Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1905

Te Aroha News, Volume XXII, Issue 42793, 19 October 1905, Page 2

Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1905

'1 his above all—to thine own self be true, And it must follow as the night the day Ihou cansi not then be false to any man Shakespeare.

To-morrow will be celebrated tb.rougkout the British Empire, the centenary of that glorious day when the redoubtable Admiral Nelson, in command of the British fleet, vanquished off Cape Trafalgar in 1805, the combined fleets of Franca and Spain, i Those were the days when the picturesque wooden walls of England were in the prime of their existence ; the days of hand-to-hand conflicts anl boardings. What great changes have come upon the British navy since that memorable time—the last occasion on which Britain’s guns have been tr dned against a European power at sea. The wooden walls are inow almost extinct, the few remaining ones serving the peaceful office of | training schools for prospective officers or men for the mercantile marine. What a fine picture is presented by one of these old guardians of our Empire; the conspicious port lines bristling with guns, and the high towering masts carrying full royals; what outward contrast to the neutralpainted hull and absence of top-gear which is such a feature of our present ships of war. But not only iu outward 1 appearance has our navy changed. Below, in Nelson’s day the fighting decks presented an unbroken sweep from end to end, containing comparatively little gear beyond guns and ammunition. The wooden sides of the ship, from twelve to eighteen inches thick, are now replaced by steel of equal thickness, with an accompaniment of wa'er-tight compartments and steel decks crowded with guns and gear of. every description, the awe-inspiring yet wonderful accompaniment of highly developed civilisation. But without all these modern aids was Trafalgar Day fought and won, prefaced by the well-known signal “England expects that every man will do his duty.” Admiral Nelson, directing the fight on deck, was mortally wounded by a shot from the rigging of one of the French vesselsi during the-fiercest raging--of the conflict, and was carried below, soon afterwards breathing his last. Thus did old England lose one of her bravest and noblest of naval commanders, and when the sad news reached Home, the joyful effect of victory was dulled by the mournful tidings of a noble career thus abruptly ended amidst’ the exultations pi triumph. Well* may ,'tbe Empire rejoice and pay tribute to Lord Nelson, for the turn of events off Cape Trafalgar, placed Britain in a p> sition of supremacy at sea which none have since dared to assail