NEW ZEALAND AND THE NAVY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1728, 19 April 1913, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND AND THE NAVY.

TOWN-HALL LUNCHEON.

CAPTAIN HALSEY ON HIS SHIP'S PART IN WAR; ,

SPEECH BY MR. MASSEY,

Captain ."-Halsey and tho officers of H.M.S. New Zealand were guests of honour at a complimentary luncheon tendered to them ,by the Government in the Town Hall yesterday.' There wcro upwards of three hundred present, and the company was representative of tho official, commercial,- and-professional'men of the city, and also of tho province of Wellington. An interesting and picturesque party ,nt the luncheon was that of a number ■of representatives of the' Native race. .Music was supplied by tho orchestra from tho battleship. The Hon. W. I\ Massey (Prime Ministor) presided, and seated with him on either hand were Captain Halsey, Commander Grace, Engineer-Commander'Tur- j ner, Lieutenaut, North,' and Chaplain Scott, of ILM.ii. New Zealand; '• Lienten-J ant Dennistouu, of H.M.S. Pyramus; Sir' Robert Stout (Chief Justice), Sir Joshua Williams, Mr. Justice Edwards, Mr: Justico .'Denniston, Mr. Justice Chapman, and Mr. Justice Cooper; the Hon. H. D. Bell, tho Hon.' A. L. Hordman, and tho Hon. W. Eraser; Colonel Herd; Bishop' Sprott; Mr. D. M'Laren (Mayor of Wellington), and : Mr. E. Fletcher (chairman of the Wellington Harbour Board). Tho I'rimo Minister tendered apologies, on behalf of tho Hon. W. H. Herriesy : the ■Hon. R. H. Rhodes, the Hon. I)r. Poraare, Sir James Prendergast, Mr.- Justice Sim, and a number of members of both Houses of Parliament..

All the toasts were proposed by tho Prime Minister; The first, that of "The King," was enthusiastically honoured, tho band playing the National-Anthem. The company next.drank the: health of ,"Tho -... Governor." •■Proposing-the latter., toast, the Prime Minister said that only a stern • "sense of.diityin-another direction had kept his Excellency away from their function that day, and -from;earlier.functions iii connectiou with the visit' of the .-' battleship. -.'Tho Earl and Countess of Liverpool' had been here for. a. very few months, but it was already evident that . when fhoir time came to leave { this country; it-'would be said that they would. rank with some of the most popular re- . presentatives of his Majesty the King who had ever conie to -New Zealand. TH^NAVY.y . AN EPQCH-MARKING EVENT. "Now, gentlemen," said the Prime Minister, "I have the honour to propose a toast'in which we are all intensely in-. . terested, and which has brought us here this afternoon, and thnt is the toast of 'The Navy,' coupled with. 1 the name . of CaptainiHalsey. I think you.will agree: with mo in the opinion I am going to express, that the : presence of Captain Halsey. and his officers in this hall this afternoon, and tho visit of tho warshipito Now , Zealand waters, marks an epoch in the history of -this country.. It is true that the great -warship is not under the control of the Now Zealand' Government, but ; wo remember'with prido the,fact that it has been to thc patriotism and Impei-ial- . ism of New Zealanders that,the battleship otves its' existence. (Applause.) Thero niay be some difference of. opinion as to the manner in which the people of New Zealand should take up the- burdens of ■' Empire, but there is no difference of opinion as to the maintenance' of tthe supremacy of the Imperial Navy, or as to any other Imperial matter. (Applause.) "The Old Order Changeth." • "Gentlemen; tho old order changeth, yielding place to new. Time was,' perhnns rontni'ies ago, when a trading vessel could b? converted iuto a fighting ship at comT".iratively short notice. Time was when the British seaman did not require the amount, of training he requires to-day. It i« well known now jhat from: the time th? kfel . of a .battleship; is laid - until siio is ready for service, two years must elapse,- and even two years is not ,i sufficient time for the training of a British seaman.. Certainly it' is not sufficient for the training of a British officer. .The conclusions to be drawn from x these facts are these —that courage is not everything nowadays; that modern, ships and ; armaments, and efficient officers and men, count for a very great deal more. I am glad to be able to say that what has happened during recent years has had the effect of bringing the different countries of the British Empire more closely together, into a state of preparedness for any possible antagonist, whether that antagonist should appear in tho North Sea or the South Pacific. And, gentlemen, if wo aro to keep control,of the sea; if we aro to maintain the Empire of the on our holding the EmpJro of tliß Sea depends to a very great extent, almost altogether, the existence of the great Empire of which we form a part— t.heni I say, there must be rio holding back; there must be no halting between two opinions, rEvery part of tho.Empire, and every individual must ■ be' prepared to-do his duty. (Applause.) ■ . •

