THE GRAND FLEET

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3142, 21 July 1917, Page 9

THE GRAND FLEET

ADDRESS BY Mil. C. J. PARS, M.P. THRILLING SIGHTS RECALLED Bei'oro au""7jiterCsted audience at tho Concert Chamber last evening, Mr. C. .1. l'arr, 31. I'., C. M. G., who recently visited the Old Country, gave an address on tho Grand Meet, and on his experiences at Home, in aid of Uio Ladies' Auxiliary of the Navy League. Hie Worship the Mayor (Mr. J. i'- Luke. C.M.G.) presided, and among those prosent were Her Excellency Lady Liverpool, Capt jtinl'l-Thoinpson, 8.. N. (Naval' Adviser to tho Government), and tho officials of tho Wellington Branch of the Navy League. Mr. Parr commenced by thanking his audience for the welcome accorded him. Ho touched upon tho good work that had Ijeeii done by Mr. and Mrs. Luke, and congratulated tho Mayor, on the distinction that had been bestowed upon him. Initially, Mr. Parr said he had visited and been impressed with the Grand Fleet, and had como to tho conclusion that we in New Zealand were not paying enough towards the cost of tho Navy. And what *w> the cost? In normal times it was. from .£53,000,000 to iC51.000.00U a year. To that cost wo contributed .£210,000 a year, which meant an annual charge of 4s. sd. per head, whilst those in England were paying £l ss. per head. So it seemed that wo were not exactly playing the game, and the matter would have to be adjusted. Together ..with representative visitors from oversea Dominions, he had visited Prance, and had seen her brave army Poor France, who was bled white, and yet who was still fighting on until the land would be free and shb would regain her Alsaco and Lorraine. In -England they had seen (100,000 women workers in the munition works. He had visited the hospitals—tho New Zealand hospitals, and their soldiers—but of all the sights he had seen tho Grand Fleet impressed I him most. Ho spoko of tho great statesmen he had met; among them. Mr. Arthur Balfour, the most polished statesman, whoso charm of manner and winning smile were simply irresistible. It was realised that after all blood did tell, and Mr. Balfour had 700 or 800 years of statesmen behind him trained to tho finest point in. the art of government. They all rejoiced when they wero told that they wero to visit tho Grand Fleet, and away they were hurried to the port where was moored the great cruiser squadron, and in their little pinnnco they moved eff, and in a few minutes they were under the grent sides of the Lion. On lx«rd they were received by Admiral Sir David Beatty, ii little man, but full -;f energy, a human dynamo, full of fight. He was essentially a fighter, cordially hated by the Germans, who did not welcome the news of his appointment to the command of' the cruiser squadron. Later they visited the New Zealand, now perhaps, Mr. Parr said, a little out of date — things movo quickly ou tho sea—bnt in her timo and, class she did wonderful work. It was the New Zealand that sank the Blucher, and played such a wonderful part.' a wonderfully fortunate part, in tho Hattlo of Jutland. Sir .Tames Carroll had told the men they would always bo lucky because she was 'tapn." As long as they had tho Maori had o lithe most ond the captain wore the tljci in battle—which he i'»d—they would always have good luck. And the Bailors belioysd it—they were still sli angely superstitious, these sailor men. 'Lhen after an all-night journey they visited another port, and early in the morning they wore speeding seaward in a destrdyer, looking for tho Grand Keot— at a pace that made them hang on. They ran into a fog, and when it cleared away only two miles off was tho greatest fighting fleot the world had ever seen —great groy formidablo battleships, hngo Dread-

noughts, pre-Breadnoiights, destroyers, submarines, mine-sweepers, as far as tho eyo could reach—an immenso spetacle. And close to tho war vessels were hundreds and hundreds of colliers with supplies of coal. It was his luck to go on tho Orion, and tho Admiral gavo them a. littlo target practfto. What gunnery! Then.aa there was timo to spare, the- Admiral arranged a sham attack, and in a minute or two they were being pursued by destroyers. They came right ct them, tearing up tho water, until they were abreast, when out shot something , , and oiie could see the torpedo coming right at them. Then came the seamanship. Suddenly tho order was given "JFull speed ahead!" .The great battleship leapt forward suddenly, veorod a little, nnd the torpedo went harmlessly by. Then round they went again, and "this time they wero Hit amidships—a shock that was felt throughout tho ship. ■' Luckily the torpedo had a false nose. Mr. Parr had tho pleasure of dining with Admiral fiir John Jellicoe, a short, sturdily, siock-lly-buiTt man, who said very lHtle, but when hq spoko he nlways said something worth listening to. It was on this ship that tho Battle of Jutland.was spokou ot. It was learned that tho Germans thought they had Beatty and his cruiser squadron, Imt Beatty had managed to draw them on, and .Tcllicoe and his tattlesliips had arrived two or t'ureo hours beforo they was expected. And without any doubt tho • Germans got tile pasting of their lives. That was weli known, in England, Mr. Parr opoko of tho mine-laying (Wntry. of the German submarines, ami until there was found an antidote, an ell'ectivo antidote, for the submarine thero would be no peace in the world.'ln referring to tho alarmist message from New Xork or that evening, ho could only shy that it was, as Mark Twain said of his Reported death, "greatly exaggerated," If it were true, it was not tho 6ort of thing anyone would chirp out to an American correspondent. Mr. Parr also spoke of tho Zeppelin raids over London, which had roally caused a great deal of damage. On Septembor 2 he was awakened' in the middle of tho night by au awful tow, and, jumping up, he soon realised -that a "Hep" was over London. He ventured up on to the roof and saw a wonderful sight—overy searchlight in London was concentrated on. tho great airship. And as he watched, there was a cheer, and as he wondered what had happened, he saw a light creep along the airship uiiil it reached the !petrol tank; flames bjirst out, tho airship iip-cnded, fltnd came tumbling down, a ball of fire that illuminated tho sky. Out of the scorched and twisted iroif' they dug seventeen bodies—the German crow of tho Zeppelin. Ho did not think he was a bloodthirsty man, but he was one who believed in reprisals against these murderers of women and children. Ono would bo enough! (Applause.) Adding finally a eulogy of the Navy, he uttored a warning that tho storm-oentre was slowly but surely approaching tho Pacific, and we must eee to it that l we were prepared, and that we, Australia, Canada, and India, must havo a navy, and must pay for it. It would cost a lot of money—our war debt and pensions wero already going to run into £5,000,000 a year. But they should remember that is. sd. per head per year was not going to pay for the protection they would need to have, independent of any that might bo provided at present by our great Allies. At tho conclusion of the address, a hearty vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Parr, on the motion of Mr. J. B. Harconrt. During the evening Turner's Mandoline and String Band played a number of selections.