END OF HISTORIC CRUISE.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16812, 19 April 1920, Page 7

END OF HISTORIC CRUISE.

RETURN OF H.M.S. NE\7 ZEALAND TO PORTSMOUTH. LOP.D JBLLICCE'S MISSION. ("from ovr own cor.iiF«r<.:XD£>-T.) LONDON. February 6. Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Jeilif no arrived at Portsmouth on the evening of Febrnarv :>i't. on board the battle-hip Nov,- Zealand, after a cclonial •our of nearly 5-5,131 statute miles. 1 :ie warship anchored at Spithead until moraine. when she was towed into Portsmouth Harbour and berthed in the Pi oval Dockyard. As thri vessel came alongside, Lord .Jeiiicoo. who was standing on the l.rHce acknowledged the cheers or those on sh no. Among the company loard v.c:f > ; r It. Jiorden. L l im" Minister of Canada, who is on sick |~„v« !> n d Sir O. Porley, the Canadian HJo-h Commissioner, the latter _ having ioined the ship at Spithead m tlio morning, as also did Lady Jellicoe and three of her children. As the battleship entered the harbour salutes were exchanged with tho old three-decker Victory, flagship of the Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth, and as soon as the vessel came to rest alongside tlie south railway jetty, Admiral Sir Cecil Burney paid the usual formal cdl. which was returned at tho offices by Viscount Jellicoe later in tlie forenoon, and subsequently Sir Cecil Burney and Ladv Burnev were among those entertained to luncheon in the Admiral's apartments on board. Among others present were Lady Jellicoe and the Alisses Jellicoe. Lady Madden, Mrs Madden, the Rev. F. E. G. and Mrs jellicoe. and Mrs and the Misses Dreyer, Mr Burroughs, and Mr and Mrs Porter. . Writing to me from Ventnor, in tne Isle of "Wight, Lord Jellicoe says: "TYo in H.M.S. New Zealand have had very nlcasin" 1 times since leaving the Dominionrbut the kindness which we nave received has not in the least diminished oar hanoy memories of the exceeding hospitality and wonderful kindness receive! bv us in Now Zealand. H.M.S. New- Zealand is the first British "warshin to ever carry an Admiral of tbe Fleet's flag south of tho line, ancl Lord Jellicoe has flown his flag as Admiral of the Fleet much longer than any of bis predecessors in the rank. He hoisted it at Bombay on April sth last. The ship (Bays the Portsmouth correspondent of "The Times"), has brought home great quantities of curios. "Every member of her crew has picked ■up something 'around the islands,' and several commemorative gifts have been made to the shin herself. As for Lord Jellicoe, his mementoes of the_ tour vary from addresses, enclosed in silver caskets, to walking sticks made of local woods, and are as many as they are \ varied." I LOYALTY OVERSEAS. j To a representative of "The_Times," ■whom he received aboard the New Zealand, Lord Jellicoe said that it had been a very pleasant voyage—one involving a great deal of hard, "and, I hope, successful, work. I _ come back from it deenlv impressed' with the loyalty of our oversea "Dominions and their belief in the Imperial Navy. As representing the Navy, H.M.S. New Zealand met with a snlendid and encouraging reception. Everywhere I found in our overseas Dominions very keen perception of ,the importance of seapower. but that fact did not surprise me. I had always known that our Dominions understood the functions of sea-power and appreciated its value to tbe Empire. It is fully recognised by the Dominions that if they maintain their own naval forces tbev will reqin're to net in close co-operation with the Tmnerial Nary, should circumstances unfortunately necessitate the use of the Navy in war. On tho subject of my mission I cannot, of course, say anything, but T come home deeply impressed by tho hiVh estimation in which our Navy is held by our people oversea, and by the creat kindness of our recent'on by therrt everywhere.'' Viscount. Jellicoe struck his flag in the New Zealand at Portsmouth, and tho battleship went to Plymouth to sjive leave to tho crow. Shortly before leaving, Lord Jellicoe addressed the crew on the main deck; and hearty cheers were afterwards raised for the Admiral. A COMMON NAVY. A writer in the "Evening Standard" remarks: "Lord Jellicoe will doubtless liavo much valuable information to •place before the Admiralty, but I hear that it is not likely his report in certain of its details will give the keenest pleasure to some of the permanent heads. I have it on authority that when the oversea Prime Ministers were in London last year a big attempt was made by the Admiralty officials to induce them to accept "the policy of a; Navy common for tho Empire as a j whole, under central direction. The' Dominion Premiers apparently found it necessary to join in resisting this' pronosal, and the permanent heads in "Whitehall realised that they must give the Dominions more time to consider the subject. "The arrival of Sir Robert Borden with Lord Jellicoe has absolutely no connexion with this or any other public matter. Sir Robert is nerve-shattered, and merely sought rest and quiet in tho voyage with Lord Jellicoe on tho New Zealand." NEW CONDITIONS. As peace had not been concluded when iiord JeUicoe set lortii on nis tour, it seemed to some ooservers (says tlie • "Daily Xelegiupn"; tnat tiie navai authorities were o\ er-nasty in deputing "tins distinguisned omcer to investigate the Imperial aspects of the complicated problem of sea deience. In continuation, tnis paper, in a leader, remarks: —"limo lias, however, proved tnat the decision was a wise one, for we stand faco to lace wth new conditions overseas. Tlie old i conception of Empire has disappeared; : wo have to take into account not a Mother Country, with a number or , young and unfledged communities, but i a series of nations, each developing independently, but all united under one 1 Crown by common ideals and language. ] That change in relationship must leact on naval policy. Tho Imperial Cabinet ' has become, in the words of tho Prime i Minister, 'an accepted Convention of the British Constitution'; tho Do- ; minions, moreover, joined in Paris in making peace as they had eo-operated | in making war, and tliey will take fitting rank in the League of Nations. Those are the unfamiliar, but welcome, conditions which tlie first Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet had to keep in mind m advising first India, then Australia and New Zealand, and finally Canada, as to tho steps they should take to preserve that freedom of movement over the ocean highways which is , to them a matter of life and death." ' "The partnership forged in the crucible of war has suggested that we can - achieve a largo measure of success by other means more in accord with the self-governing principles to which the < 6ister nations attacli the highest im- ' portancc—provided that training is j standardised, and that in war-time ail ' the forces of this Sea Commonwealth pass under the orders of one authority • —in other words, the Board of Admirnlty. That conclusion makes a great step forward. "The corollary of this new partnership is that tbe people in these islands „ can no longer be regarded as solely re- i sponsible for tbe upkeep of the naval i forces cf the Empire. That inevitable 1 conclusion must not, and will not, be pressed too far, but it cannot bo ig- ( nored. Nationhood, however, has its : responsibilties as well as its privileges, ]

