THE CIVIC RECEPTION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17726, 10 September 1919, Page 6

THE CIVIC RECEPTION.

'AN ENTHUSIASTIC GATHERING. SPEECHES OF "WELCOME. STIRRING ADDRESS BY LORD JELLICOE. ; None of the gatherings held in the Kensington Drill Hall during the progress of the peace celebrations surpassed in enthusiasm the civic reception -which was accorded Lord Jellicoe yesterday afternoon. The function might bo said, to have been a* naval occasion as distinct from the general run of the militaxy gatherings, which have been held • jn this building, and as such it was • invested -with a new significance and with elements which made for an unusual degree of heightened interest. The hall was crowded in all parts with considerably over ? 6000 persons, and the stage, decorated with palms, greenery, and cinerarias from the •Botanic Gardens, presented a most attractive appearance. The attendance included 10 or 12 of the "bluejackets" from the Adnural's flagship, the battle cruiser Now Zealand, and as these men filed into the hall ;fchey were received with loud applause and ■with cheers from the younger section of the audience. The front seats in the audi.torium were reserved for returned and wounded soldiers, nursing sisters, and chap- ■ lains to the forces. Th e Mayor (Mr \Y. : Begg) in his robes of office, occupied the chair, and he was supported on, the platform by tho members of th e City Council, ; the consuls of tho Allied nations, and • Messrs ■ H. L. Tapley (chairman of tho Otago Harbour Board) and J'; A. Johnston© (vicepresident of the Otago branch of the Navy League). On tho right of the Mayor eat the guest of the day (Viscount Jellicoe), who was accompanied by Commodore Dreyer, Commander Ramsay, and Flight-lieutenant Morgan. The military forces were represented by Colonel T. W. M'Donald (officer com- ; .xnanding tho district) and Major Lampen i- (district staff officer). Outside the hall Admiral Jellicoe and his 'party were received by a guard of honour composed of returned soldiers. On enter- , ing .the hall ho was mft and welcomed by the - Mayor, Crs Douglas, Bradley, and ; Walker (Reception Committee); Meters Tapky and Johnstone, Colonel M'Donald • and Major Lampen, all of whom accom- ., pamed him through the hall and up to the platfbrm. As Boon as the illustrious Ad- ; miral appeared with his blaze of scrvico : ribbons and decorations on his breast tho ; Peace Choir and the Bands of the 4th Rsgi- , ment and the Coast Defence struck, up r Rule Britannia," and the musio ■ was speedily Teinforced and swelled to a Treat volujne by spontaneous and prolonged ang,"which was continued as the party made its way down the centre of tho hall. The ; Admiral gracefully acknowledged the ; warmth of his reception, and. on reaching . the front of the hall, ho spent a few - moments chatting with one of his own sea- ; *P en — 111 incident that caused a renewal of tile cheering. As soon as tho Admiral and his party were seated on the platform the Mayer advanced to the front of the stage ana called for three hearty cheers f<sr • Viscount Jellicoe. These were responded to with the greatest heartiness. SPEECH BY THE MAYOR. ' his address of welcome tho Mayor expressed his pleasure at seeing such a splendid gathering of citizens assembled to ; extend a hearty and cordial welcome to :• their visitor. The nam© of Lord Jellicoe," > lie continued, had become a household word to every man, woman, and child of our .Lmpirc, and to-day it was our privilege , to have nun hero in our midst. We extended to him a most hearty welcome and .we took this opportunity of assuring him that we yielded to no other portion of tho Empire in our admiration of the great and heroic service he had rendered not only to the Empire of which wo were so proud, :• -but to. tho whole civilised world —An. " Piaus?.) We welcomed him not only' as / Admiral of tho most mighty fleet known • to history, but also as victor in the greatest naval battle over fought by contending -naval forces—a naval battle that would : lank in the annals of our country as one of far-reaching and. momentous importance We welcomed him as the present day representative of Drake and mighty Nelson and the many other great men who have done so much to illustrate tho annals' and perpetuate tho fame of the British navy.— i E? substitution of the modern ; battleship for the old "woodon walls" of • JCng-umd had no doubt effected many and far-reaching' changes in naval warfare To some degree also the 'great change in tho fighting ships that composed tho navies of the world might have -called for variations in naval strategy, but there was at. least 10 . element that went to mako up our glorious navy that showed no indication of ohange, aijd that was tho human element tTU °i J+u"* 8 °l ?? k " that and worked tho great sbjps upon which we relied as our snro shield and defence in the . day We rejoiced to know that, tho frtth and THidowe had always felt in the navy had l.oen fullv justified by the experiences of tho past five years ■ and that the men who stood to-day where ■* iNelson fitoDQ had proved themselves eonal to tho preat tasks that devolved upon them m meeting the variety and new and devilish method? of naval warfare that woro introduced by our h.te enemies, and that the splendid work of those great leaders had been amply supported by tho rank and ftlo that- made up the fighting forces of our first lino of It filled ue w*h . prme to Ihiott thai in every wnv in the day of tlieir trial, tbaso men had 'not only Worthily upheld the best traditions of th" raco from which they had descended, but had added new lustra to a record that war. already especially rich in doeds of Ifroism and wholc-henrted devoh'on to duty. ■ Thcro was surely no fact that had emerged . from tho experiences of tho past few year* . that, should c*ive ns a moro livr-ly senw> of satisfaet-on than tho knowledge that so creat a heritage as our supremacy at sea could bo down to tho futuro raco of Britons. P*ot.onlj,_TOisulljed, Lyt cnriched by many

