VISITING FLEET

Evening Star, Issue 18998, 21 July 1925, Page 5

VISITING FLEET

'APPROACHING AUSTRALIA. FIRST VESSEL SIGHTED. Press Association —By Telegraph—Copyright. Australian and N.Z. Press Association. (By radio from the Special Representative of the Australian Press Associa* tion.) SYDNEY, July 20. A wireless message from the American fleet states: “The fleet will divide sixty miles off Gabo Head on Tuesday night. One division will then head for Sydney and the other for Melbourne,” OFFICERS’ WIVES. SYDNEY, July 20. A wireless message from the Seattle says that the officers whoso wives are travelling to Australia by the Niagara received advice by wireless from Suva to-day indicating that the women would nut be able to continue the journey from New Zealand to Sydney owing to the waterside strike, and that it would bo necessary for them to take another steamer from New Zealand which would land them on July 28 instead of on July 25. The news was received with great regret, as it means that their short stay in Australia will ho further reduced. Another wireless from the Seattle this morning gives the position of the fleet at noon on Sunday as 591 miles from Port Phillip and 60S miles from Sydney. The weather is fine and the sea smooth. The fleet sighted the Physa, which is the first steamer that has crossed its path since leaving Honolulu. - HO FEAR OF MEN'S CONDUCT ENTERING THE “WET” ZONE. [Per United Press Association.] WELLINGTON, July 20. “ Evidently the liquor trade is in a very highly nervous condition when it is so alarmed by the cabled statement that I waited on Admiral Coontz while in Honolulu in the interests of. Prohibition,” said Mr O. M. Luke, of Wellington, to-day, on arrival by the R.M.S. Niagara, Mr Luke gave a very emphatic denial tojlie suggestion that he had endeavored to influence the admiral in the matter of the possible driuiring among the men when the fleet is in New Zealand waters. “ I desire to say,” stated Air Luke, “ that I, with a delegation from the Y.M.C.A., waited on the admiral at Honolulu in connection with the entertainment of the nun when they arrive in New Zealanl, and incidentally only was a reference made to the men of the fleet, who had landed at Honolulu in batches of from 8.000 to 10,000 daily. I remarked upon fhe •sobriety of the men, as I had not seen one drunken man ashore. I asked the admiral if he had any fear as to the consequences when the men arrived in ‘ wot ’ countries, and lie answered ho had not. Ho said he relied on Iris men when visiting ‘ wot ’ countries to maintain the same high conduct that had marked them in all instances.” NO LIQUOR AT LUNCHEON MASTER TON’S DECISION. [Per United Press Association,] MASTERTON, July 2u, A public meeting was neld to-night to arrange for the reception of the American sailors, 650 of whom will spend tfie day hero on August LI. Five days Infer fifty officers will spend the day and night as the guests of the citizens. At a subsequent executive meeting the matter of supplying liquor at the public luncheon was discussed. Opinion was divided on the matter, but a resolution that no liquor he provided either for the sailors or for the officers at any public function was carried without dissent, NEW ZEALAND ARRANGEMENTS. THE ADMIRAL PLEASED. [Feb United Press Association,] WELLINGTON, July 21, Admiral Coontz, in a. letter to the Department of .Internal Affairs, expresses himself well pleased with the arrangements for entertaining the fleet, and congratulates Hie authorities on the thoroughness of flic information sent. The admiral suggests that, in connection with short leave, advisory information to officers and men as to points of interest will lie welcomed. The official Government programme provides for this, as at Auckland and Wellington a bureau will ho set tip near the wharf for the express purpose of giving sindi information, and similar facilities will ho provided at Lyttelton and Dunedin. Arrangements will he, made for the visits of large parlies to Hamilton, Master!on, Napier, Palmerston North, and Wanganui; and .successive batches will be taken to Rotorua, and some of them to Waifomo Caves. O.R.F.U. ARRANGEMENTS It was decided, in respect fo a request from the mayor, to eraut Hie u.-e of either Carisbrook or C-tloiluiri.tn Ground for an exhibition game of caseball by members of the crews of the American warships visiting here. ft was decided to gram free adi.rission to the officers and nu n of lie visiting vessels to the match at- Cnnsbi'ook on’Saturday, August, 15, and to provide some seats in the .'land tor officers. It was pointed out, that the match on August to was the annual Charily Match, and that it would make n > d’lferenec granting free admission to tl;o match to Iho visitors, provided tin; general public supported it. in regard* to the baseball exhibition, the Mayor asked for a ground on August 12. it, was decided to point out that on August 12 a match had already been arranged between a f'u.i-peka-Tapanui team and a town team, and to endeavor lo have Ihe baseball exhibition arranged for either August 11 or LI. An inv i tit I ion would he given to the visitors to attend the match on August 12. “MAN OVERBOARD.” NO FATALITIES SO EAR. THE SEATTLE, July 20. (Received July 21, at 9.5 a.m.) Admiral Coontz, in a conversation, referring to the smoothness of our tri]) from Honolulu, commented on the fact that during the 1908 trip sixteen men went overboard, eight of whom were rescued. On this trip only three have gone overboard, and all were picked up. The loss of a man overboard from a warship at, sea is often inexplicable. Sometimes there is a broken life-line to give a clue to the cause, hut more often it remains one of the mysteries of the sea. PORT CHALMERS’S QUOTA. At last night’s meeting of the Port Chalmers Borough Council a letter was received from the town clerk, Dunedin, in regard to entertaining the American licet. According to an outlined scheme, Port Chalmers’s quota was £6O. Such expenditure would be validated by the Government.—The Mavor said that New Zealanders nass-

ing through .America in war time were entertained in a very friendly manner, I and he thought the. visitors should bo

entertained here. Perhaps it. would ilO as well to lot the country bodies have (lie pleasure of entertaining men from file fleet.—Cr Lnnn was in favor of entertainin'; 200 ni-ui for an afternoon.—The Mayor said it meant an i all-clay entertainment.—-Cr \V. Love J moved that the WO asked for ho eonI i rilnited. --After councillors had dis-cus-ed the pros and cons of the niatI ter. the motion was carried. I £T. HILDA'S CONTRIBUTION j \':irimis local hodii'.s arc receiving j I roni the finance Committee of the j Dunedin City Council a letter soliciting a contribution towards 1 hi? cost of cnjtertaining (he American llccc. for ; which, it was hoped, £2,b00 could he rai-ed. In a letter to the St. Kilda Borough Council last evening it was staled that. llk borough’s quota wo II UI > he f>d, and the committee stated that I the Covernnumi would guarantee that the payment would be validated by the ! auditor. Cr 11. 11. Leary opposed the granting of £BO. tic contended that it v;a> a situation unite different from the entertainment of British warships, tie failed to sec; what good reasoi: there could be for the voting of £BO. He suggested £25. On a division £BO ; etas granted, only two councillors disi sent ing, ]