"ALIEN'S" LETTER FROM ENGLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2895, 8 September 1909, Page 73

"ALIEN'S" LETTER FROM ENGLAND.

(Specially Written for the- Witness Ladies' Page.) LONDGN.EKS ASHIP AND JACK TAR ASHORE.

July 23. .The populai- success of the naval pageoat lias been unqualified. From the historic towers of Westminster to the mouth of the Thames millions of city_-dwel!ers have seen a pageant of battleships and cruisers, torpedo boats and submarines, and looked with pride at the great leviathans on the water-way of London. ' The arrival of the -fleet at Southend on Saturday night was a spectacle that could scarcely be - described, the simultaneous movement of a Jhost of steel monsters in perfect order ' and with intervals of mathematical regularity to the stations fixed on the chart beforehand. It is a thing fascinating to watch, wonderful to see accomplished — as on this occasion, — with absolute precision and perfection. Only a well-trained fleet handled by consummate seamen is equal tof such a feat as this. ' A single- ship, out of station spoils the whole line, destroys the effect, and yet, as those who have accompanied th© . fleet at sea - know only too well, it is the easiest- thing in., the world for a ship, even in a passable fleet, to get oat of station.Tjbe sights of the day .began early. Overnight there^ had "gathered near the pierhead, the vantage ground for 'the spectator, a group of little craft. There was the torpedo depot ship Hazard, with submarine C3l fast alongside her — the* men of the submarin-es sleep on board bigger ships-, as there is under service conditions no room for them in the cramped hull of the submarine. There was a g'onp of five torpedo boats ; '■ and there was the Admiralty yacht Surprise. Soon after 1 o'clock there was the first distinct sign of the coming of the • fleet. A small, black torpedo boat of the old-fashioned type, used for carrying mails and orders, (.teamed' in from the Nore. A few minutes .ater and there looked to be a strange -. sickening in the mist in the direction • hence she had come. Then "the patch < i darker colour against the grey sky •-Tok the shape of a triangle — a, triangle • t shadow,— -and behind it could be seen ; : set and stated intervals other patches. Vwo minutes more, and, as. if by magic, .- t. array of tripod masts could be scon Rising from great, dark hulls, with faint traces of smoke hovering above. The Dreadnoughts were arriving ! And behind them followed an interminable line of tall masts laden with fire-control positione — the sign and indication of a great battle fleet. The iJD read nought led, and' in that stfang?, witching light she looked Hke an v." substantial ship — a ship of shadow U.ding a phantom iiaeft. The bulk of her gre»t hull jiow showed to advantage. She stood out iroiA the host she led" by her, single big triped; mast. Behind her followed: the three *ievrer ships of n'er class,- eacb/Vith-its two- gigantic tripod structures towering aloft. No words can describe the stately dignity of the advance as very ©lowly, keeping "absolutely perfect distance, this group of mastodons, the prido of our country, came gently brushing through tlw oily sea. Astern of thetm -now showed the great upper works of the Lord Nelson and Agamemnon, with three smaller ships, and then' the trio of superb Invincible,?, well worthy of their name. The silence and order of the approach wei'e amazingly impressive. Not a sound was heard ; no salutes were fired ; the only sign that it was not all enchantment was the occaeional eheerinsj in some "Hurrah-boats," as our navy calh the tourist steamers laden with spectators. It was a scene which gripped the mind and stirred the bloc-d, like that as tilent advance which in days of old ma iked the last -moments when a British fleet was closing on its enemy. As the anchors went down the ships seemed to start into life. Huge booms were swung out for the boats, accommodation ladders went down as if by magic ; the derricks used for hoisting out boats got to work. Almost befoie one knew that the fleet was at anchor boats from the warships were beginning to scurry to and fro in the inchorage. Strings of . signals floated to the Dreadnought's big mast ; her semaphorc-e worked continuously, and flags and -semaphores in the other ships and. on the pier responded. The flagship deck was a mass of men, some getting out the boat*, others tidying up the ship — a scene of bustle and life and action. Boats came and went incessantly, bringing reports and mails from the other ships. ThougJi she looked epick and span, in the perfect order of a finely-kept flagship of tho British navy, men fell to work at once with the paintpot, touching up her lead-grey sides and gigantic turrets. Everything about her looked new ; she might have been a model on a colossal scale in a museum instead of a warship in from a fortnight's battle with the waves and fogs of the Atlantic. However small she may look tc the casual spectator from the water, on board the impression of her huge size is very pronounced. Her upper works seem to rise to an enormous height. Her tripod mast is immense when one stands near it ; the boom of lier derrick is monstrous ; the turrets are made for giants ; the guns, with their 46ft of length and their suggestion of remorseless power, are stupendous. And now past hem swung two big ships, the Blenheim and Blake, to take their ' station ahead of her, at the van of the lpng line. As they came by the bugles sounded, and the men on deck faced toward'the side and saluted, as is the way of the navy. After the two big ex-first class cruisers, once fine fighting ships, but now turned to subsidiary uses in the service, appeared the Bonaventure, the mother-ship of submarines, fresh rom her sad work in attempting to aid Cll, and »n interminable host of submarines. After the submarines followed an im-

