BRITAIN'S CARE OF NEW ZEALAND

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 533, 19 June 1909, Page 14

BRITAIN'S CARE OF NEW ZEALAND

(BT T. S. Laubbbi.) »• when the Russian scare wasexerciaing ;tho mmds ,of the New Zealand public a circumstance occurred, quite unknown to r"'A 001 " 1 ?' or even to. the Stent-Vogel Ministry of that time. Sir the following facte to "When the scare began, a British man-o'-war came into'Cookltrait one night having sailed into,, Cable, Bay, Waiannaka anchored Mar the shore end/of the cabfe! A boat came ashore from the ship with the officers, to tho cable' Station! tho entire staff and others resident there to take an oath of secrecy which prohibited thein from letting- anyone including even the Cabinet Ministers, Cw of, the presence and movements of the mano -war. Every lught' for three weeks the vessel , came and ' lay near the shore end of %an t P VOTy mor P">g before day., break went, out to sea again, bo as* in boon' out of sight of the: co£ W^S Z^t^m 7 ™S coming into the strait.' When tho unpposed danger was over, the cable fftaff were rcleaSd f rom their oath of secro7 and the New Zealand Government were advised as to what curred."

The wnter well remembers paragraphs aopeanng .ur the newspapers at stating that some Maoris had, from the ff. a vety large and strangckjoking ship opt..at. sea,. Though disbelieved, the Natives reiterated their statement: but as tho mysterious vessel' did not come into nght or through the strait, the Maoris' tbe<4 was discredited and laugfled at,: as having been imaginarySo even at that time our safotv from invasion-was to eomo considerable ' extent ensured, by the cable communication beine preserved, and be_pt up, between the Waki£ puaka and the Australian squadron; although iven the New Zealand tiovernment,were unaware of the presenoe movements,: and ■ watchful i care of her ftn' tannic Majesty's Navy.: "