KING VISITS THE FLEET.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 January 1919, Page 5

KING VISITS THE FLEET.

A MEMORABLE REVIEW. THANKS OF THE EMPIRE. Some five months ago the King visited the Grand Fleet at a time When the fortunes of the Allies were not of the rosiest, and. to-day he visited it on the point of its putting to sea to accept the greatest naval surrender oa record, wrote the correspondent of a London paper from Edinburgh on November 20. , At the approach to the point of embarkation the Royal visitors Avvre deceived by distinguished naval officers headed by Adfhiral Sir David Beatty. with his hat jauntily perched on the side of his head as usual, anil still wearing that perennial smile, halt gtim, half I "tumorous, and Wholly insfcriltable. The meeting was exceptionally cordial, and aftef the sailitf Kidg dnd sailor chief had engaged for a fcW Moments in confidential chat a large number of officers Were presented. A guard of honor of bluejackets Was inspected, and the King and Prince walked between comj>anifc3 oi men from the destroyer flotillas, stopping to chat with one here and another thero as attention was called to them for Some special reason. No speech was intended, and nbno w&b prepared, but his Majesty, speaking with great earnestness, addressed the assemblage follows: "I have already sent you a message expressing my deep appreciation of your services, but I am glad to have this opportunity of thanking yon in person. It fs to the iteet, Wliieh has kept watch and Ward in all Weathers a fid under all sorta of trying eonditioti.3, thai we owe very largely the Victory we are now celebrating, and hence it giveii nlc the greatest pleasure to thairk you all in iHy own name and on behalf of the nation and Empire." The scene tliftt MtoWfA Was inspiriting. Vessels .of ill typas, varying from the submarine and smnll torpedo de* stroyer to leviathan tiattie-crtiisen and battleships, all dressed with - precision, almost comparable With that of a highlytrained infantry battalion, manned ship, and frojii the decks the titular head of the Navy Was greeted With trfemendous enthusiasm. Where the vessels had bands the National Anthem was played, and from every one caiftc bursts of cheering and indications of loyal Welcome. What applies to one vessel applies to all. It was just one long-drawn acclaim as the Oak made its way between lines of war vessels, turned and passed between other Jlines, repeating the process till the whole of the Grand Elect had been thus inspected.

Camouflaged hulls, a new Vindictive to replace the Osteiid Iblockship of that nailie, the Glorious, the tough old Lion, which the Germans asserted thsy sank, the Verdun, the latest destroyer, the New Zealand, the Cardiff, which brought in the Konigsberg, the French cvUisor and destroyer which are to participate iti the great surrender ceremony, the battleship presented to the Navy by Canada, Lord Jellicoe'3 old flagship the Iron Duko, the two vesseia requisitioned from Turkey at the commencement of the war, Jack Cornwall's ship, the King's old Crescent (now in harbor), and tho vessel 6n which the Prince of Walea last Served—all claimed attention in turn, aiid the vari' ety of types and sizes seemed endless, As tlia King inade for shore and for the Royal train at Barton lie saw steaming majestically seaward a long line of fast destroyers, which were merely the vanguard of some 200 ships of war, making for the rendezvous at which German naval might is to realise its passionate longing for "dor tag"—a realisation which shatters, probably for generations, if not for ever, the dream of "Deutsch* land ttber Riles."