ITALIAN-TURKISH WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 95, 12 October 1911, Page 3

ITALIAN-TURKISH WAR.

A NEW ZEALAN'DEIi'S EXPERIENCES IX THE TURKISH NAVY. FOR FrtI'UTEEX YEARS. •Such a man was found a. day or two ago. and his experiences entitle "him to a hearing. Not that ho was anxious to talk, but he politely consented to do so, merely stipulating- that his Mine be not published, (says the Dunedin Star). es," he said, "i,t is quite true that I served with the Turks. 1 went out with their first ironclad after she was launched •at Glasgow in lSfij. Her name? The Abdul Aziz. She was built by Napier. One of the first ironclads in the world. Not. the first. Our people had the Black Prince and the Warrior.

"Captain Camming took her as far as Constantinople, and when we got there the captain and all the rest of"our men went ashore, leaving me and Jack Jtoss the only Britishers on that big ship amongst 470 Turks. Jack Ross was fourth in the engine room. I was third. I didn't mean that the other fellows left the ship. They came back after a day or two—some of them, anyway. The captain was done with her when we got to ■port, but I mind that Campbell, the chief came back, and Spence, the second. I can't aav what became of the others, but I mind their names. There was Sanders fifth, Barber sixth, and Lang seventh. "You see she was a big ship, 8000 horse-power, which was a lot in those days. i>he could do about 11 knots in a seaway. I was Ixirely a year in her. There was nothing particular that she had to do. "Then came a bit of excitement—the insurrection ill Crete—and in the changes that were made 1 was sent on board one of the Sultan's yachts. He had three of them. The rebels had a fast little vessel called the Arcadia, and this yacht that 1 was put on was picked because she was the speediest of the three, and they knew that speed was wanted for the job we were sent to, to stop the Arcadia and her pranks. "Out we went and searched, and one morning early, we saw her and gave chase; hut a stern chase is a long one, and it took us till evening to overhaul her. When we got within range they let drive. One .shot carried away Ift of our funnel, and another damaged one of our paddleboxes. We let her have it in re- ' turn, and she bolted and took refuge in the Greek island of Saragota, halfway between Svra and Crete.

"Our skipper was a brave man, but uneducated. He had risen from the common sailors. He didn't know what to do about going in after the Arcadia. .So we just held her there, and the captain sent a pilot to the Greek Admiral to ask for adivice. The answer was to let her go. So we left, much against the will of the people on our yacht. When about halfway to headquarter we met our own Admiral, and upon hearing what had happened lie ordered us to turn back and catch her. Off we went as fast as we could go, .but by the time we returned to Sara go ta the Arcadia- had disappeared. "We watched the port, and did a little dodging up and down the coast,'until one night we saw a vessel coming in. The word passed round: "The Arcadia!' Immediately she saw us she turned and bolted, and we went after her. As we had not full steam up at the time it took us two hours to catch her. When we did get within range she took it on, and we fought at short range, circling round one another. We both had light brass guns. Then my mate and me put up our captain to rani her. We knev, that our yacht hid a stem thai would stand a shock. Bhe was British built, turned out by Penn, of London. The old man tried to carry out our suggestion, and at last we, managed to hit her—not exactly where we wanted to. but lietween the forrard sponson and the bow. We cut right into her. and then fell alongside, and the crews started lighting desperately. Our yacht carried !OS men. and by the time we carried her we had lost four killed and fourteen wounded. Iler crowd snJTered more severely. Being cut down to the water'.- edge, the Arcadia commenced to sink, but we wen. not far from the shore, and her people managed to beach her and set her on lire before tliev ran.

''Our Admiral came up after the set-to and made his men repair her, so that she might be towed the 450 miles to Constantinople as a trophy of arms. We managed the job -right enough. We expected the Sultan to come down and have a look at the captive, but he didn't. He was a sort of recluse. But he sent his chief Ministers, and they praised us, and they gave me £loi) and a rise in wages for my share in the victory. I also got .120 from Omar lVha, who shook hands with mc, and presented me with this medal, which is the Fifth Order of the Medjidie.

