H.M;S. NEW ZEALAND

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2461, 14 May 1915, Page 7

H.M;S. NEW ZEALAND

HEE TATTERED FLAG. The following lottor has been received by the Prime Minister (tho Right lion. W. F. Massey) from the High Commissioner for New Zealand, regarding the silk ensign presented by the women of New Zealand to H.M.S. New Zealand;

"I have the honour' to inform you that I have recently received from Captain Lionel Halsey, R.N., C.M.G., a letter in which he states that 'the silk ensign' flew throughout the action (the naval action in the North Sea when tho Gorman battleship Blucher was sunk), and if necessary will fly again, though it is much reduced in size, but i kept all tho old frayed-out bits to send back to the Dominion as a token for coining generations. These I propose to send to you, and ask you to have them conveyed to your Government, should they desiio to have them.' Tho pieces of the ensign have now come to hand, and I am having them carefully packed and sent to you under separate cover by the present mail. You will, no doubt, think it desirablo to havo them displayed in the Dominion Museum or other suitable placo." The Prime Minister has forwarded the following reply to Captain Halsey:— "The High Commissioner's letter (coveriue some tattered fragments of tho silk eiisicn which the New Zealand accepted from the women of New Zealand at the instance of the Timaru branch of the Navy League) has revived many memories of the visit of the ship to the Dominion, and of our association with yourself, in that time of peace. We all appreciate tho proof, \vhich your present message affords, that you still, in the midst of your great and pressing responsibilities, nave time for kindly thought of the Dominion. The people of New Zealand have followed with eager interest and pride the story of the New Zealand's part in the naval war, and we all have confidence that you and your officers and men will, wlhM' your opportunity comes again, again give the enemy cause to fear the ship which bears our name. You will gather from the enclosed copy of a letter received from the secretary to the Battleship Presentation Fund that the remnants you have forwarded will be deposited in the Municipal Art Gallery in Timaru, where a letter from you on the subject of the flag already hangs. On behalf of tho Government and the people of New Zealand, I desiro to send to you and your gallant ship's company a message of our trust and confidence in vou and in them.—Believe nio, yours truly, (Signed) W. F. Massey."