and, if the privileges are claimed, the responsibilities which they imply must be accL'^lod. •i; u:e Krnpire is to be defended," continues tlie article, "that task will, to ihe limit of vision, rest on v.eil-guuned • and heavily-armed surface vessels. In j the light of that opinion, wh/ich is sup- ; [:cried by the best expert opinion, it I would be folly for the Dominions or j or.rselvi.-s to think in the fantastic terms !of tho Futurist school of deience. iCanada. Australia, Aew Zealand, and I South Afrka ai'e their own masters, but j in one of L.ircl Jeilicne's homely and ; illustrative phra os. 'One must not start | to obtain an iiijurance policy alter the I 'jicuse is on lire.' It is apparent that -ince the Empire requires a fleet in place of the insular navy, which Has served the British peoples so well in the past—the charges being borne almost'entirely by tlie people of this country with their many burdens—it is matter for congratulation that the Dominions should themselves have raised the issue by the invitation extended to Lord .Jellicoe. "What action is to follow inu~t be the subject of careful deliberation. for finance governs defence; but the Admiralty cannot well determine its future policy until it is known lo what extent the Dominions are prepared to share the common burden. Tt ' is no more ours in the new situation than it is theirs, except to the extent that three-fourths of the white popula-' . tion of the Empire lives in the=e islands. ! Lord Jellicoe, with experi--1 once as a seaman and administrator, has cleared the way for action, and, in ■ v.-elcomipc: him home, the British people will trust that a stage in Imperial co-operation is about to open." ! EFFECTS OF THE WAR. Apart from the ofacial incidents connected with Lord Jeiiicoe'a tour tbe Now Zealand's voyage has not been particularly eventful, though it lias been ! most interesting, says the "Western .Morning News." It is just ten days less than a year since tho .ship Jort Devonporfc. *All ranks state that they ! were most cordially received everywhere, particularly so in Australia and New Zealand. 'During tho cruise the | cffects of the war were felt in different ways, one of which was the prevalence ; of strikes in different ports visited. ! Tho most striking effeet was, how--1 ever, the decreased value of the pound sterling, and this hit officers and men pretty hard when they went ashore. In , Australia the men lost 5 per cent, on all their transactions, but this was altered, and the.v were afterwards given full value for tlieir Treasury notes. In tho United States ;5s or Gs was lost on every sovereign. Tho men feel rather sore about this. Another serious effcct of the war, or, more directly, of tho labour troubled in the coal mines, was that the New Zealand experienced trouble in obtainin fr coal, and there was also very littlo oil fuel available. At the various coaling stations it was hardlv ever possible to complete with either form of fuel.