ARMAMENTS AND MEN

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume II, Issue 45, 6 February 1912, Page 3

ARMAMENTS AND MEN

NEW ZEALAND DEFENCE ACT. ANTI-MILITARIST METHODS. ATTEMPT AT INCENDI ARISM. (per piif’s association J Christchurch. Feb. 5. The authorities at the Christchurch district military headquarters >ffice in Montreal road were considerably annoyed tills iiioriiing to find that tne fences srrounding the office ’.nd King Edward Barracks had been placarded with copies of a manifesto urging all ami sundry to oppose conscription, and with a number of mottoes as "Don't be a conscript, be i man” ; "Aten, not pimps” ; and "The military strike 'is now on.’ The stickers bore no imprint, and were evidently made with a rubber stamp or a very amateurish printing press; but a more elaborate mam t’esto, in addition to bearing the imprint of a local printers’ firm, bore the signatures of nine persons.

In addition to the demonstrations of disapproval of the compulsory clauses of the Defence Act, a mild attempt at incendiarism was made at the barracks last eight shortly after ten o'cloclCr The fire brigade was called out and the outbreak was speedily checked. An examination made this morning by a reporter showed that a small fire had beer started in an alleyway between the street fence of the barracks ?r.d one of the old wooden orderly room buildings. The materials used in building the fire were pieces of de caycd sacking and brown paper evidently gathered from the grounds about the barracks. The first hae been so quickly quelled that it had barely scorched the paint at the bottom of the weatherboards.

DEATH OF CAPTAIN TORLESSE, R.N.

A CHRISTCHURCH BOV WHO WON HONOUR AND RANK.

Writing under date December 29th a London correspondent says that for some little time past Captain Henry Holland Torlesse had been in delicate health, nevertheless the news of his death at the compara lively early age of- 53 will be read with much regret in New Zealand. He passed away on Boxing Day, at 29, St. Ronan’s road. Southsea. Eng land. The last position he held wathat of Captain-Superintendent o* Sheerness Dockyard. Captain Tor lesse. who was the elder son of the late Rev. Henry Torlc«se, ol Christchurch, New Zealand, brother of Air. C. E. Torlesse, late managei of the Hastings branch of the Union Bank of Australia, and grandson ol the late Rev. C. M. Torlesse, vicar o> Stoke-hy-Nayland, Suffolk, saw a good deal of active service abroad He entered the Navy as a cadet it 1871, becoming a sub-lieutenant seven years later, lieutenant in 1882. commander in 1896, and captain iu 1902. During the Egyptian War ol 1882 lie served in the Minotaur, and was awarded the Egyptian Medal and the Khedive’s Bronze Star. When commander (N.) of the St. George, flagship of Rear-Admiral H. H. Rawson. C. 8.. he was present on the occasion of the bombardment and capture of the Sultan of Zanzi bare’s Palace on August 27th. 1896, by Rear-Admiral Dawson’s squadron and'served in the expedition landed from the squadron to punish the King of Benin for the massacre of the poli tical expedition in the following year. For these services he was mentioned in despatches and received the General Africa Aledal with Benin clasp. He was captain of the Inflexible, battle cuiser, when the Admiral Seymour, hoisted his flag in her to proceed to New York foi the Hudson Fulton celebrations, in 1909, after which he was appointed Captain-Superintendent of Sheerness Dockyard, a position hold until lately, when ill-health caused his resignation. While holder of this post Captain Torlesse was decorated with the 'second class of the Order of the Red Eagle, on the occasion of the visit of the German Emptior last May. By his death a good-service pension becomes vacant. The funeral took place at Haslar cemetciy on December 28th, with naval honours.