I mense procession of destroyers, painted . dead black, pouring forth smoke,, and in . double line. They, too, moved vith the pref cision which is -the boast of the British > navy. And for some two hours it was , a constant procession of ships — ships of , I evary kind and size, from the 18,600-ton ' i Bellerophon and her sister, to the little 1 » submarines. A sight so touching and so 5 moving in its majesty and beauty man . - has seldom seen. It held all who saw it J I spellbound. And landwards was the pier : — a mass of flags and packed with crowds - who had come to see the fleet, and had b been richly rewarded for their hours of > patient expectation and suspense. 3 j At a time when the whole Empire is in1' terested in the British fleet, and her loyal b and generous colonies are willing to make. 1 sacrifice that England's gateway of the b sea shall be strengthened, one can scarcely 3 hear too much of battleships, and with j ( 148 warships in the Thames, their anchorr , age extending over 5 miles, London's 3 \ chief interest during the past week has , * been to see, if not to board, at least one ■ of the guardians of English shores. From - Southend far out to the Nore lightship, . for long miles, they spread, l>?ttleship, f cruiser-battleship-, armoured cruiser, d«2 stroyer, submarine, depot ship, etc., sue- - ceeding - one another in magnificent speci tacle, their grey war-colour blossoming out r into gorgeous colour the moment the ordstr 3 is given to dress ship. f Jack Tar has had a busy week of it, i both in taking pleasure amd; in giving it, . for half London* has been aboard from [ • Sou't-hend to Westminster, an*? Jack has i been a&hcre, feasted on salmon mayonnaise and beef, plum pudding and fruit 1 tart, at the Lord Mayorls invitation, at the Guildtbail, and entertained by the besft s music-hail singers. Bronzed and fit, cour3 teous and ready, he has earned his holi1 day, for ?rom Sunday through the week j hundreds of fhousands nave thronged the j great Dreadnoughts and torpedo-boats, 3 and officers aoid men have been i.. _efa/tix gable in their efforts to explain the mysteries of the fleet to the lan-dsfolk. The Lord Mayor, accompanied by the I Lady Mayoress and the sheriffs, paid his t official visit to the fleet at Southend on Tuesday, being received by Admiral Sir 1 William Maj*. It was on the Lord Mayor's 9 suggestion that the fleet *houl4 come to . London, and his ide? that the public ! t would be interested in the warships has | j b^en amply verified. All day on Sunday (which was a beautiful day of sunshine) f the Thames Embankment was crowded c with people looking at the torpedo-boate, j and for many miles up the river the t black border of humanity lined the banks, ] while further afield th-3- special- trains I j; carried thousands to the various points j c<v .where^ the battkshipei were stationed, s right down to Southend. The gunboat B Hazard an-d the destroyers, moored beV twesn the grey old Tower and London bridges, " received " for several days, and 'j watermen did a big trade in taking f people backwards and forwards to tbo 5 ships. Their wherries took eight at a x time at 3d a head, and they w«ve bisy f for daye, for their craft was filled just r as quickly as it got alongside. Ameri- ! . cans who had bsen doing the wo-nde' 1.-*1 .-* of j the Tower went on to export the won- . dere of the warships. No visitors were !. allowed on the .submarines. ; > Innumerable instances of private hospitality haye been shown to the men, and 5 their acts >f kincaiess hav£ been as in- '■ i numerable. On instance Is that of the ! men of the Arrogant and Venus, lying ! j off Gravesend. At their Dwn expense ' 3 they invited 600 children aboard, and entertained them delightfully. ! 3 The Lord Mayor and party, amountj ing to 60, nrrived at Southend at noon, l and were conveyed by special trams to b the pier-head, where they embarked on t the Admiralty tug Robust, and proceeded 8 to the Admiralty yacht Enchantress, 3 which had arrived with tho Lords of the j Admiralty to meet them. The whole fleet 3 " dressed ship " in honour of the guests, s and there were miles of ■flying flags -over - the waters from masthead" to masthead, 5 and man ranged up on the decks. The . First Lord of the Admiralty aiwi the , First Sea Lord received the guests, and I conveyed their round th? fleet. They i finally boarded the Dreadnought, where - Admiral Sir William May and officers 1 %vere grouped to welcome the civic I visitors. This is the fiivt time a Lord t Mayor of LoivJon and th-e sheriffs have ) , visited the Brli.^h fleet, which made the - occasion one of special interest. ; 1 The day was "superb, and the Lordi [• Mayor's inspection of the armada of grey 1 battle-ships was carried out under a I dazzling sky, th* beflagged monstei's of ; war resting peacefully on a sapphire sea. After the Lord Mayor and party had I lundisd with the admirals th-ere wss a 1 mimic attack on the Dreadnought. About - 2.30 the Robust, with the Lord Mayor's i party, got under way to make a short t trip round th,e fleet. Behind the Robust ; followed a great concourse of tugs andi ; excursion steamers. As ?he came ahead 1 , of the Belleiophop the warship's band • played a stave of 'Rule, Britannia," her . . sides were manned with motionless blue { , figures i' straw hats and officers in white ', • ;ap-covers ; onij amidships -was there a ' s splash of brilliant scarlet against the grey J of her uppsr works, where the incomparable " soldtei-6 and sailors too" of the marir.es, presenting ivm?. were mari shalled. Past the stern of the Superb — , a ship worthy of her name — past the s Temeraire. pafi the )lder warships and ; cruisers, the Lord flavor proceeded in • state, to turn ' between the Inflexible I and Invincible. Everywhere the =ame motionless figures, everywhere the same snatches of "Rule, Britannia." (

