have seen the prices reduced l>v 0110 half. The cbmmitteo asftod to have tho hall for the ball freo of charge. Councillor Fletcher said the whole affair had been very wrongly managed. Tho whole thing had been arranged, and nowlast of all tho council was asked to let thu hall free of charge. For a citizens' ball tho council, should havo token control, fixed tho charges, and'issued tho invitations, , ■ ' , Councillor Barber agreed, with Councillor Fletcher. There would be no needfor any subsidy, anyhow, for if the committee thought they could n«t run a ball "at Jjl 15s. n double ticket," they dill i(ot. expect to have many people there. Councillor Culien: What about rhanipasiio?" Councillor Barber thou'.'lit "a lot of drink" was not necessary at an entertainment of "tho kind. "" Councillor Atkinson said there had been a lot uf carping iritieistn at I he meetins. much of it not justified. The meet nig at which I lie ball was 'promoted was a public meeting, called by advertisemeiit, and

the May<?r presided at it. If the outsiders had not taken up the , work it would not havo been done at all. Ihe councillors, themselves were to blame. If they wanted the charges reduccd their proper courso was to go on the committee and move to have them, reduced. He moved that the hall be granted free. Councillor Godber seconded the motion. Councillor Fitzgerald thought the hall should ,be granted free, with a recommendation, not a condition, that the charges be reduced. Councillor Tregear: If we reduce the charge by sixpence perhaps a very inferior and common lot of .people might get in.: The Mayor, by way of explanation for his having delayed calling the council together, drew attention to the fact that he had had a very busy. week. There were 'men 'on.the ball committee who. would be very glad to Ire relieved of the work. Everything had not been tKouglit of at the meeting, but ho himself was responsible for councillors being made ex officio members of the ball ' committee. He advised all founcillors to go on the committee, and then they could make the arrangements what they wished. If they considered the ball could be run at a lower figure, it was their duty, to go on the committee, and move to that cffcct. . „ The motion was carried, the only No being that of Councillor Hindmavsh. Councillor Fitzgerald then moved that it be a, recommendation to the committee that the charges for the ball be'reduced. Councillor Atkinson, Councillor Hindmarsh, Councillor Frost, Councillor Tregear, and Councillor Fuller all objected to voting on the motion. They thought that the council had no right to recommend anything to a body over which they had lio control. Councillors Hindinarsh and" Tregear refused to vote, and left the chamber when the division was being taken. Councillor M'Kenzio said he objected to voting, but finally voted "No." ' . „ '.Ihe division list was as follows :-rFor the motion: The Mayor and Councillors Barber, Cohen, I' ilzgerald, and Fletcher. . Against: Councillors ■ A tkinson, i lost, Fuller, Godber, and M'Kcuzic. The' Mayor: Tho division is five to. five. I give mv volo in favour of tho motion. Councillor Fuller.: Tsn't that unusual? Don't, vou usually vole to leave things as' fhev are in such circumstances? The Mayor did not. reply, and very shortly afterwards tho council, rose.

LOCAL PROGRAMME APPROVED. His Excellepcy the Governor lias received a cable message from Captain Halsey,' (if the ba.ttlp.-cryiser New Zealand, stating that he agrees, to the Wellington programme submitted to him. Tho Governor has not y?t received any intimation from Captain Halsey as to the. hour of the Now Zealand's arrival at AVellington.. '

THE OPEN AIR FETE. The public meeting called for last evening to arrange for tlio holding of an open air fote for the crew of the battleship was adjourned owing to the Mayor being detained longer than was expected at t lio special'meeting of the City Council. The meeting will be held this afternoon at s'o'clook in'the'Mayor's room. Those ivho worked as members of committees of the rccent carnival aro especially invited to be present. ■ ' VESSEL ARRIVES AT MELBOURNE. Bj Telegraph—Press Association—CopyrißM Melbourne, March . 31. Tlio warship New Zealand has arrived here. .