H.M.S. NEW ZEALAND.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume VI, Issue 264, 24 October 1916, Page 7

H.M.S. NEW ZEALAND.

LETTER FROM CAPTAIN GREEN. The Rev. Canon Hamilton, of Fendalton, who has received th©| following interesting letter from Captain Green, of H.M.S. New Zealand, is published in the Lyttelton “Times” :— H.M.S. New Zealand. September 12th, 1916. Dear Canon Hamilton, — Very many thanks for your kind and generous gift of £lO for our boys’ recreation fund. It is most acceptable, and very much appreciated, and as at the present time we are having a spell of lovely weather, it comes in very w’ell for small picnic parties for the boys. As a matter of fact, your last kind gift of £2O was not quite finished. I was veryinterested to hear that you were an old naval officer, and that George Tyron was your last captain. He was my first captain in the Monarch in the Mediterranean, which he paid off in January (?) 1882. I was only a naval cadet there with him for six months, and then he was relieved by Fairfax. Yes, we certainly bore a charmed life at the Jutland Battle, aud I trust we may continue that luck. I fancy we ■shall have one more big naval battle. and I trust we shall do more to tinisn them off than last time; but mist and darkness helped them that inie. But there are so many factors now to think of in a naval battle, and it is all so large that it gets rat her difficult to do exact!}’ the right thing. Still, I am confident that there can he only one end to a naval battle, and that is that victory will be with us ; but of course, we shall have losses. The B.P. seem to think, or did think, that we. could win a naval battle with great ease and no losses ; but as we all know, the Germans have a very fine fleet, and are good fighters —but, of course, we have good superiority in numbers. Though one feels we are steadily pressing our enemies now, yet I cannot see any prospect of a “good” peace in the near future. We shall be lucky if we are in touch with it this time next year. If this ship should come out to New Zealand after the war, and I am in her, I hope I may have the pleasure of meeting you, and no doubt we shall have a great yarn to spin over the Navy ana affairs of State. Again, very many thanks from us all for your kind present. — I remain, vours trulv. ' JOHN F. E. GREEN.