NAVAL NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 16463, 29 June 1917, Page 8

NAVAL NOTES

[Contributed by. the Navy. League, Otago Branch.]

Td-day the lonely winds are loose, And crying goes tho rain, And here we \valk the fields they knew, The Dead who died in pain. The fie'.da that wait the slow hours long For sounds that shall not comeIn other fields, in other earth, The laughing hearts lie dumb. —Mary O'Rourke (Dorchester). THE NAVY LEAGUE. When war broke out there were those who imagined that the work'of the Navy League would oeaseduring its continuance. It existed "to organise and stimulate public opinion in support of the vital needs of the fleet, and to secure by every ; legitimate means that the direction of i naval afi'airs may bo removed from the ■ arena of party political s-rntroversy." The I 21st annual report shows with what success the league have been working. This document, reflecting activities in many fields, bears evidence of initiative, courage, and hard work on the part of a large number of workers in the national cause. The league have refused to permit the public to forget their debt to sea power. During last year over 5,000 meetings were* held. The league sent Mr Arthur Studd into South Wales to conduct a propaganda among the miners, the essential supporters of sea, power; they organised a special campaign among tho working classes of Lancashire; they arranged - for lectures in the schools, estimated to have been attended by audiences numbering over 31,000; they maintained constant communication with the Oversea Dominions, informing them of the character of the naval situation; they distributed a vast quantity of literature; and they co-operated with the authorities in recruiting for the Royal Naval Division. The league also initiated a movement among the education authorities of England and Wales which may yet bear rich fruit. The suggestion is that all children should be taught naval history as an essential part of their education. In these and other* ways tho leamie carried on a splendid work, no feature of which is of more importance than that bearing upon the instruction of the rising generation in the importance of sea power. APPEALS FOR CASH. _ The league were busy in other directions. At the close of last year the Navv League overseas relitf fund reached the magnificent figure of £122,261, and nib6cnptions were still coming in. The manner in which the Dominions have co-oper-ated is beyond all praise. No less than £96.000 has come from New Zealand • £22,000 from South Africa; £2,000 from South Australia. By British residents in Argentina £lB5 has been contributed Canada sent less than £SO. "Sailors' H ay r>" 0n octotcr * la st, raised upwards of £41,000, and the account is not yet closed. That widespread effort presented a fine work in organisation. It bi ought in sums which otherwise would never have been received, and the aggregate expense involved, including the°cost of millions of flags and badges, amounted to only about 20 per cent, of the total sum received. The result was one upon which the Navy League and the British and Foreign Sailors' Society, who worked in association, deserve 'thanks. Over £20,000 has been paid into tho "Jack Cornwell," V.C., Memorial," nearly seven million children having subscribed their pennies and become possessors of a picture of the_ boy hero. The vitality of the league is due in large measure to the fine spirit -which animates them. There is" a devoted army of voluntary workers, whose activities in supplying comforts to the fleet and parcels to the naval prisoners of war constitute a record of fine patriotic service. Tho Navy League, which had a modest beginning in a small room 21 years ago, have since become a great Imperial institution, with branches wherever the British Flag flies, as well as in not a few iVeign comtries. Mr P. J. Hannon, the general secretary, who is the life and soul of the movement, mav feel that the latest report represents a tribute to the devoted work of himself and his staff, who have held the reins during a period of no slight diiEculty. THE NEW PRESIDENT. The Duke of Buecleuch, K.T., who has accepted the office of president of the Navy League, entered the Royal Navy in 1877 and served for nine years, retiring- as a lieutenant in 1886. As Lord Dalkeith, he represented Roxburghshire in the House of Commons from 1895 to 1906, and has been Lord Lieutenant of Dumfriesshire since 1915. He married in 1893 Lady Margaret Alice Bridgeman, a daughter of the Earl of Bradford, and their eldest eon, the Earl of Dalkeith, is a lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards. The Duke succeeded his father in 1914, and is a large landowner in the South of Scotland and in Northamptonshire, where he carries on the family tradition by being a good and popular landlord. The Navy League have been fortunate in securing his services as president, and may confidently look forward to the duties of the office being discharged in a manner worthy of the fine example set by, his predecessor. Montagu House, the London home of tho Buccleuehs, has been handed over to tho Government by the duke for the period of the war, and is now the Ministry of Labor. AMERICA AND THE NAVY LEAGUE. The general secretary writes: " The Xavy League of the United States, which during the past few years has become a I very powerlul body, are working hand in hand with' this office, and are modelled almost in'every detail on the samo lines as out own organisation. "At the annual meeting of the League Captain Alan-Burgoyne, M.P., said: It was, he felt sure, the desire of one and all to see the Navy League, of all leagues, the people's league. They ought to be stretching out their hands throughout the wide domain of the whole woVld and bringing everybody in. They should not have the feeling that, for its population, the branch in New Zealand or elsewhere was greater than the branch at Home." NORWAY'S GALLANT SAILORS. A dinner to 500 Norwegian sailors whose ehips have been mined or torpedoed was given by the Norwegian colony in London at the Connaught Rooms, Great Queen street, on April 13. The following telegram was received from tho Kuw of Norway:—"l beg you to ask tho Consul-General to give the stranded Norwegian sailors in London my greeting, and to express my admiration that they, v/ithout taking into consideration the dangers which the war involves, faithfully continue their sailings, thereby guaranteeing Norway tho import of the necessary food. I hope it will be a comfort to our bravo sailors to know that not only at home, but throughout tho whole world, there is admiration for their courago and their feeling of duty to their it-other country. At the eamo "time I beg t-> express to the Norwegian colony in' London my thanks for having given mo this opportunity of thanking our sailors by inviting them to this banquet to-day.'' Greetings were also received from the Storting. The Chairman proposed "Our Sailor Guests," and Captain Holterman, in responding, said Norwegian seamen had only dono their duty in fighting against barbarism. They were all ready to go to sea again at the first opportunity. The Chairman, in proposing "Our British. Guests," said that those who had invited them did not claim, to be neutral. A few of them were British citizens,' and nothing gave them more pleasure than to do what they could for the British' cause. Several of his Norwegian-born' friends had sons fighting in the ranks. He mentioned that most of the Norwegian eailors landed in England had" been on torpedoed vessels'twice, many three times, and not a few four times.