glorious deeds of valour by the "hearts of oak" who during all those weary years had frustrated tho designs of a powerful and resourceful enemy. These valiant sailors, who leept their faithful watch and ward on every ocean highway, and in all weathers, no less than their gallant comrades who gavo the enemy a taste of their mettle at the Falkland Islands, off Heligoland, at tho Dogger Bank, on tho coast of Belgium, and at the epoch-making clash at Jutland, had provod to the world that they were in every way worthy successors of tho heroic "tars" who bled at Camperdown, Trafalgar, and the Nile.—(Applause.) The people of this dominion had always evinced the keenest possiblo interest in the welfare of the navy. Here in Dunedin that interest had been fostered and extended by tho efforts of the local branch of tho Navy League, ono of the strongest and most enthusiastic branches • IC e that could be found anywhere in tho Empire, and representativeg of which were with us to-day to join in the welcome Ti?- Ur VISIto F- J* was understood that Lord Jelhcoes mission to these dominions was concerned with tho naval policy that should be iollowed in the future with a -view to adequately safeguarding the maintenance of Britain s supremacy on the seas. He (the speaker) had no doubt that tho K reat experience and mature judgment of Lord Jellicoe would be simply invaluable in this connection, and ho was merely expressing his own personal opinion when ho said that he considered the time had fully come when tho people of this country should beur a far greater part of the burden of naval defence than it had borne in the past. But for tho command of tho seas that was assured to us by the great fleet over which our illustrious visitor held sway, all our other efforts and those of our gallant Allies would have counted for naught, end history would havo recorded a very different termination to the hostilities that came to an end in November of last year. It was fitting that we should recall that historic signal made by tho greatest of our naval heroes, a signa"l that would be remembered with pride as long as our language was spoken—" England expects .that every man will do his duty." To-day that sentiment had for us a meaning as deep and as pressing as it had for the gallant 6ailors who were privileged to see the signal itself, and who were inspired by the magnificent spirit it breathed. (Applause.) To-day the plain and obvious duty that lay before us was to retain for our Empire tho proud title of "Mistress of tho Sea" that had been bequeathed to us as a sacred trust, dating back through th o centuries to tho time of the Armada, and that duty could be fully performed only by tho maintenance of the Royal Navy in such a state of efficiency as to adequately meet tho nation's needs. We regretted that it had not been possible to bring the battle-cruiser New Zealand to this poftion of the do-

