WHAT LOAD FISHER DID FOR THE NAVY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10009, 4 April 1910, Page 3

WHAT LOAD FISHER DID FOR THE NAVY.

Many praises of what Lord Fiaher did for the Navy have been showered upon the First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, who retired recently, aged sixty-nine. Here is the praise of tha poet. Writing some brilliant verses in the "Westminster Gazette," Mr Harold Begbie says:— Silent he came frum the roar uf the sea, and now from the desk he goes, As silent as calm, as steadfast, with never a mock for his foes: On from the Victory's deck he has moved to a noble fate— He governed the sea with wisdom, and witn honour he served the State. He found the Fleet on a cruising trip, set out on the seven seas, Painted as fine as a festal own, tricked out like a maid to please; And be called the ships from their danciDg, and steadied them up, and buried The thunder of all their cannon by the live great Gates of the World. "There have been conflicts almost as bitter over the reforms of Lord Fisher as arose from the reforms of St. Vincent," writes the "Glasgow Herald." "Too many prejudices have been broken down to have made anything else possible. But the conclusive fact to be observed is that in the whole series of the great reforms that have been achieved there is not one instance of failure. Whether we look to the reorganised training, to the redistribution of t he Fleet, to its gunnery, to its internal amenities, to the dockyards, or to any other of the changes, it is found that all predictions of failure have been falsified. As Lord Fisher once said, those who opposed the Admiralty were fain to confess that its administration had had "the devil's own luck." The vivifying effect has been felt in every department of the Navy, personal and material. There is nothing that has no been brought into line with the requirements of modern times. "To have known him during his long service at the Admiralty," •aays the "Chronicle," "it is to have realised the titanic quality of nis work. His enthusiasm, vision, confidence, and courage have been of priceless value to his country. He has lifted us out of the rut, given us a Navy of unparalleled strength,, better organised than any navy of modern times, infinitely, more capable of waging England's wars and watching the Empire's interests than any navy of previous times. So, when Lord Fisher vacated the position he has vivified and adorned, his countrymen should remember how great have been his services, and how much they owe to him." "During these five strenuous years, which have een the consummation and crown 01 a long career equally strenuous," says "The Times," "Lord Fisher has for good or for evil —and in our judgment largely for gool—left an indelible mark, a mark deeper and more conspicuous than that made by any of his immediate predecessors, on the administration, organisation,' disposition, and equipment of the Royal Navy. "Lord Fisher's work is now done, and the greater part of its accomplished results are, in our judgment, good and irreversible," adds the "Timts." "He has been a great public servant, although he may in the course of his administration have exhibited some characteristic defects of his very remarkable qualities. The consequences of those djfects are neither deep-seated nor irremediable; those of the corresponding qualities are reaching and immensely preponderant in advantage alike to the Navy and to the nation. As he lays down his great office, Lord Fisher is j well entitled to say to his distinguish-1 ed successor:— To thee it shall descend with better quiet, ! Better opinion, better confirmation; ' For the soil of the achievement goes ' With me.' " 1