> Commodore Lionel Halsev. who responded, said that the British Empire owed a great debt of gratitude to the bravo Norwegian sailors. The. blockade of Germany had caused inevitable irrita-

tion in some neutral countries, but we had alwaysj and with reason,; placed the greatest'confidence in the sound common senso of the Norwegian people. (Cheers.) Before the dinner the sailors attended a performance at the Scala Theatre, and visited the Houses of Parliament and other places of interest. THE U BOAT CAMPAIGN. Mr H. C. By water, writes : There are a good many people who cling to the comforting theory that one of those fine .days some mysterious apparatus will be devised by means of which n hostile submarine ran bo detected and destroyed as soon as it puts to sea. Thess sanguine souls may be right, but for the present wo have to recognise that there is no ahr.oluto specific against the enemy's U boats. Their activity, however, can be circumscribed in a number of ways, and it is quite certain that no practicable method of bunting them is being neglected. Destroyers, trawlers, fast motor boats, and a host of other small craft are continually at work, night and <lay, harrying the raiders without respite. And as the arming of merchantmen is now. proceeding with all rapidity, the life of the U boat grows ever more precarious. In addition to the many other perils which encompass it, it how has to reckon with the guns of its prospective victims. Even the largest submarine can only travel a short distance below the surface—say, TOO miles at most. Every minute it remains on the surface it is in danger of attack, while even in the depths there is a multitude of hidden perils. Life in a pirate submarine must be decidedly exciting nowadays, judging from the First Lord'? '>"> cent statement.. that no less than 40 ■>nemy boats had been met with and attacked in a period of 18 days. SUBMARINE CHASERS. The latest advices from Washington show that the Navy Department has already taken in hand the" creation of new flotillas which are intended to fight submarines. ' The American navy already possesses a large number of auxiliary craft. According to a statement prepared by the Navy Department last year, apart from battleships, cruisers, and monitors, the American fleet includes the following units :

We anticipate that when the German people come to realise the extent of America's naval resources they will seek some explanation of the Imperial Chancellor's confident tone in the Reichstag, and the feeling that they have been deceived will be increased when they learn of the measures which have been taken to increase those resources.- Before President Wilson's speech had been delivered to Congress the Navy Department had taken steps to place contracts for "100 or more" submarine chasers. These vessels will be propelled by efficient engines, though their speed has not been revealed. A survey is being made of privatelyowned motor craft suitable ' for use bv the naval authorities. Those who ore familiar with the vast industrial resources of the United States will best appreciate the extent of the services which she can render at sea in combating submarine piracy.

DUBLIN AND THE NAVY LEAGUE. At a meeting of the council of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce (in March) the following resolution was unanimously adopted : —" That the council, recognising the great value of the protection affordea by the Navv to the commerce of the country, both in imports and exports and having carefully considered the aim* and objects of tho Navy League, are of opinion that the league should receive whole-hearted support.

No. Displacement Destroyers 68 53.609 Torpedo boats 19 3.365 fSubmarines 58 24,177 Tenders for torpedo vessels 9 31,622 Gunboats 50 27,890 Transports 6 36,595 Supply ships 4 33.S0O Hospital ships 2 9,000 Fuel ships 25 280,591 Converted yachls 16 9.476 Tugs 45 • 18.024 Special tvpe 8 43.333