minion. We should all have been delighted to have renewed our acquaintance with the cruiser after her exploits during the war period. Tho fact that during tho long vigil i" tho North Sea, the great fleet under the supreme direction of our visitor included a vessel bearing the namo of our dominion gave 'us added interest in that important work. We regretted also that the stay of our distinguished visitor in our city would be so short, but these facts did not detract m the slightest degree- from our wholehearted and cordial welcome to him, and we trusted that hi 3 short visit might bo enjoyable to himself and his staff and productive of far-reaching benefits to tho naval defence of our Empire. The Mayor concluded by expressing the earnest hope that Ijord Jellicoo's mission might induce a fuller and more tangible appreciation of the navy s place in the defence of the Empire.— (Applause.) MR TAPLEY'S ADDRESS. Mr Tapley (chairman of tho Otago Harbour Board) said he was glad of tho opportunity to assist in according a very hearty and loyal welcome to their most distinguished guest. He thought he was right in sa-ying that his visit represented one of the most notable and happy events that had ever taken place in the history of this dominion. They all knew that in this dominion, as in all other parts of the civilised world, Admiral Jellicoe's name and fame were known and honoured by old and young. In Germany, although his name and fame were equally known, he (the speaker) did not suppose it was with that cordiality that existed throughout tho British Empire and th-3 countries of our Allies. It was superfluous to say that v/q were deeply gratified to have the opportunity of coming into personal contact with one. who had rendered (Such distinguished service not only to the British Empire but to the whole of civilisation as commander of the greatest navy the world had ever known. Tho fate of tho war wa.; dependent on the British navy. It mattered not how efficient our armies, or the armies of our glorious Allies, were in Frs.nee. Belgium, and the other theatres of war. They would have beon helpless unless tho British navy remained supreme. We had confidence that at the critical time it would not fail us, and that when it came into conflict with tho navy of our despicable enemy it would come out victorious. Thank God, our confidence had been justified, and the ships of tho enemy that were not destroyed in r,he_ final naval battle at Jutland slunk back into their hole, and thcro they remained until they surrendered, after our victorious armies and the armies of >. our Allies had done their part in bringing tho war to a satisfactory conclusion. Ho well renaembered the feeiing o! tension that existed in the minds oF everyone- in this dominion, as ho was

sum was the case in all other parts of the British Empire, when the cables flashed out the news, first of the Dogger Bank fight and then of the Battle of Jutland b">in" in p'ogress. We realised that nn error in naval strategy or tactics might mean disaster, which would have meant that the history of thr> war would have been written on -very different lines. Thanks bo to ■God, Who gave us the victory, the strategy and iactics conceived by Lord Jellicoe, and so ntagnificently carried out' by Admiral Beatty and tho officers and men under his command, our glorious navy triumphed. Tho namo of Lord Jellicoo with his officers and men would go down in imperishable • ame m history throughout all the ages. There, were only two regrets that ho had m connection with Admiral Jellicoe's visit One- was that through tho unfortunate restrictions of the railways existing at the present time, Lady Jellicoe was hot with us to receiro the same warm welcomo that he was sure tho Large audience would have like;" to havo extended to her. not only on account of the fact that she was the wife of our illustrious guest, but also to tho fact that she was one of the most prominent patr.NTtic workers in England during tho war. By her sympathy, tact, and kindliness of nature she endeared herself to ~vsryono with whom eho camo in contact "•To would nsk his Lordship to kindly convey thesr, sentiments to Lady Jellicoe. Another regret that ho had to express was tho fact that, owing to the extreme .shortage of coal it was impossible for his Lordship to arrange that the New Zealand should be bvoncrht to Port Chalmers. The people ■ of this part of the dominion had naturally Seen looking forward to having tho opportunity, of inspecting their gift ship, which was now of historical interest, and bore '■">r v.-a.r scars Fustaineil in tho North Pea However, ho was quite suro that had it boen <it all jiossiblo for lif-r visit to havo been arranged, his Lordship was only too willing that this should have been done. NAVY LEAGUE'S APPRECIATION - . Mr J. A. Johnstono (president of the Otago Branch of the Navy League) tendered to lord •Telliooo a very hearty welcome, to tho city of Dunodin, and stated that tho league esteemed tho visit as a irroat honciir. Ever since its inception the OAarrn branch of the league, has laboured —and ho thought not in vain—to instil into the hearts of tho population of this r-rovinco a passionate interest, in all that had to do wiih tho eaa, with sea powc.% and with the British navy, and ho assured

