H.M.S. NEW ZEALAND.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 567, 14 May 1913, Page 5

H.M.S. NEW ZEALAND.

ARRIVAL AT LYTTELTON. The battleship New Zealand, after a ten days' stay at Auckland, left for Lyttelton on Saturday morning. Owing to the southerly gale the New Zealand was considerably delayed and did not reach the southern port on Monday morning ai anticipated.

, At eight o'clock the New Zealand was 150 miles from Lyttelton Heads. At ten o'clock the Pyramus received a wireless message from Captain Halsey, as follows:—"lnform harbourmaster there is no chance of getting to Lyttelton to day owing to a heavy southerly gale " The vessel duly arrived and anchored in the stream on Tuesday morning. The warahip remains at Lyttelton for ten days. After that she goes to Anaroa, where five days' drill will be undertaken by her company. Ten men were missing from the battleship New Zealand when she left Auckland on Saturday morning. Of three others who improperly absented themselves from the ship during her stay at Auckland, one man was arrested by the city poilce and returned to the ship, and the other two returned to duty before she sailed. A statement on the subject of de- [ serting from the ship was made on I Monday by the Minister for Justice (Hon. A. L. Herdman). He said it had been bi-ought to his notice that, in one respect, those responsible for the battle-cruiser New Zealand and her ship's copmany were not receiving fair treatment at the hands of a few thoughtless people in the community. The information in his possession made it clear that there is little doubt that men from the cruiser are sometimes enticed to desert from his Majesty's service by some employers of labour under promise of high wages. "Liberty men when on shore are given plain clothes to enable them to desert," Mr Herdman stated. "I know of one specific instance of two men who, having been persuaded to desert, more or less against their will, and having later on repented of their decision, experienced a difficulty in getting away to return to their duty. Besides this, liquor has been taken on board and given to the men by visitors to the ship. No doubt this has been done in a spirit of kindness, but it is grossly unfair to Captain Halsey and his officers, whose duty it is to keeD the ship fully manned.

"It is perhaps not well known that persons who assist or persuade men to desert from a ship of war are liable to be prosecuted," the Minister continued. "I recognise, of course, that the people of New Zealand warmly appreciate the courtesy, the consideration, and the kindness which has been extended to them by Captain Halsev and his officers since the ship arrived in New Zealand waters. I know that people ardently wish to help them; they can best help and best display their loyalty to the King by assisting the captain to keep safely every member of his dew while in this country, and by making up their minds that when the ship takes her departure she will carrry with her every man who came with her to New Zealand. I believe that this only needs pointing out and the citizens of New Zealand will at once understand hat their duty is."