CRUISERS AND AIRCRAFT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18711, 17 May 1924, Page 8

CRUISERS AND AIRCRAFT.

A feature of the British squadron's visit to New Zealand has been the free and frank discussion of the Dominion's defence policy and the valuable advice that has been given in official utterances by ViceAdmiral Field. He has very properly assumed that we are eager to make a fair contribution to the cost of safeguarding our own security and preserving the Empire and anxious to have expert guidance as to the form that effort should take. t As a result of his welcome reiteration of the essential facts—and the Prime Minister's ready endorsement of —there must now be a. general appreciation that the Dominion will proceed at once to provide for the maintenance of two cruisers', and, in the early future, of three. But these will form only the capital equipment of the New Zealand Division. Auxiliary equipment is as essential as the ships themselves, and the point may be illustrated by reference to Admiral Field's observations regarding aircraft. In an interview on his arrival at Auckland, he made it clear that developments in the air have not yet justified the scrapping of navies, but he strongly emphasised, the value of aircraft for reconnaissance in naval operations, and in discussing local defence spoke of the provision of aircraft in proportion to cruisers as a matter that does not call for particular discussion." His view is manifestly that if the naval defence force is to be efficient, it will need the co-operation of scouting aircraft just as certainly as it must have oil-fuel depots and dockyard equipment. This presentation of the matter has a particular interest for Auckland, where the importance and necessity of an adequate seaplane base has long been advocated with but meagre encouragement from the Government. Indeed, in recent years, though no such decision has ever been announced, there has been plain implication that the Government was inclined to abandon altogether those who were the pioneers of successful aviation in New Zealand and, impelled by a keen realisation of its national importance, have kept the seaplanes in the air at great personal sacrifice. There is a hopeful significance in the fact that Admiral Field has made an official visit to the 3ite at Tamaki which has been proposed as an aircraft base. It would be wasting his time and tantalising the public to show him this " ideal place " unless there were serious intention of using it for this purpose. Much will have been gained if it is now popularly and officially recognised that cruisers and aircraft are essentially complementary and that the Dominion must at once give serious attention to the formulation of a plan of defence in which the various branches, land, sea and air, shall be properly proportioned and co-ordinated into asound and efficient whole.

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

The Main"' Trunk express,' which left Auckland at 7.10 p.m. last evening, was a heavy one, consisting of 14 pasegnger cars and two sleepers, ..besides the postal and guard's vans. The, train carried fully 500 passengers. A second train, which left shortly after 8 o'clock, carrying passengers for Mercer and Frankton only, was, also well patronised.

The "clock" dials that are fitted to the masts of all the warships in port are still the subject of discussion. Their purpose is to enable the ship to' indicate to the ship ahead and the ship astern the range at which she is firing when the line is concentrating upon the same target, ■ The figures represent thousands of yards. This method is somewhat antiquated and is only an auxiliary one. the ordinary means of exchanging information as to range 'being by wireless. Sometimes the " clocks" have been put to other uses. A young officer mentioned that in one port the pointer was irequently away from " zero," and it was subsequently found that sailors had been using it to show their- girls on the jetty what time they would be able to go on leave. ,

A good supply of fish has been maintained in Auckland during the past few weeks, fine catches having been secured by the various units of the trawling fleet operating in the Gulf and off the coast. Trawling has been resumed on the West Coast, one of Sandford's vessels having been engaged on that coast lately. Fish are said' to be very plentiful in those waters.

It may' interest ; you to know," remarked Vijce-Admiral Sir Frederick Field to a ■ Herald representative last night, "that the squadron brought New Zealand butter from England, and is still using it. Although we have not the same facilities as liners for refrigerating, the butter kept well in the tropics, and was first-class throughout the long voyage. This .'surely speaks well for us keeping qualities."

