Italy

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 115, 8 October 1914, Page 5

Italy

ANTI-AUSTRIAN MANIFESTO,

Rome, October 0,

Sixty thousand Italians Jiave sent a manifesto to tho Clovcrnment, begging help against the Austrian*, declaring that the number of arrests of Italians in Austria on suspicion is assuming unbearable proportions. Tho distressing stories of fugitives arc raising popular passion.

ON THE HIGH SEAS.

TAIXUI'S VOYAGE OUT,

AN INTERESTING STORY.

I Wellington, yesterday. I In view of the unusual circumstance* attendant upoil the war the passage of the Shaw-Savill jmart stifllfter Jaiatri from London to Wellington was mofa than of ordinary interest. The time of her departure from, home was fraught with great significance—a time when ships of her class were commandeered iiy thtvAdmiralty. Further, it was a time whpn the course of her joUfiiey was dangerous allies t(> the ship, cargo and passengers. Her arrival at Wellington yesterday morning, a day ahead of her scheduled date, is a tribute to the Navy and also to her commander, Captain T. Moffatt. A SEARCHING EXAMINATION. Speaking to a Dominion reporter, Mr. L. J. Wahlers, the purser, gave an interesting narrative of the journey from the Old Country. "When we left London the tenseness of tho English speaking world was so great that, comparatively speaking, few people were prepared to travel, even if permitted to do so, and as a result the first-class passengers on the .Tainiii numbered only seventeen out of a booking of 47. The second-class had 56,. and the third-class 280. Until the last minute," continued Mr Wahlers, "it was not definitely known whether thc Tainui would get her clearance. At 10.30 a.m. on August 21, however, a special train, in which passengers only were allowed to travel, left St. Pancras station for the Albert Dock. On arrival each personunderwent a thorough and rigorous examination as to the identity and race at the hands of the dock, naval ttnd shipping authorities. These precautions were taken with the object of seeing 'that neither German nor Austrian subjects were permitted to travel by the putward-bound mail steamer." 1 GRIM, SILENT SENTINELS. Tlw precautions insisted cpon by the Admiralty served only to intensify <he , nervoiiiS&flß of the people on heard, whose AeKng had fo'f weeks past been ovcr-wro-ljfht wdthf the excitement ol the 'war. Thv Tainui fiaally left Gravesend about' 2 o'elock on tar afternoon of Aug,udt 21. TSe- journey to the mouth of • tho river' Uhames waw full of the numerous iWarshipa,. destroyers, miae*sweepers, and!other crai% which had been c»mmandeere4 by the Admiralty making a iceo'e "most' picturesque, sorrowful amt above all, wonderful.' 1 One felt that ne> ships of any Sand could" pass through , that line of grim and silent sentinels of • the seatf-without being observed. ' SHOPPED. On the run down to. Dove? a torpedo destroyer* waß sighted escorting two German prizes tip the river Thames. A little later the Tainui herself was hailed by a warship: and Wd to stopv She was boarded by a naval officer, and after a searching investigation; tho 1 vessel was , ordered to anchor and' not pass Dover till' daybreak. Accordingly, «he vessel remained there until' s'• a:m. on August 22. We left'thcre knowing that we were being watched and shepherded! by the warships-of -the Navy and that we were also to be reported from distance to distance, as being safe-and well,, said the purser. After the ■ Tainui had been out two or three days all lights pn dsek were dispensed : with, and' port; holes were masked. These were necessary precautions. The- 'effect was depressing, to say the least. This-statfc of affairs continued until'after the Ihimri had passed Tencriffe. She had avoided that port altogether by steering a> wide westerly course. VESSIL.TURNS A2JD-FLEES.

On one occasion a vessel was sighted some miles away. It was moonlight at the time, and although' the Tainui was in darkness she was plainly seen by the strangers The latter had; all her lights on and immediately the captain saw the Tainui, he put out all lights and turned his ship's head and madfe off. It was a coincidence that at the' time' the above incident happened the Tainui was verydose to. the Kaipara*,. which was sunk by the - German armod 1 merchantman Kaiser Wilhelm der Grasse. Cape Town vras reached without farther incident. At the South African port, the Tainufs passengers and crew were subjected to considerable scrutiny before pratique was granted. After having coaled, the vessel left for Hobart .aad Wellington, the journey being accomplished without: further- incidents of note, no ships off any description being sighted. While the Tainui was crossing the Bay of Biscay, a huge floating doak was ftoen being towed by what appeared to be four naval tugs. Speculation was rife on board as to the destinatioa of the "fleet."

At Capetown six German priiee steamers were seen in the harbor 'Many troopships all ready for embarkation 1 of troops -were also to be Been these.. When the Tainui entered the harbor cheers were exchanged, ari3 it was subsequently found that the troops di(J not know their destination.