The Only Way of Safety. It may suit some parts of the Empire •to build..their own warships, and man their own warships; but, however that may be,.when the time of troublo comes, or if tho time tf trouble 'comes, at tho first shot' fired every ship- shall become an Imperial ship, under Imperial conitrol.. ((Applause.) That is the -only way of (safety. Thero must be a strong, solid, 'and jstcady desire on the part of Ihe British;people to keep the British flag flying in every country where it flies today. .And -it is for : tho' good of the world, for, the gaod of -! mankind, thiofc such should be the case, because, with all our'faults and failings and imperfections,' it. is a fact, and one that cannot be. disputed, that British citizen? 1: ,ve carried freedom, enlightenment, and 1 /iowledgo to the uttermost corners of 'ho earth. 1 know of nothing more likely lo bring clinos and misery/upon millions of human beings ithaii the breaking up »f Ihe British Empire. (Applause.) .Per-, winally.' I am cue of those who believe tii.-'.t the British Empire will last till I lie end of lime—(applause)—but for all (.hat, if,jtlie Empire is going to last, it will only lis ..by bavin*; in our waters a sulticieiit number of ships of the Dreadnought .type, and a sufficient number of officers and-men to man (hem. I believe we have a sufficient number ol fighting ships in; tho northern hemisphere to hold their own against-any possible enemy, but there are people who aro doubtful— and I ain ono of them—whether we havo sufficient; lo hold cur o'w'ii in tho. Pacific. That istft rjuesliion'to be faced. It will have to bo faced in tho very near future, but I am certain that' British . jiatriotism and pride of race will find a way to solve; tho problem. ;Good Luck to tho Ship, ' / "Coining back to the warship, I should like lo'say this—and I want to assure Captain; Halsey and his officers that I speak not only as' the representative of the .European, people, but also of our Maori brothers, who, I am glad to see, are with us tliio afternoon—we shall always have the keenest possible interest in'the welfare of tho ship and her officers nnd meii, in' whatever part of the world they may go. If tho time comes when the fighting qualities of the ship will bo tested in actual warfare, and the skill ..and, efficiency-of the officers and men nlso tasted, then I am absolutely certain af this, that both ship and irion will do iredit to the British Navy nnd to the loyal little country after which the 6hip has bee:i named. (Applause.) And, gentlemen, speaking of/the British Navy, one cannot help thinking of the past and of-what a glorious past it has been. We leak back to tho'time of Queen Elizabeth and her sailors, many of whom went nut in their own trading vessels and' yachts and smashed the great Armada aud smashed tho power of Spain. It was Uic-e men who made the British Empire possible. The story of Nelson and his men, and of all tho developments that hav-n laken place einco then—all these i'ungs go to show what, a very important ! ■"!".- the Xavy has Ireen right through ".•"vli.-n history,.-and wl-afc an important

part British seamen havo'played, not onlv in every sen, but very often on land. 5 ' (Applause.) Tho Prime Minister reminded his hearers of what took place during the dark nnd troublous days of the Boer War, nnd of the fact that important, services were rendored in that war by Naval landing parties. Ho was glad 'that at least one of tho seamen who served in this way was witW them (hat afternoon. (Applause.) He was referring to Captain Hnlsoy, and tho prominent part that ho took m tho defence- of Lndysmith. (Applause.) Tho Prime ..Mfnister, in concluding, expressed a hopo (hat Captain Halsey, his officers and men, Would have a, very enjoynblo time while they remained, here, and would take away, when they left, very pleasant recollections of tho citizens of Now Zealand, who were of the same blood, owed allegiance to the same King, - wcro sharers in the same destiny, and whose manhood, if ever tho occasion required, would light for the same hag. When tho toast was called tho band played and the company saoig "Rule Britannia." Afterwards a party of Maoris saluted Captain Halsey and his officers with a chanf of welcome.

' CAPTAIN HALSEY. THE MISSION OF THE NEW ZEALAND. . When Captain Halsey rose to'reply tho company rose with him and he was loudly cheered and applauded. Ho expressed his thanks, on his own behalf and that of his officers, for the kind things Mr. Massey had said and also, for the way in which the company had drunk tho /toast of the important service to-which 1 he had the honour to belong. He hoped that those at the other end of the hall could hear him—(cheerful applause from thenar end of tho hall)—he was afraid that Wellington enthusiasm had not been a good prescription for his throat. ,Hd was certain that most, if not all, of his hearers would be with him in what ho had to.say about something that he had read, with a' great deal of regret, in tho .daily_..paper3 regarding the reception of . the. New Zealand in Wellington. He was saying'this entirely because he.was captain of the New Zealand. He had been into Wellington many times before and had never expected to get such a reception as he had got. This, he said, as captain, for the officers and the men who manned lief. (Loud applause.) "The Firing of Giins." • v "There has been a great deal written in tho papers." continued Captain Halsey, "about the firing of guris. , Well, gentlemen, I don't mind how much is written about' the firing of guns, but there was another thing which was said:, that hot only should • guns have been fired,'but that;the ,gunners of the New Zealand waited in readiness to return these Vims., (Laughter.) Gentlemen, that is a slight perversion of the truth. Neither did tho gunners wait to return these guns, nor .had .the gunners themselves wanted'to return these; guns could they have returned them, .because it is against the King's Regulations. We can't do such a; thing and I am, sure that the people of' New Zealand, patriots . every one, would not transgress against the King's Regulations. (Loud applause.) ifou all, know that the King's Regulations are made, and very very carefully made, to be adhered to', and if regulations in a great Empire like ours are not adhered to, what . can happen to the Empire? We, in the service, do our utmost

