THE WRONG FLAG

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 134, 8 June 1936, Page 11

THE WRONG FLAG

» -— SALUTE TO SLOOP Many residents of Wellington wonI tiered why the roar, of cannon disturb--1 ed the city on Friday morning, ! and after they had discovered that the 5 French sloop Savorgnan de Brazza had been welcomed a further puzzle was : presented by another salute from Point ; Jerningham during the afternoon. The second salute was fired as the General 1 Officer Commanding the New, Zealand I Military Forces (Major-General bir 1 William Sinclair-Burgess) was' going w on board the sloop to pay his official " cr 11 but it would not have been given 3 if' a mistake had not been made when „ the warship arrived at 9 a.m: 3 As is customary when a warship en- * ters a foreign harbour, the sloop 1 hoisted the White Ensign and fired f nine guns. International courtesy-re-quired a similar reply from the salutiiiE battery, but, owing to the absence e of the officer who usually commands the battery on such occasions, the Union Jack was hoisted instead of the Tricolour, and twenty-one rounds were fired instead of nine. This constituted a breach of etiquette capably as being interpreted, not of courteous welcome but of defiance, and the French com mander, Captain Louis Robert, was d nonplussed as to what interpretation n to read into the reply from the bat

> lery. As soon as he landed explana k tions were made, and as he appeared perturbed about the incident the cor rect salute was given later in the day ,n *"**