Now the Robust "headed 1 for tB» Diead- ( nought, to place her guests on board the flagship for- the mimir attack. Two ot&er parties of 300 each, representing the Corporation) of London and their guests, proceeded to the Bellerophon and Temeraire. 'Two pinnances were conspicuous with the fezes of the Turkish M.P.'s. With a splash the grey torpedo-nete of the Bellerophon were unfurled and dropped to the water edge. Then the great booms which carried them moved gently down, immersing the nets, amd the booms were 6wung out. " Out iflete " in some 20sec — splendid" work. The Teineraire followed' suit, and with a cloud of brow<n dust the Dreadnought's nets went down. Between fhe lines came six ooal-black destroyers at a swinging pace. Their prows cut the green sea to wihite foam ; they carried each a "bone in their teeth." First came the Cherwell, then the Swale, the Dee, and- the Ettrdck. All were of the " river " class, low-lying, sinisterlooking craft, almost invisible at night, though conspicuous enough by day. .A 6 they drew nearer the men in them could be seen aiming the torpedo-tubes. - The Cherwell made a beautiful shot at the foot of the Dreadaought'6 mast. There was a crack — very little louder than the shot of a- pistol — a splash; and the glittering Whitehead, lising once to the surface- before ttaking the depth', flew straight as an arrow to the target, and buffeted, smoking and Saining, against the steel torpedo netting. The next, however, did not do so well. Her shot massed the Dread/nought clean, and the torpedo went off in chase of a little boat astern of the battleship. It was caughit by a party of, bluejackets in a boat, and its unseasonable wandering® were brought to a close. x The submarine© followed. First came three boats— C2s, C 24, and C26— above the surface, each with four or five men in white jumpers, blue trousers, and high sea-boots staaiding at "Attention!" on the tiny check forward, and with am officer and a man working the boat or top of the conraing tower. Them came tliree Bubmarinies in diving trim, with only the conning towers above- water, throwing up a white cloud of spray. Seeing these little objects sidie by side with the towering hulls of the mammotih battleships, one was reminded of Davidi and Goliath, for did they ever get to such close quarters all the Dreadnought's guns would not have saved her from disablement. One of the three boats dived opposite the Dreadnougnt till only thie tap of her periscope showed 1 . As she motored off the pageant closed, there was a rush of steamers to the pier-bead, an eager competition to see wiho would be first ashore, auad an. historic day w.as- over. For the first time in modem history the authorities of the capital of the- Empire had paid . an official visit to the greatest British fleet. The city the next day was the host of the fleet, 'and Londoners in millions availed themselves of the chance of seeing Jack ashore. The Kne of route from Liverpool street station to the" .Guildhall was a long one, including a number *of the principal thoroughfares, which were smartly decorated. Dominating all the banners was the white ensign, 4ft long, with four guilded anchors — the ensign of the navy. The idea of the march of a -»icked body of bluejackets through the city originated with the L*dy Mayoress, and the 1200 men were a splendid body. During the last 10 years there have been a number of im- | posing street pageants, but this of the | navy is memorable even among the memor- } able occasions on which the navy has been ' represented in procession, among these occasions being the funeral of Queen Victcria, the Coronation of King Edward, '

