THE AMERICAN FLEET.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLV, Issue 189, 15 July 1925, Page 9

THE AMERICAN FLEET.

INCIDENTS ON THE CRUISE. CEREMONIES ON CROSSING THE LINE. (By radio from the battleship Seattle.) (Special representative of the Australian Press Association.) (Delayed.) July 5. The first Sunday of the cruise was quietly celebrated, the ships carrying chaplains haying services, the day being u holiday. This makes three holidays over the week-end, the other two being the Fourth of July and crossing the Line to-morrow. On Friday an officer on board the Ludlow became suddenly ill with acute appendicitis. There was no surgeon on the destroyer, so the hospital ship Relief was asked to stand by. The choppy sea was too great for the destroy c. a boat, but the Relief’s ambulance successfully transferred the officer for an immediate operation. This thrilling incident speaks highly for the naval medical efficiency and seamanship. Monday, July 6.

The Jolly Roger,'Neptune’s royal ensign, was broken out from the peak when our position was on the Line and. 165 deg. 26 min. west. IIi„ Majesty came on board with a retinue one could only sec in a nightmare, llis Majesty’s navigators took charge of all the vessels, •after lilting greetings from the commanding officers. Spirited mutinies broke out among the uninitiated junior officers, but these were harshly suppressed by the royal police, whose batons blistered where they fell. The retinue then fnoeeedcd to the forecastle, and la-nd-ubbers were called up. The royal prosecutor evinced an unnecessarily crabbed disposition, and the tyrannical torturers showed no mercy. The royal physician was especially gleeful when administering the bitter potions. A man fell overboard from the Richmond, but was quickly rescued. Probably twenty thousand officers and men became citizens of Neptune’s domain, amid flying grease paint and splashing water. Six seaplane? 'tore Catapulted from the light cruisers to-day for practice flight and talcing battle formation, and repeatedly circled round the fleet, and landed on the water, the seas being smooth, and then hoisted on board by derricks. Tuesday, July 7. The .close blood relationship between the people of Australia and the United States is indicated in an old will in the possession of Captain William Merritt, of tile supply corps on board the Seattle, which he is bringing with him. It appears that Dr William Balmain, a surgeon in the Royal Navy, came to Australia in the eighteenth century, and obtained grants of 1245 acres in a suburb of Sydney. Members of the family emigrated to America, one of them serving on General Washington’s Staff. Dr Balmain was the great-grandfather of Captain Merritt’s wite. and this will would make her heir to the property, hut Captain' Merritt ]>oints out that such rights have long since expired, and this will and the picture of Dr Balmain, which he has with him, are really only eloquent evidence of the true liaison of feeling between the two countries.

Tile fleet engaged in an extensive manoeuvre today, various vessels falling out of the formation and drawing up closer to the Seattle, making possible a fairly close inspection of virtually all the units. The fleet is an imposing sight under the brilliant sun and pleasant seas. The cruiser Omaha and the Seattle engaged in gun-pointing practice. The fleet, despite its slow speed, has been getting ahead of schedule, and in order to avoid arrival at Pago Pago before dav.n, an order has been issued reducing the rate from 11 to 9i knots. The position is 3 degrees 40 minutes south, 167 degrees 8 minutes west. —A. and N.Z. cable.