THE FLEET CELEBRATIONS

Evening Star, Issue 13032, 17 August 1908, Page 6

THE FLEET CELEBRATIONS

.MAYOR M'DONALD’S IMPRESSIONS. Mr J. M'Donald (mayor) returned to Dunedin on Saturday night after attending the celebrations in Auckland. To' one of oar staff this morning he spoke as follows :

“ The American Fleet have arrived and departed from our shores with the good wishes of everyone who bad the honor of meeting such distinguished visitors. lam sure that the good feeling that exists between the various’portions of the British Empire and the United States has had one more rivet added to it by this visit, ana the cementing of the Anglo-Saxon races throughout the world has been considerably strengthened. I had the honor of being on the Government steamer Tutanekai on Sunday morning, and I can assure your readers that it was an impressive sight when those sixteen battleships, all painted white, steamed into Auckland’s beautiful • harbor. The sun shining on them gave one the idea of mighty balls of silver gliding along (he water. As they came to anchor the different bands played ‘ God Save the King ’ and ‘ The Star-spangled Banner,’ and it made me glad to think that two such mightly nations were bound in the closest ties of friendship. “Yon will have already read all about the reception, etc., so I wiill content myself with giving you some of my personal experiences. As for the Americans, they are a kindly and good-natured people, and were ever ready to show any kindness in their power in return for the generous reception given them by New Zealand. Admiral Sperry’s speeches were short and to the point, and gave one the impression that he was the right man to take charge of such a mighty squadron in the interests of peace. I was especially pleased to see the Admiral receiving the Maori chiefs so gracefully when they were introduced to him on the dais. His speech at the civic reception in the Volunteer Hall before the largest audience I have ever seen is one that cannot easily be forgotten. What impressed me most was bis remark : ‘ Ships can be bought with money, but men and souls cannot be bought, and the life of our Fleet, which we cannot replace if it is ill-trained and .not self-respecting, lies in the men of the Fleet, to whom yon Have extended so cordial, generous, and gracious a welcome.’ I was much amused at the remark of one of the American officers sitting next me when, after his Admiral’s speech, he said : ‘ Our old man don’t have much to say, but- what he says is full of'good meat.’ “ The officers were gentlemen, easy and graceful both in manner and speech. I had the honor of making the acquaintance of lieutenant-commander Mullins, of the battleship Minnesota, who gave me an open invitation to come on board his ship, which I accepted. He kindly placed his steam launch at my disposal, and by this courtesy a number of Dunedin folk and myself were afforded the pleasure of seeing everything of interest. After having been shown the working of the gnns, wireless telegraphy, etc., wef- were entertained in the commander’s rooms, returning to the city very much indebted to him for his great kindness. “ Speaking of the men, I must say they were a fine lot of young fellows, the average age of the crew being about twenty years. They all appear to be happy, comfortable, and well pleased with their lives on board the ships. Asking some of them if they were happy and contented the reply was; ‘ I guess we are. We are well paid, and comfortable, and are having a chance of seeing the world.’ I must also congratulate the Americans on the exceptionally good conduct of the men when on shore. No better-behaved set of men ever set foot on New Zealand shores. On Monday morning £BO,OOO was paid out in wages, etc., to the crews, and hundreds of the men were seen in the different shops purchasing Maori curios, greenstone in every shape and form, mats, colonial rugs, and numerous other things. I feel sure that they spent thousands of pounds among the business people of Auckland. “ I cannot close this without paying a compliment to Auckland and to the mayor (Mr Myers); They did the thing welL Everything was done that could be done to make the visitors feel at home. Everything was bright and ray, and there were decorations of every description. It was estimated that there were 120,000 people in Auckland, and that something like £IOO,OOO was spent by the Fleet and Visitors from other parts of New Zealand. Everybody was at his best, and there was very little drunkenness or larrikinism. I took the trouble on Thursday morning to inquire how many arrests had been made on Wednesday night, and found that only eighteen men and two women had been locked up. I think this speaks well for New Zealand. After this trip through the islands I am more in love with our beloved country and the people therein. “ By the way, I forgot- to mention that every one of the crew appeared to have the American accent. I met about 2,000 of. them altogether, and the only one not an American claimed to be a native of Newcastle-on-Tyne.”