to uphold every regulation. New Zealand. does the same." 'Captain'Halsey said that he had read also with regret statements that surprise and indignation were felt at a lack of enthusiasm in the welcome accorded his ship. "I know New Zealand well," he continued, "arid I say that great enthusHT S Ii- ,va i s dis P la y e d b.Y all your citizens of Wellington when your ship, the New Zealand,-. steamed into AVellington Harbour. •.Applause.) I am speaking here for every sm'glo officer.nnd man on board the,ship. A/Ship In Trust. , "We have come here, gentlemen, manning his Majesty's ship New Zealand, so magnificently given by your Dominion to the British Empire. We have touched in passing at two other great Domin-'ons-bouth Africa and Australia-and these Dominions—l can only judge by'ijvlr.t 1 have seen—look upon what you have done ns something very, very great, which you have done for the Empire, and it is looked upon, not only by our other Dominions, but by tho world, as a v > great em-blem-of the'peace of the world. (Applause.) ; We,'in manning, a ship liko this, of course, have great traditions to uphold. We have- the traditions of the great Empire U, which we all—you, 1, and everyone in the Empire have the honour to belong. And we in the Newr Zealand have other traditions also to uphold. Gentlemen, may I say that, as long as you trust us to uphold those ti-a-ditions they shall be upheld. (Applause.)

To Seek and Destroy. Captain /Halsey went on to say that those,who manned the New Zealand filled a role that could be perhaps be described as new. Their ship was a battle-cruiser. Hitherto there had been battleships and cruisers, but a bafctlo-cruiser was something new. She was both battleship and cruiser. The officers nnd men of a .battle-cmiser had.to seek out tho enemy, and destroy the enemy. If the time ever came sho would have to be in the loiefront of the battle in every sense. Hav. ing sought out and found the enemy, perhaps engaged the enemy, she would retire upon her battle-fleet, and fight then, nit as a cruiser, but as a battleship.. "Thcio-fore,-1 say," said Captain Halsej. "that the purpose we have to fulfil is both to seek out the enemy and to destroy tho enemy. (Applause.) We "hopo to bo with you for another two months, but, of course, if we should be required, away we should have to go to that geographical position where I know, gentlemen, you would wish us to be.. (Loud applause.) At present, out here, I think I may say that we should bo no good. There is nothing good enough for a ship like tho one you have presented to the /Empire to fight. (Laughter.) It would be an everlasting regret, I know,- to you in New Zealand should we in tho H.M.S. New Zealand not be. in that geograpbicil position, where, perhaps I may say, the New Zealand could play, her-part in fulfilling the destiny, waiting for her. (Applauso.f' In one particular, Captain Halsey continued, he would ask for the indulgence' of the people of New Zealand. .While ho knew that the ship wasout'here in order that the people might seo what thev hart given to the Empire, still, he hoped that occasionally—he would not ask it often— when the-.ship was between ports, the gunners 'of ' the New Zealand'might be allowed to hoist a target out, and firo their, gutis at it. "We must do it," wid Captain Halsey, "in order that should tho awful day come we shall be in readiness, to uphold the great traditions of tho service and the Empire." (Applause.) H ithout efficiency no ship can be of any use, and to be efficient we must do gun drill and torpedo..drill, and I will go further, and say that perhaps tho most important part of everything is that we should all be in that perfect state of physicnl fitness to withstand the strains that must be met in any fnI'.tnro naval--battlo."

In concluding, Captain Halsey spoke of Now Zealand.as a country having exactly tho same interests as the Mother Country He knew from tho timo he had spent in New. Zealand'a few years back that Now Zealanders ■ "inside" were exactly tho same as their:, brethren in the Mother Country. "And why should they not be?" he' asked, "you are all chips of the old block. (Hear, hear.) You- havo exactly the same insido you as the people of the Old Country, from which has sprung a great .Empire. I shall say no more, but 'to again thank yon for tho very kind wav in which you have drunk the health o'f that glorious service, the Navy, and also for the way in which you included the officers of your ship and his Majesty's ship, which I have the honour to command." (Loud and continued applause.) Three cheers for Captain Halsey were given by the company at the call of tho Prime Minister. Before the gathering disnersed, Captain Halsey proposed the health of the Prime Minister, and Mr. Massey replied briefly. A Memento. After tho luncheon, the representatives of the Maori race were'presented to Captain Halsey, and To Heu Heu, the wellknown Taupo chief, presented to Captain Halsey a piece of greenstone, a knru tangiwai, much prized in his family on account of its great antiquity. Captain Halsey accepted the gift, and promised that it should remain in his family and bo treasured as- an heirloom.