DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS.

Feilding Star, Volume XIII, Issue 3276, 26 June 1917, Page 3

DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS.

TRAVELLING AT SEA

PEIMLS OF WAR TIME

Sir Joseph Ward, in conversation with an Auckland Star representative, stated that war conditions had mads , travelling to and from England by any route both difficult and dangerous, lioth going and comic across tne Atlantic the vessels he had travelled on crossed the- Western Ocean absolutely without lights, not even the naviga tion lights being shown. Ho described this as somewhat uncanny, as apart I'rom tho submarine and floating mine clangers, there was tho added danger of collision. Crossing the Atlantic on tho return voyage he said the steanici was one o ft He largest passenger yes -ol« <;vor built.' She was 48,000 tons register, and had-a total of 2377 passengers on hoard. She left her j>ort of departure alter nightfall, and the ordinary passengers (lid not know until piey wevp on board' the name of the vessel oil which they were to make the journey. I" the inajoritv of cases the passengers are told to travel by some special'train from a central railway station, and they do not even know the port of embarkation. Once on board, they often remain in port or out in the stream for several days, perhaps a week, and no communication is allowed with the shore, this being done, of course, to prevent information drifting to the enemy. '■Reverting again to the voyage he made, Sir Joseph said that when he came on •Jeck tlje following'morning he found that there weve four destroyers convoying the ship, wth a fast 32-knot an hour scout ahead, and travelling backwards and forwards, keeping vigiant watch and zig-zagging about. The vessel itself on ( ■which they travelled zig-zagged the wholo way across the Atlantic, this being one of the precautions absolutely necessary to .safety. "We jwssed right through the danger, zone," he continued, "and some idea of the real danger may be gleaned, from tho fact that an 8000----ton vessel which we passed the first j day outj at about noon, going in the samo direction as our ship, was torpedoed shortly after we passed her. In r'act, the commander of our vessel received a wireless three hours after he iad passed the ship saying she had been torpedoed. Another phase is that of the lifebelt. Every passenger is compelled to wear a lifebelt throughout the avliolo trip across, and it is rather an interesting sight to ccc the' passengers ('ding into the saloon lor their meals with their lifebelts in their hands. They are carried about just in the same way as a hat, and the passengers aro never without' their belt, aiid so tho danger is being constantly impressed upon them. Boats are all swung out and ready to be immediately lowered. In the vessel, in which w,b crossed there wero boats, including the collapsible variety, euffi : dent to take 5000 people. However, we crossed safely. and Had to experience darkness on. board- all the way across the Pacific as Well as on the Atlantic. It will be understood;'therefore, what precautions are being everywhere taken in regard to possible accident."