WANTED A NEW NEW ZEALAND

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17726, 10 September 1919, Page 5

WANTED A NEW NEW ZEALAND

BOATSWAIN WILKINSON'S APPEAL. (FnoM Our Own Correspondent.) CHRISTCHUE.OH, September 9. ■After the luncheon at which 200 men of the New Zealand who had been motored out to Oxford yesterday were- entertained *>y tUe local residents, Chief Boatswain Wilkinson, in responding to a speech of welcome, made an appeal for the gift of a new New Zealand. To a very large degree, ho said, ho was of the same opinion as Lord Fisher when he stated that the British navy at present was obsolete; in fact, before he left tho ship that morning he had spoken to a superior officer and told him that he (Wilkinson) might bo called upon to make a speech, and the officer had told him, "If you ha.vo to make a speech, tell them that we want a new 'Hood.' " His audience might not understand what that meant. Well, the Hood was the latest battle-cruiser, costing about £4,000,000, and what was wanted was a Hood to take th© place of the New Zealand. Ho appealed to all of those present to support the Navy League, and put their back into the work of maintaining the supremacy of tho seas. He exhorted them to teach tho children the vital necessity of sea power. He took it, he said, that a fair contribution by the- dominion would bo £1 per head of population, representing . £5,000,000 for Australia and £1,000,000 for New Zealand. The best investment and insurance was a solid, efficient navy.