his Lordship that the members of the Navy Loague woro inexpressibly delighted that ho, tho modern prototype of Britain's long list of n:ival leaders, was with us today. Although we wore for removed from tho administrative centred of tho Empire, wo had always realised that tho very existence, of tho British Umpire. ,\vas owing to, and dependent upon, tho British navy, and to-day, whilst we were desirous that tho Leagiio of Nations should Ih*. ,i kuccl-ss, wo realised tbat until international relationships wero more perfect, tho possession of a supremely powerful ond efficient Imperial navy would bo the best guarantee of peace wo could have. We knew to our sorrow that over 57,000 bravo men of" our fleets laid down their lives during tho great war in order that we, in. common with other citizens of tho Empire, might contiimo safo and prosperous. Wo had read and hoard of all tho marvellous deeds performed by the battle, fleets, tho mercantile marino, and tho auxiliary services, the minesweepers, the motor .patrols, tho armed yachts, tugs, drifters, and other vessels that gave their services so freely; and he should like to express to his Lordship, as tho high represcntativo of tho navy, their doep gratitude for all tho navy and its auxiliaries had done for us. Tho Otnjro branch of tho league realised tho magnitude, of the debt wo owed to tho oflicei-s and men of the Royal Nuvy, but it was not unmindful of the officers and men aboard all other auxiliary vessels as well, for. to quoto the recent words of the Archbishop of Canterbury, "there has perhaps never been anything nobler, anything more steadily magnanimous, than tho daily, nightly cour.itre, the cheerful resource, the sleepless vigil, say, of the crew of a minesweeper on the North Sea in midwinter, or of thoeo -who manned a tug for towing- war freight from Thames to Tigris." Thcea -passed content, leaving to -ne »tlie

prido Of lives otecuxely great. • It was with satisfaction that we loarned that tho British Government and Admiralty had decided to ar;t largely upon the recommendations of tJw Jerram Report Wo were delighted to see that some justico had been dono to tho men of tho lower deck, and wo hoped that tho day was not far distant when officers of tho navy and both tho officers and men of tho mercantile 'marine would bo adequately recompensed for the great services they performed. We recognised that it was a crying injustice for men in charge of vessels costing 93yeral millions, and carrying many valuable lives and much valuablo cargo, to bo paid Ices than many departmental managers in mercantile houses ashore, and wo hoped that this stato of affairs will not long continue. The Navy League would leave no stone unturned in impressing upon the public, end particularly upon the rising generation, tho paramount necessity of naval supremacy for the British Empire, and would never allow its organisation to be used for any party purpose?. The members of the league were fully aware that, in order to foster the sea spirit latent among all sections of tho British race, they must havo eome war vessels on which our young men can bo trained to Ix-eomo efficient members of tho Imperial Navy. LORD JELLICOE'S REPLY. On rising Lord Jollicoc was received with cheering and waving of handkerchiefs and every demonstration of enthusiasm. Speaking clearly and deliberately, his voico had a quality of penetration which carried it to the furthest corner of tho largo building, and his remarks, which were frequently coloured with a nice shade of humour, wero invested with a degree of interest which claimed for them tho closest attention. "A great deal has been said thie afternoon," ho lxgan, "of the courage of the navy. I can a&sure you," added his Lordship, " that if I had known 'befcro I came hero what I was going to face I should have retired to tho Kiel Canal."—(Laughter.) Proceeding, ho said he had had to meet many audience sinco ho left England, but never before had he faced so largo an audience as that one, and there was only ono thing which kept him in his place—tho presence in the front ranks of.somo of his own comrades on board 11.M.5. New Zealand and of some of hia comrades of tho sister service, tho army.—(Loud applause.) That evening tho men fr*im the New Zea-

