BRITAIN AT WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2322, 2 December 1914, Page 3

BRITAIN AT WAR

WHAT A NEW ZEALANDER SAW AN INTERESTING INTERVIEW" Among those, who returned from England via Australia by the Moeraki yestoday were Mr. and Mrs. Geo, Swan, well-known residents of Wanganui, who iett New Zealand in March last. The chief object of Mr. Swan's visit to tho Old Country was to see his uncle, the late Sir Joseph Swan, the talented inV i entc !?'< T uose Hamo is associated with the "Ediswan" electric lamp and the dry plate photographic process. To his great surprise and regret he was, on arrival at Plymouth, shown a copy of the London "Times," chronicling the death and achievements of his uncle, and only reached London in time to attend the funeral. Later on ho visited Newcastle-on-ryne, where his uncle had resided for "io greater part of his lifetime, and was there the witness of an altogether unique ceremonial. That was the granting of the freedom of the city to Sir Joseph Swan, and to Sir Charles Parsons, of turbino fame. It appears that the honour had been arranged prior to Sir Joseph Swan's death, and when that ensued the civic authorities decided to go forward with the ceremony, though the person on whom tie freedom was conferred was no more. The Town Hall at Neivcastle-on-Tyne was crowded on the occasion, and the proceedings throughout were of a most dignified and impressive character. The" certificate of freedom was handed to Mr. Kenneth nwan, son of Sir Joseph Swan, and a solicitor of the Middle Temple, London, on behalf of Lady Swan, and in replying he made a brilliant speech lasting for three-quarters of 'an hour. In the case of Sir Chas. Parsons, the noted inventor himself replied in a most interesting speech in which he traced his own career from the time wlen be was an apprentice to the engineering trade, until he conceived and worked out to' perfection the. turbine engine now in general use the world over. Mr. Swan also mentioned that during the ceremony eight magnificent pieces of plate were presented to Lady Swan by tlio V>ty of Newcastle.

A Mammoth Armoury. During a second visit paid to Ncw-castle-on-Tyno subsequent to the outbreak of.war Mr. Swan, by reason of nis holding a captain's commission in Aew Zealand, and his influential connection in Newcastle-on-Tyne, was afforded an opportunity of inspecting the great Els,vick-Arrastrong works, which occupy three miles of the river front, employ nearly 50,000 hands, and pay out £70,000 per week in wages when the works were in full swing, as they assuredly were when visited by Mr Swan. It would take too much space to describe these vast works, but whilstthere lie was shown a big gun which was ai interesting exhibit. ■■

30,000 Troops Under the Sky. During part of their stay at Home Mr. and Mrs. Swan stayed at Chert near Aldershot, where, on July 31, they snmn S ? d the com l>lste mobilisation of dO.OOO troops complete in every detail down to field kitchens and hospitals. On the morning of the 31st, the troops, which had slept in the open the previous night, marched out of camp. It took three hours for the column to pass a given point. Sunday, August 2, was a momentous day. _ Everyone felt the awful tension hanging on to the question as to whether England would or would not go to I war. That day Mr. and Mrs. Swan attended service at Westminster Abbey, •and were repaid by hearing a stirringly outspoken sermon. The minister said that England was on the verge of a tremendous crisis, as sho had been asked by France to give her support as an ally. Whether she did or did not he had no qualms in saying straight out that England was in honour bound to eive her support to France—it was her absolute and imperative duty to join with Franco in the tremendous struggle, and were she to fail in that duty she would be guilty of national This sermon, says Mr. Swan, was enormously impressive, not to say sensational, but it was easy to see that the sentiments of tho preacher were those of everyone in the vast congregation.

Prizes and Transports. Coming_ out of the Thames Estuary, the captain of .the Mongolia was warned by a British destroyer that ther« were mines in the adjacent Channel waters, and that in going on that night he would be doing so at his own risk, rite result was- that the steamer lay-to for the night, and continued on unharmed at daylight the next day.. At Plymouth, where they lay for a" night,* powerful searchlights searched-the shorewaters for a considerable radius. the whole night through. Off Finisterre they met a fleet of six Frenchwarshipß. The Mongolia called at Gibraltar and Malta, and at Port Said the passengers wero cheered by the sight of a fleet of twenty-two German prizes (steamers) just about to leave for Alexandria, under the escort of two British cruisers. In the Red Sea, where the weather was frizzlingl.y hot, they passed some French transports'. 'A call was also made, at Bombay (to facilitate somq changes of officers), and there they were informed that a very large number of transports had left there since the outbreak of the war. Whilst the Mongolia was at Colombo, Mr. and Mrs. Swan were.able to pay a flying visit by motor to Kandy, and seven miles from that ancient city they gloried in the tropical refulgence of the famous Peridinia Gardens, said to be the. finest in the world. They cover 150 acres, and are tended by 350 coolie gardeners. The worst weather encountered throughout the trip was during the voyage from Sydney.