RISE OF THE JAPANESE NAVY.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 12015, 17 October 1904, Page 7

RISE OF THE JAPANESE NAVY.

Last week (says .the Parto'correspondenV of London. "Truth") I fell into-chat :; 'in/ .'■"«■. •"' railway carriage with an f old' : haval- bfficei who served as: midshipman in Japanese waters in 1867-68. ; -The first steamertho Mikado owned,ithto ; bought at Birkenhead »econd-haiidjfrom" a ;■ mercantile company. [JiThey, way at all,-arid eenb it*out to a Britieli crew. Tlie Jajwnese had closely ;,; watched; the manom\Trßß aad' methods of the French and : ;other eouadrona.that had oome 4o: Japan at} Consular calhy;y|#!hey; y seemed delighted with .their'; bargain, ;;{ La >: their impatience to. they dismissed 'thevsailore'and sentf bn"V board a native crew. ■ r : Thee© meh peded: ' oil their clothes to work.: , -They did;fairiy- h well in tlie land-looked -Osaka Bay.'.i ;Oae ofternoon the-officera:'ohdj ;Orewß /ibf■;';■ the ;: ' French warships could not make: out f why y the Birkenhead'steamer wenttTouhd:-the;; bay circling in ,a norrowmg course,at the top of its speed, flag-ship, where 'there wera" Japanese: oh 1 " board, tho commander of tho steamer- call-'■;-\ ed out, "Something wrong with the"; eagine. We }oan neither ; stop nor - slow down!" ;VXeave v off i;coa!ing," keep '■■.?.■ <aKdmg*tt«nd; but. farther o*;from n uslT * sang out the French aiptain.; '.This" the.-! Japs did. ■'.' When they stopped a French", frigate tewed; them to their moorings; and they relished;; the compliments :< they ore- .? coiyed on tho way in which they handled: the wheel. , Tlie occurrence, asked the Fren<m;:AdmiraS.};if he could arrange to afford the crewofthe" steamer' wine naval" '■•;' -Ha, courteously told -off;-'for'-tiieA' r dAy'.Je>'''lieaT : ''' tenant, a midshipman—now the <wd) officer. : I talked to—and; a doaen or co of enginomen and sailors. They brought ; hack v every evening amusing stories, about';their pupils, who insisted on taking" hot bathe daily in ewabbing; twickete. , ; They) cohti- ; nued to cast aside their clothes when hard - work had to.be got through*; However, their zeal to learn, their close application, their quickness, amassed their instiuctors. They went to their tasks with minds freaji and retentive aa a child's, and the reaeoning powers of clever adults. In six".'weeks'.: they needed no more teaching, and they could outstrip Bretori sailors in baffling the fury of a typhoon. > ,'.;•*