The retail price of egg 9 in Auckland, 'vihich at present ranges from 3s 7d to 4s a dozen, is about the same as that ruling i:: May, 1923. It is not thought the price will rise higher, but that by next .month there will probably be a reduction. The prices of eggs in Wellington are practically the same as local rates.

With a vast multitude on board, how much deeper is the giant battleship Hood submerged ? This question has been asked, probably, by a number oi people, when seeing the ship's decks crowded with visitors. It takes 150 ions weight to reduce the ship's -freeboard by one inch. Yesterday 26,0C0 people visited the Hood, a good number of whom were children. Allowing an average of 40 people to a ton, that total oi visitors, had they all been on board at one time, would have represented an additional weight upon the ship of 650 tons, and would, therefore, have put her down by only four and a third inches.

New dates have been fixed for the hearing at Wellington '■ by ' conciliation councils of disputes in which the New Zealand Federated Ironmasters' Industrial Association is concerned. The following are the new arrangements:—Engineers' dispute, Tuesday, June 10; moulders, June 12; boilermakers, June 13; metal workers' as-' 'sistants, June 16.

' Some public speakers apparently, have a difficulty in finding material for their speeches. When speaking in humorous fashion to business men yesterday Mr. A. Edgecombe, British Trade Commissioner, accompanying H.M.S. Hood, confessed that, before coming to the meeting he did not know what to speak about. He sought the advice of Mr. Collins,, of the Department of Industries and Commerce, who promptly suggested, "Tell them that you have come to the most important city in New Zealand." This remark was received with laughter and applause. - '

"Are not all Jersey heifers rather wild?" asked counsel in the Supreme Court yesterday of a country constable who was giving evidence. "Certainly not," answered the witness. "What!" cried the barrister loudly. "At any rate aren't most of them wild?" "No, not even most of them," was the answer. "That's a line of cattle that I claim to know something about. I happen to be an owner of Jerseys." The line of crossexamination was not persisted in.

' The body found floating at the water's edge at the Narrow Neck end of Takapuna beach on Thursday was • identified as that of John Laird, at an inquest held by the coroner, Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., yesterday. Evidence was given that Laird was. a greaser on the steamer Kaikorai. Ha was about 50 years of age and a native of Scotland. He was last seen alive on Hay 8. The inquest was adjourned sine die.

The wreck of the steamer Ngahere at the entrance t« the Greymouth Harbour this week came just at the time of a local agitation for the infusion of more energy into the policy of the Harbour Board, particularly in regard to the development of the trade of the port. At a meeting of the board last week a member declared that the board would have to go "eyes out" . to keep its" trade, and ho urged that an endeavour bet made to attract more ships to ' Greymouth. The C'revmouth Star, in an editorial comment Ifie next day, remarked: " It is admitted Ty those with any knowledge of the subject that, whatever may have been the case in years gone by, Greymouth is now a very safe port for. ships. The oncedreaded bar ihas lost its terrors, and rarely nowadays are ships kept outside, waiting a crossing." ' '

" He is 82 years of age, and lias only 4s 6d. He escaped from a home in Wellington, and has been sleeping in doorways about Palmerston North' at nights," said Senior-Sergeant O'Grady in the Magistrate's Court at Palmerston North, when a man named Robert Wilson appeared charged with being idle and disorderly. The magistrate directed that accused be handed over to the charitable aid officer to be returned ,to the Wellington home.

The manner •in which the free library privileges were guarded by Wellington children was emphasised on Monday evening at the annual meeting of the School Committees Association. It was stated that from the 10,000 books issued ■ to 32 schools, only 175 had been lost.

The possibility of the supplies of stone for the erection of the mole in connection with the Wanganui harbour construction being exhausted in the near future was referred to by Captain Holm at a meeting of the Wanganui Harbour Board last week. He asked if anything could be done in regard to ensuring outside supplies of stone, or possibly concrete, for the mole. The chairman said that ha was . averse to using concrete, and expressed the opinion that there would be sufficient stone available from the quarry to complete the raising of the mole.