the return of British troops from the war, ' and th« visits of foreign potentates. Cheer after cheer greeted the men as they marched — cheers fit for the welcome of rcyalty, and when at length they reached the -Guildhall the Lord) Mayor and Lady Mayoress — the -queen of the city, as the Lord Mayor called her — received them on the steps of the Guildhall, the Lord Mayor in his official robes, the members of the Official Committee in theii picturesque blue robes and white wands in their hands. The men marched into the Guildhall and cheered the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress enthusiastically. The route was densely lined with spectators,, the Embankment being one .of the favourite places to view the passing spectacle. The procession was headed by the marine band playing stirring marches. Six stipe' guns followed, and the eaimen, whose arms were linked, drew at the ropes without an effort, marching in perfect time, splendid bronzed fellows with - powerful muscles, dressed in blue, with white sailor hats turned up in front. As they marched into the oruildhall they saluted the Lord Mayor, and Lady Truscott more than once led the cheers thai greeted them. The guests did ample - justice to the good fare that awaited them, and enjoyed tiie concert afterwards. The Jack Tars know all the LondoD musical artists, and in true hearty ailor fashion showed tluir appreciation. v "It wa6 the Admiral's day in the city yesterday. The commander-in-chief of the fleet and a numerous company were the Lord Mayor and Corporation's guest*, to luncheon at the Guildhall Three huni!ied of the officers represented every ship of the service. The Lord Mayor and sheriffs were in their robes of state, and the old-time ceremony ->i the city's welcome added picturesqueness and dignity to the reception. A long 1-ne of common councillors, two abreast, with blue robes and white wands, preceded staff

' officers up the Chamber^-an endless procession it seemed — and were presented to the Lord Mayor od Lady Truscott Oh the arrival of the A.dmirals the trumpets blew a fanfare. Admiral Sir William May, In I'espons© to the Lord Mayor's speech, -said : "This visit has enabled the citizens of London, and also the inhabitants of many other to\rns in the vicinity, to see * reaJ modern fleet. All rwild be* impressed by the size and grandeur of the" battleships %nd cruisers, and the great developments madt in destroyers and submarines. Everything is now worked, even down to the anchor, by mechanical apparatus of the newest design. Yet in jpite of that, the human element is still th< predominate ivii? power. — (Emphatic expressions of approval by the officers.) ' We still require the seaman's experience., the seaman's skill, and the seaman's eye-in order x o manoeuvre t'ao fleet and -work this platforms which carry the guns. If it were not foi the city we should not have on* present navy ; and, vice versa, if it were not for the nzvy where would the city be? — (Cheers.) The city and the fleet are closely bound together by bonds of friendship and duty. Tn« duty of the city if largely to supply the urioney required for the navy The duty of the officer? and mer of ihe fleet is U train themselves to the highest degroo of efficiency* so that we can always ciainr' for f>ur motto, 'Ready; aye ready!" 1 At Southend 1 the most beautiful spectacle of the week was at night, when the fleet was illuminated, millions of elect/rie coloured "lights tracing the ships against the night, sea, and sky. ,""

***emw*e»SMi*wamwmammawmn*mmammmwMammmmm On July 4 a party of 203 British deaf an< dumb excursionists arrived in Paris, return* ing the visit paid to London last year bji a similar French party. The interchange of cordial speeches is successfully carried oi< by means of the manual alphabet, says the Paris Daily Mail. The French use only one hand and the English both.