THE KING AND THE NAVY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 263, 29 March 1913, Page 9

THE KING AND THE NAVY

INSPECTION OF 11.M.5. .NEW ZEALAND. J The London correspondent of the Lyttelion Times writes under date February 7: The King spent a busy day at Portsmouth last Wednesday, inspecting the New Zealand—the battleship which was given to the Empire by New Zealand, and which started yesterday on her long cruise round the world—as well as the 'dockyard. His -Majesty left Buckingham Palace shortly before ten o'clock in the morning, accompanied by RearAdmiral Sir Colin Keppel and Captain <;odfrey-Faus.»ctt, and drove to Victoria

station, where he was received by Mr. Winston Churchill, .UP., First Lord of j the Admiralty; Vice-Admiral Sir John 1 Jellicoe, Second Sea Lord; Rear-Admiral .Moore, Third Sea Lord; Captain Pakenham, Junior Sea Lord; Mr. George Lambert. M.P.. Civil Lord; Sir Francis Hopwood, Additional Civil Lord; Mr. T. J. Macnamara, Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty; Mr. Lewis Harcou'rt. M.P.. secretary of State for the Colonies; the Hon. Thomas Mackenzie, High Commissioner for New Zealand, and Sir Joseph Ward, ex-Prime Minister of New Zealand. The party all travelled by the Royal train, the locomotive of which was decorated with the Royal coat-of-arms, surmounted by a, crown.

Portsmouth jetty was reached punctually at twelve o'clock, the time appointed. The visit was of a semi-pri-vate character, and only a mere handful of persons wore admitted to the jettv. I so that there was no popular demonstration. His Majesty, who was in admiral's undress uniform, was received by Prince Louis of Battenberg, First Sea Lord, who presented him to Admiral the Hon. Sir Hedworth Meux. Naval Commander in Chief at Portsmouth, and Rear-Admiral H. L. Heath, Admiral Superintendent of the Dockyard, together with the members of their staffs. As < the King ascended the gangway of the i New Zealand, the Royal Standard was j broken at the masthead, the ship's band J played "God Save the King." and the j guns of the Victory thundered forth a salMte of twenty-one guns. The sky was overcast, and a' nipping and eager j air blew from across the water, but the scene was an animated one. the warships in Portsmouth harbor and at Spithead being dressed with masthead flags. On the New Zealand there were three, in addition to the Royal Standard, nnmelv. a Union Jack, an Admiralty flag, and a white ensign. Arriving on the quarterdeck, his Majesty was received by Capfain Lionel Halsey. who is in command of the vessel, and the ship's officers, while the bluejackets and marines lined the I deck above. I

THE KING ON COMMISSARIAT. The King spent about an hour inspecting the Now Zealand, and evinced the greatest interest in this fine battlecruiser. It was evident, too, from rej marks which he made during his tliorI ough-going tour of inspection, that the scenes brought hack to his Majesty vivid memories of the days he spent at sea. This was shown particularly in the bakery department, the arrangements of which he specially commended, adding: "When T first went to sea we had weevily biscuits and maggoty flour: that is what we had to put up with." Tn these days •Tack Tar is not so badly off as that; indeed, it is surprising to note the amount of thought that is expended on a firstclass modern man-of-war in ministering , to his comfort. ;

But this incident is an anticipation, and it will be well to describe the Royal visit of inspection in detail from start to finish. First, his Majesty went ronml the upper deck and inspected the men ." divisions, proceeding thence to the chip's galley and the bakery, which are alt. Thence he went forward to "A" turret, where two 12in guns are monnt- ■•<!. and where he saw one of these guns loaded by bluejackets with a dummv round. The demonstration showed that the men, fine, smart fellows all of them. tn-« able to fire three rounds a mtnnte with shells of 8501bs, having an effective range of about seven miles. Descending to the main deck, his Majesty inspected the smoking-room and ward-room, and in the latter was shown signed photographs of himself and the Queen which he presented to the ship a month agl and which have since been placed in gold frames. From the ward-room he went to the ofTicers' bath-rooms, and then, entering an electric lift, he descended to the starboard engine-room, round which he was conducted by Engineer-Command-er Turner, who explained one of the latest marvel' of marine engineering, the feeding of the boilers in the stokehold by means of oil fuel. The next point of interest was the quarters of the midshipmen. An inspection of the gunroom appeared to afford his Majesty considerable amusement, and no wonder, for it is upholstered very much after the style of a lady's boudoir, and. moreover, the colors of the decorations are those of the suffragettes, mauve and green. From (lie gun-room the route lav forward to the ofTicers' cabins, and thence to the lower deck, where an inspection took place of the bluejackets' marines' and petty officers' messes.

