MARINE ENGINEERS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2657, 31 December 1915, Page 2

MARINE ENGINEERS

1 HONOUR THEIR COMRADES IN KHAKI. There was a very largo gathering last evening of marine engineers m the rooms of the Australasian Institute to do honour to their president, Mr. J. Cars well, who has enlisted and now holds the rank of sergeant in the Rifle Brigade, and to other marine engineers who have joined the Expeditionary Forces. Mr. W. E. Pyke (vice-presi-dent) occupied the chair, and amongst those present was Mr. J7 P. Luke, Mayor of Wellington. . The"toast of "The King" having been honoured, the chairman expressed the gratification of the institute in the fact that its principal executive officer had donned khaki. Sergeant Carswell had iieen a loyal member and an active president. As an institute they were proud of their president and other members who had enlistecr. Sergeant Carswell, in reply, said it had always been a pleasure to him to lie connected with tlie institute.' His record as a soldier had still to be made. but the Rifle Brigade with which he was associated had already been in action and he hoped that tho subsequent performances of that unit would show that it wan equal to t'he other forces which had gone from New Zealand. Mr. D. A. Ftavell proposed the "Navy and the Army," and response was made by Mr. A. I). Varian, and Major HisItip, V.D. The last-mentioned speaker said that It was particularly gratifying to New Zealanders to know that their own country had produced an efficient section of the best army Britain had ever produced. The Dominion had done well under difficulties of an extraordinary character. In concluding his remarks, Major Hislop presented Sergeant Carswell with a pair of field glasses. They were not quite new, having seen service in, tho bloodless victory of Parihaka, but they were of good quality, and he trusted they would be of great use to the sergeant in the discharge of his duties. (Loud applause.) . The toast of "The Parliament" was proposed by Mr. D. K. Blair, and responded to by the Hon. Mr. W. Earnshaw. who paid a special tribute to tho training of New Zealand's troops. Mr. Earnshan further statod that in his opinion the Hon. Mr. Allen (Minister of Defence for this Dominion of New Zealand) had done a great work. Subwhen proposing the toast of the "Expeditionary Forces," the Mayor of Wellington endorsed what Mr. Earnaliaw had said about the Hon. Mr. Allen in his capacity of Minister of -Defence. "During the early stages of the war," said Mr. Luke, "New Zealand's strong man, and the man who had brought New Zealand through and given us the position we have obtained, was the Hon. Mr. Allen." (Cheers.) Sergeant Baxter responded to the toast of the "Expeditionary Forces." Mr. C. M. Luke, in proposing "The Mercantile Marine," said that we could not exaggerate the work doi;e by the British Navy. But for the British Navy there would have been 110 Empire trade, yet notwithstanding a worlddevastating war New Zealand's export trade had risen l>y over five million pounds sterling.