"1 stuck on tiie yacht for about three years and a half. We did all sorts of cruising jobs. For a while we had Ilohart Pasha on Iward. He seemed to be putting in time. Mn-t of his days were spent in fishing and digging up sponges, and that, sort of work. He hadn't much to say to me. There was no more fighting over the Crete affair—the ca.pture ol the Arcadia settled it.

"But we knew the diplomats were at work, and anything might happen. One day, oil' Syra, a Greek ve»sei tired on us, and rushed pa-t Us into the port. We followed up. but a- we reared the jetty we could see the people in tumult. They would have killed every one of us if we had attempted to take her out. We watched the port for 1:2 days, but nothing happened. llobart I'aslu -was on board at the time.

"I left the yacht to go on shore to work in the arsenil at Constantinople. Other liritishers wer« there too, a.s directing artisan-. The pay was not much above what we could ge! in England, but the job was very ea-y and pleasant. Til# Turks lrcate-1 us \v.[ was married at Constantinople to tiie daughter of the chief armorer, who had come from the OJd Country. O'vasionaliy I was sent to sea. On one of these trips I wa- -cut to Yemen and to .Icddah. then to the mouth of the Red Sea. Why the Turks kept ii- Engli-h on so Ion? I don't know. They paid us about five times as much as they would have had to pay Turks who were equal to the work. 1 was 11 vcars in the service altogether.

"What do 1 think of the Turks? Well, like all other-, there are good and had :imong-t th.'iu. But- don't laugh at me if T tell you that I ain a Turkonhile. They are a very clean people—a proud •people- but dilatory and averse to effort till rou-eil. That's how men take advantage of tlieni. Tlk-v are good lighters. I saw n lot of their .soldierly qualities, for I was in Constantinople at the time <>) the Shipksi IVs strict*. They -are patient beyond any other -ohliers I ever saw-, and will hear h'.rl-hip uncomplaingly. On our little y. l -■'!. .''oo tons, we carried 110(1 Turkish soldiers on one trip that l.t-te.l more than a week. There was no room for them to lie down —there was no tucker beyond the bread and .fruit and oil that they curried in their haversacks—and never a word came from them. *Tf it comes to a fair fight, between the| Itilians and the Turks, I'll htick the Turks. T know their bravery and their steadiness and their abil'ty to suffer hardship.

; "With regard to their religion, I was, > struck by their supreme faith. I came' r in contact with men in all walks of life, | and never met one with 'any doubt. They - were all true believers, with an unI shareable faith in their religion. , l "I said just now that the Turks art, 1 dilatory. We should call them indolent. J They dont' like to do things in a hurry. I used to rent a house from Ibrahim Pasha, a lieutenant in the navy. After being in the place a month Ibrahim called Of course he had come for the rent. I saw him, and called out: 'Hullo, Ibrahim, I'll go and get it and be with you in a moment.' He called me back, and asked me to permit him to sit down, whereupon he produced cigarettes and I got ocfl'ee, and there we sat and idled an hour in a yarn all about nothing, excepting that during the conversation lie said he couldn't understand why every Englishman was always in a hurry. As a fact Ibrahim was really busy, but, having to call on me, he reckoned it polite behaviour to take a time about it and go through some ceremony. That's the Turkish manner. "Thf Turks ale fond of a joke, and they like it subtle. Ilwe is a sample. An old teacher, lying down one evening, saw thieves enter his place, and quietly, i and, as they thought unseen bv him, they packed up all .sorts of things—kettles and light household articles. The' teacher didn't budge. When the thieves j had left he leaped up, grabbed a bed. and went after them, and as he caught | up he sat down in their company and i quietly remarked: 'I didn't know we. were moving to-day.'" j