JELLICOE'S BROOM.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 150, 25 February 1916, Page 2 (Supplement)

JELLICOE'S BROOM.

NAVY AND THE GERMANS. ri;jviLi:<;i:i) visit. By .1. C. VAN 1) I*lli VKKR. London Correspondent of (he Amsterdam "Telegraaf.' Once, at a time when al! appeared to be peaceful and Germany's future was threatened neither on the water nor beneath it, when Field-Marshal Bluchcr stod on the roor or St. Paul's Cathedral and cast his military eye over the almost unlimited extent of the -Metropolis, he is said to have cried out with emotion, ''What a city to sack." It' Admiral Von Tirpitz had been our companion as we, on board a destroyer, steamed though a part of the British Fleet, he would certainly have cried out, "What a fleet to sink.Under water the Germans have attempted many times to teach the British Fleet manners. In the beginning things looked rather bad. 1 have now heard with my own cars British naval oflicers praise the bravery of German submarines, but are they able to do any palpable damage to the cower of this country? The only torpedoed warships were of an out-of-date type, and not capable of much speed- Xo modern British warship has been lost in the North Sea. which has been the fate oi certain enemy submarines which lie buried in tuo sand at the bottom of the sea.

LIKE VAN TRO.MP. Sir John Jellicce can cruise round, the North Sea with a nroom at the mast of his flagship, as did our Tronip, of whose heroic deeds the admiral reminded me good-humouredly. It seems to me that the British naval officers still to-day respect our naval heroes, Tromp and de Kuyier. And when the British destroyer conducted me through long lines of warships, passing out of sight on cither hand, I thought involuntarily how proud our great sea hero would have been of the command of such a mighty fleet. Oh, say no more that Britain has not done enough in this war. Her historical war tactics lie on the water, and if she equipped the greatest army in t-he world the war could not be won by it, but on.y by her strength at sea. Let it be only imagined what even a partial destruction of this power would mean for the countries attacked. No transport ship of the Allies would then be safe at sea. No company of British, Colonial, or Indian soldiers could be then conducted hither and thither unuTnuered. Their wounded would then t:a i e to be housed in tee already sore'y-tried countries wlvre the battle being waged, and to whose he'p Britain came without a definite obligation. The eyes ->t the British naval officers and saii'iis ciarkied vviu;> 1 expressed the pciha?.;, rather curious hope that this v.ar should not finish without a rrreat sea battle Their frank glances outfit med their words: "We want nothing better. ' And a warlike sailor, hr- uglit u;i to war, can wish for nothing better in a just cause than to "show his mettle,'' to show what he is worth.

ADMIRAL'S VIGIL In my memory there remains unforgettable the words which RearAdmiral Sir E. R. Fremmuie siioke to me. While we stood together on the pitch-black torpedo-boat destroyer, which shot ahead like a grej hound cleaving the fog and the stormy salt water, Rear-Admiral Fremantie said to us, "Since the beginning of the war 1 have not left my post with tiie Fleet for a single day. Several times '.he Admiralty gave me the opportunity of a short holiday with my family 011 t-liore, b..t 1 was not willing to take advantage of it. I served thir-ty-four years uninterruptedly with the Fleet. No one should grudge me taking part in another war,"and 1 should never forgive myself if I were absent during a sea battle."

Wo found all the British naval officers inspired by this tiie young midshipmen not excepted. "And have not you grown weary of this cruising round for months at sea and looking out for the enemy?" we asked Rear-Admiral Fremantie. "Oh," said he, "we have already uone it Dor lit teen months, and are ready to do it for another fifteen months, bui, nothing would suit us better than that to-morrow the (jerman fleet should come out of its hiding-place iiito the open se.a There's a tip Tor Tirpitz."

Every oflieer, every midshipman, even sailor of tile British Flet is longing fur iiatile, and then Count Kevenilow (hires to say thai tiio British Navy is shirking this battie.

KKKI'EH OF Till? Tiie unfounded reproach of Count Koveiitlow is deeply annoying to tin* straightforward, eh'valruir; met! w iio serve Britain's Fleet. They are undergoing all the discom'ort.s and privations of war vvitnoui the exeiie-no-nt and the deeds of heroism of battle. Their comrades in arms in the lield win honou" and renown ami praise, but of the untvumpeted work of t'ne silent vi.tch at sea people

spejik seldom or never. Vet it io this watch which keeps commerce at sea perfectly safe, which not on'n supports the British Army e\eryw i;ei e, but which, if one eonsioi rs ii. will a -sure the Allies the final victory.

Not without emotion did 1 listen to a thirty-year-old, clean shaven naval officer when he said to me, "When we at night had our watcli on deck iii bit.erly (old weaiiier, then in the morning v.e have felt it so bad for

us that we have had to give up shaving altogether, and some of us for that reason have grown beards, in the Continental fashion." But some of thorn have at least had the opportunity of giving the enemy a most uncomfortable shave. You can vividly picture to yourself how it delighted us when we climbed up the ladder to the varship that the enemy claims to have sent down below. 1 cannot refrain from complimenting the commander of the well-known ship, the Tiger, that he was clever enough to come up again out of the deep with his gigantic ehip 1 involuntarily asked him, "lionhave you managed it?" The day of •c.iracles is not over, and 1 hope now that our eastern neighbours will take my word for it that the Tiger is still alive and kicking. In another article describing his visit to the Fleet the same writer says: "I'VE GOT VOL "

"T!:o manoeuvring of torpedo des■royers is our greatest delight," said an officer to me. "We waltz along at full speed, turning first to the right and then to the left, until at last we can say. 'l've got you,' and the enenemy is one submarine less. We dc it in this way and in that way." Bui never mind what ingenious in et lieu? Britain has devised against her enemy under the sea. We were ou a confidential visit to the Fleet which will ensure the victory of .iustiee and freedom in Europe.

When we left the Tiger a little black fellow came to fetch us. a swift littlo warship which shot over the water like an arrow from the bow. Shortly after leaving the Tiger wo passed her brave sister ship, the Lion, that was bauly knocked about in the battle of January 24, A Ve passed a whole crowd of seafighters, and one squadron followed another. They also had provision ships, all kinds of auxiliary ships for supply of coal, oil, provender, and so on. There were several hospital fillips there also. "But in battle wo prefer to leave those behind, and to treat our wounded on hoard, so as to lose no moment during the attack," an officer said to me. "And in delence." I asked. .My British naval friend smiled. "We always attack," he said, "and never fire from the stern." When we had been cruising about for some lime, and every now and then saw a new line of ships appear out of the mist, then it became clear to us what British sea power means how it can keep the sea clear, and what a gigantic ta:-k it fulfils in this war.

In the end we were the guests of Rear-Admiral Pakenham, and drank a cttp of tea on his flagship, the Australia. the mighty battle-cruiser presented to the British Fleet by the Australian Government. "You can have no idea," said an officer of the Australia, "now ve long for a naval battle." I could not help answering. "In spite of that ; our Fleet has already achieved a great victory." He understood .hat I meant, and answered cheerfully, "You are right; the enemy flag does not show itself anywhere on the open sea."