A "TRUE NORTH" COMPASS. His Majesty stopped several times to speak to some veteran with medals on his breast or to ask questions of the men. "Pclorns Jack." the famous while bulldog presented In (lie ship's a* si "'mascot" liy a New Zealander. was nowhere to he seen. Perhaps he was alarmed at ihe stir occasioned by the advent of royalty, and was in hiding somewhere. Returning to the upper deck, the King was shown a new invention that interested him deeply. This was the new gyroscope or non-magnetic compass, the principle of which was explained to him. The instrument, which is as yet very little known, is the invention of an ingenious Herman engineer. It is well to know that the magnetic compass does not point to (lie true , north, and that it has other defects which from a navigator's point of view are more serious. Those defects, it is claimed, are not to be found in the gyroscopic compass. Tt is in the form of a free wheel, which, after revolving for a certain lime, points to the true north, fir at all events so near Ihe true north that in no part of the world is there a I'iaririn of error of more than two degrees. The New Zealand is the first shin acluallv in commission that is fitted with this apparatus, and during her ■t.'i.WlO mile cruise there will, of course, he ample opportunities afforded of testing its practical value. Tt is said, on apparently good authority, that experiills <„ - f i!r |,:| V e been decidedly ill its favor. The inspection le-inc.- concluded, the King relumed (o the quarter-deck, where he was photographed, first with the Admiralty officials and ship's officers, and afterwards with the ship's officers alone The or. lea I over, his Majesty look (he opportunity of congratulating Captain ITnlsev ou (he excellent appearance of the vessel in every particular, af tin l same time remarkinif that it had afforded him much gratifies!lion to have had an opportunity of inspectinir her before her departure on her lone; vovauc. Then turning to the officers, he added: "I wish you an interesting and enjoyable cruise. and T hope you will come hack safely. fiood-hye." Having said this, his Ma'jost.y jbivc a salute and received a salute in return.

| THE NEW ZEALAND'S CRUISE. \ OUTWARD BOUND. J Left Plymouth January I'M, arrived Si. ) Vincent (Cape Verde Islands) February 7. Left St. Vincent February 7, arrived Ascension February 12. Left Ascension February 12, arrived St. Helena February 14. Left St. Helena February 15, arrived Simon's Bay (Cape Colony) February 20. She is due in Wellington from Hobart on April 10 and will stay in New Zealand waters about three months, visiting Wellington, Lyttelton, Auckland and Dunedin for about 10 days each, and Akaroa Bay for five days' drill and exercises. Remainder of possible places will bo arranged for after arrival in New Zealand. Coal and provision at Auckland before leaving for Fiji.

HOMEWARD BOUND: Leave Auckland June 1, arrive Fiji Islands June 4. Leave Fiji June 0, arrive Honolulu June 14. Leave Honolulu June 19, arrive Vancouver (8.C.) June 26. Leave Vancouver July 3, arrive Panama July 14. Leave Panama July 17, arrive Callao (Peru) July 21. Leave Callao July 22, arrive Valparaiso (Peru) July 21.

Leave Valparaiso August 2, arrive Monte Video (Uruguay) August 10. ' Leave Monte Video August 13, arrive Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) August 16. Leave Rio de Janeiro August 23, arrive Trinidad September 1. Leave Trinidad September 7, arrive Barbadoes September 8. i Leave Barbadoes September 10, arrive i Grenada September 10. I Leave Grenada September 11, arrive j St. Vincent September 11. , Leave St. Vincent September 12, ar- [ rive St. Lucia September 12. Leave St. Lucia September 13, arrive Dominica September 13. Leave Dominica September 14. arrive St. John's (Antigua) September 14. Leave St. John's September 15, arrive St. Kitts September 15. Leave St. Kitts September 17, arrive Kingston (Jamaica) September 20. Leave Kingston September 23, arrive Bermuda September 26. Leave Bermuda October 6, arrive Plymouth October 15. Time occupied, 8% months.