ON THE SEA.

Taihape Daily Times, 16 March 1918, Page 5

ON THE SEA.

DUTCH. SHIPS .COMMANDEERED

ONE MILLION TONS AVAILABLE

Received S 35

WASHINGTON. Marc.n 15

It is estimated that one million tons of Dutch shipping will be available, of which 70 per cent, is in American ports. The Allies propose to give Holland foodstuffs in return for shipping. Holland also receives a liberal monetary consideration. The ships will be armed and insured.

BRITAIN’S NAVAL LOSSES.

THE NATION SHOULD KNOW

LONDON, March IP

A naval correspondent says the submarine losses emphasise the seriousness of the situation. The nation must realise that it has entered the most critical period of the war. Practically every estimate of supply and production has been falsified by events. Priority of consideration must be given to the problem of combating submarines. Unless anti-submarine appliances for seacraft and aircraft are forthcoming quickly, and in adequate quantity, the aggregate losses will continue to mount until not all the resources of the Allies will be able to cope with them. The "Times,” in a leader, urges the Government to publish the facts fully so that the nation can realise the seriousness of the situation and be aroused to make the necessary effort to meet it. THE STORY OF THE MATUNGA. LONDON, March 14.

The Australian Press Association interviewed Mr Straugman Flood, who said Captain Donaldson, the Matunga’s master, first thought the Wolf was a Japanese tramp when sighted. She was running the same course as ourselves H miles to starboard. The Wolf suddenly turned eastward across the Matunga’s bows, until half a mile away, when she dropped portion of her bulwarks, exposing gun muzzles. Captain Donaldson realised that the Wolf was a raider, and threw overboard the code-book; manifesto and official papers. A prize crew boarded the Matunga five minutes after,the. Wolf fired her warning shot, getting',; out the steam launch with remarxable despatch. We had a compass, therefore by means of rough charts were able to follow the subsequent course of the steamer. She went norm for two days up the east coast or New Ireland until she reached the Equator, then westward for four days, until she reached a beautiful, perfectly land-locked harbour in Dutch New Guinea. The selection of the harbour must have been planned in advance. There is a narrow entrance a quarter of a mile wide, a good anchorage, and hills entirely screening the view. Commander Naug, of the Wolf, placed launches at the harbour entrance, erected a wireless plant and signalling station on a seaward side of the hill. A seaplane scoured ‘the whole neighbourhood or sea and laud for a distance of a hundred miles. We remained twelve days, while the Wolf took in foodstuffs and coal from the Matunga. The Wolfs crew meantime scraped the ship’s bottom, repaired the engines, and repainted the vessel in preparation for a continuation of the voyage. The crew completed arrangements for sinking the Matunga. They placea bombs so that she sank stern first. The Wolf followed a zigzag course to the east, of Singapore, where she lowered her remaining mines. An officer bragged that the seaplane flew over Sydney harbour in the early morning and knew the disposition of the shipping there. He also stated that earlier mines were dropped off Capetown, Bombay and Colombo. We passed several steamers who did not suspect the Wolf. We then kept close to the coast and proceeded east, then south-east, to Balli, Lombok Straits. We entered the Indian Ocean, then went westerly and subsequently north until able to pick up wireless messages from Berlin and Constantinople. We spent a fortnight in the Indian Ocean, the seaplane constantly scouting. The day before the Hitachimaru was seized, the Wolf’s officers bragged that they would secure a big prize. They showed Strangman a wireless stating that the Hitachimaru would arrive at Colombo to-morrow. The seaplane went out and confirmed the wireless, and reported that a 6000-tonner was nearby. The Wolf altered her course as soon as she sighted the Hitachimaru, and fired twice across her while the seaplane w'as hovering overhead with bombs. The officers subsequently declared they had photographs proving that the Japanese gun crew r s were making ready. The Germans fired at the wireless room.