THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS SATURDAY, MAY 10, 1924. THE SQUADRON'S WELCOME.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18705, 10 May 1924, Page 10

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS SATURDAY, MAY 10, 1924. THE SQUADRON'S WELCOME.

Auckland gives to the , Special Service Squadron a greeting' intensely cordial. It could not be otherwise Already, as these warships' have been neen in other ports of the | Dominion, they and their officers and men have ; aroused .enthusiasm both for themselves and for the; Empire whose . power, and purpose are manifest in them. That influence has outrun their voyage north. They have been known * here long before their keels could cleave the sparkling surface of the Waitemata. The smoke of their grey funnels in the offing ; the steady oncoming of their silent * progress }' . the gradual defining of the light cruiser in their van; and next the greatest battleship afloat; - the entry. .to the channel with old ■ Rangitoto's sable shadow laid upon the watery way, as by a reverent Raleigh: in the path of an imperial majesty worthy of all honour the stately swerving round the North Head, eagerly v watchful.sand ready 'to: give tongue in ardent 1 salvoes ; the thunderous saluting of the port, answered echoingly; the unhurried passage, to the mooring amid a clustering flotilla of tiny craft moving like guardian [ fairies - about ' alien but cherished mortals; there has been needed but this arrival 'in visual reality to touch j the city's heart into glad thrills of J welcome. Nor has 'it been the city i alone' that ' has waited to loose its ioyal hospitality. From far and near throughout the provincial district, and from some regions beyond, has" come 'a great ' host; drawn to this harbour gateway by the magic of a patriot love and bent on sharing. the welcome , ,of , such guests. There have been tithed great days and splendid for this port. Royal visitors have taken the selfsame pathway- to our doors and hearts. The mighty fleet •of ' Britain has heretofore ,< sent to us. wandering messengers whose coming has made us rejoice.. Nations knit to us in friendliest alliance! have sent dike embassage. 1 ' But' never before 'on this wise, never : with such a demonstration of our Empire's puissance and unity, , never with' so impelling an appeal to our - sense of national prided and duty, has it'.Happened so. And we: are stirred accordingly. sr With these battle : cruisers, flying the emblems of our nation's prowess, what a story comes afresh , to .us Our Empire's history takes living shape around them. A little , island group on Europe's, western shore is seen as the early • home of a 1 virile people. The salt; spray ,is in their nostrils, the far horizon in their eyes. They make friends' of- the winds, and learn to follow the ; guidance ' of; the stars. Too strait .their island fastness becomes, and'they seek roads upon the restless sea. To them the treasures of distant lands "become a -lure and » challenge, and they go forth to claim.. a share \of ' them: Then, prompted by a wanderlust that yet has a homing instinct deep- . centred in it, . they' sail away -in companies to make them dwelling-places in those \ far-off hunting-grounds. There, undaunted by hardships and perils, they establish themselves and their Jaw. - But ever they keep ithe sea-paths open: Britain is still * the home of the race,' however its sons and daughters may- establish themselves elsewhere; and, as the years grow,, into centuries, these sturdy children of a loved', Motherland, knowing no . abatement of their regard -.for j it, seek ways'of filial service. A threat (if attack upon :it makes : them ■ leap : to "arms. J ' Their developing f industry prompts them to. maintain and foster close, commercial intercourse' with it. F Its language, its customs, its art arid literature arc theirs too, arid' all they prize most in their souls', life binds them to it. So, as the marches of Empire extend, the threading roads upon the ocean become. more and more thronged with shipping, and the volunteer vessels of Tudor times give , place to a Grand Fleet for the patrolling of the high seas and -the securing of unbroken communication wherever Britons dwell. That fleet becomes peerlessly essential to the national . well-being. j Without '.'it, '. indeed, - the- Empire i could not survive. , . - How that fleet and its auxiliary agencies have , answered the .cci!l of; that need makes as splendid an epic as ever the world: has heard. 5 It is a story into-which human imperfections are woven, but they are not of its, pattern. The spirit of the navy, taking it all in all; has been one of devotion to duty and to high ideals. Glorious without vainglory, powerful but ■ not aggressive, making itself feared yet wonderfully loved, "has left a mark upon the World that can never be effaced. The day may come when its, armed influence will no .longer be needed, when war will' be abandoned as an anachronism and even the policing ■ of the ocean highways ,be - unnecessary. ; But' in that day it will be remembered with gratitude that Britain's most evident contribution to a, law-abiding world was its insistence upon the freedom of the seas, made effective by • the might of its fleet, and its *- maintenance of a world-wide Empire, kept m being by that magnificent maritime bond and bulwark. New Zealand has especial cause to keep the memory :of - that . unique - service. The visiting squadron comes historically in the wake of Cook's Endeavour and Hobson's Herald those warships helped to make these islands a home for . British people. And when men of New Zealand gave themselves to the Allies' cause in the recent war, they found Britain's prowess upon the sea a sure defence; Farthest from the Homeland, we have here had greatest proof of what that : prowess - has * been ; able '.to achiev?,. The realisation of these things gives our greeting to the Squacjron more than cordiality so prompted,* it has a" solemn joy as well.. . . ... .. „ : -. ' , r*V« 'Ml 'V 1 * VV? v-■ 'J "V/*-i 'it ""• 4*'