land were going to give, a. taste of their prowess in tho boxing ring, and he hoped those v.ho were present would givo them tho welcome which they deserved as representatives of the fighting spirit of tho British Navy. In coming to Dunedin they felt that they were coming to a place which, on account of its Scottish, descent, knew more about tho doings of the Grand Fleet during tho war than most of tho other portions of the Empire. Tho reason was that Scotland and its capital city of EdinbuTgh saw a great deal more of the Grand Fleet and its men than any other part of the Empire , (At this point tho Admiral dropped his notes,-and caused a great deal of amusement by laconically remarking, aa he stoopsd to pick tbaru up again, "Casu alty No. 1.") LOCAL REGRETS RECIPROCATED. Continuing, Lord Jellieoe said that tho regrets which had been, voiced by the Mayor and other speakers th:it the New Zealand— the ship which had been presented to tho Royal Navy in a patriotic spirit and at a moment of great intuition—was not coming to these waters was as nothing compared with tho regrets of. those on board tho ship .herself. ''We are all proud to be associated with this dominion in manning your ship," .added Lord Jellicoe, "and it is one of the honours which I prize most highly that I am flying my flag o:i board her now." Nothing would have kept them away except the absence of that very necessary product, coal. It was true that* they might have beon able to get very close to Dunedin if the fates had been as kind as they were that day, arid the people of this city could have gono on board while those on board could have come ashore.—(Laughter.) Ho felt suro that is what they would like to have done. During tho few hours he had been in this city he had beon constantly wondering how such a fine city could havo grown up in tho short period of 70 years. ■ It v.as a Eijrn of the progressiveness of the people of this dominion, a quality whirh wa? emphasised in the motto on the bridge of the battle-cruiser New Zenland in ths one word "Onward." Dunedin seemed to him to havo been a model city in the past—(laughter)—but whether it was so now to the- same extent he could net say. Ho was told that in the fifties a Chief Justice who had been appointed a few years before had to retire because thero was no work for him to do, and the city could not afford to go on presenting him with white kid gloves.—(Lcughter.) TRIBUTE TO SISTER SERVICES. "A great deal has been said this afternoon," proceeded the Admiral, ''about the work of tho navy during tho war. "I would

like to remind you thai, although the Avar could not have been won without tlio navy, and the Royal Navy, hacked as it was by that magnificent service, tho mercantile marine—(applause)—made it possible for the war to be won, yet tho war could not liavo had its successful termination without our magnificent sister service, the army. All that we did in the- navy was to help the army nnrl mako it possible for it to win tho war, and well they did it.—(Loud applause.) I am suro that Dunodin will never forg-uo tho services jvhich tho i\cw Zealand Expeditionary Force rendered to the- cause of Empire—(applause)—and tho British Navy is never, likely to forget it either, because tho navy had the honour of watching , your gallant boys fighting , on tho shores of Gallipoli."—(Applause.) REFKPJyNX'E TO BERESFORD. Continuing, Admiral Jellicoo said he could not speak pf tho work of tho navy at all that day without expressing- the navv's deep regret at the news of the death of that gallant old veteran, Lord Boresford. Lord Boresford was a typical loader of men. Ho had that characteristic quality of dash which carrieti with it enthusiasm- amongst those.

who followed him. Ho aJso possessed thai other characteristic of a, groat leader a characteristic which, was typical of so many [Treat loaders from St. "Vincent and Lord Nelson downwards—the constant watcliful thoughtfulness and care for the welfare of thoso under hirn. It would bo with deep regret, ho felt stirc, that the- news of Lord Beresford's death was received throughout the Itoyal Navy. ° NEEDS OF THE NAVY. As for the work upon which he was enRajred at the. present time, proceeded Lord Jellicoe, it was not possible for him to speak of what was likely to bo enclosed in his report, bpcauso that report would have . to l>o handed over to tho Government of New Zealand. All that he could do was to bring to their notice one or two of tho shor£ comings of tho navy before the war broke out, in order that they might realise tho direction in which reform and assistance were required in tho future. "Our principal shortcoming," he continued, "apart , * from the question of the submarine warfare, wero in tho direction of cruisers and destroyers, and probably tho reason why wo wero short in thoso two essentials was the fact thai thorp was a -jreat tendency for everybody to think in terms of l>rcadnoughts alone. Nothing but the needs of tho Dreadnoughts appealed to the popular imagination, and it was difficult to get money for anything else. At the samo time- I would havo you to undoi'stand that Dreadnoughts alone do not make a fleet. Tho shortage of cruisers I in the early days of tho war resulted in very considerable losses to your trade. j£

i^™"""" - ~~"■"""~-—"•""™" -~""■""■■•—-™«""■—— ——— was not realised before tho war that it takos a very largo number of cruisers to run down a commerce destroyer." That was shown (continued tho spcako.r) in, tho case of tho Emden in Eastern waters and tho Kaxlsruho and tho Dresden in Western waters. Tho Emden had been hunted by ■ from five- to seven cruisers, but was very successful in evading them, her destruction having lioen finally duo to a great extent to chance. Tho samo applied to the. Kurlsruho and Dresden, which, had many escapes. In neither Enstern nor Western waters was thoro nearly a sufficient number of cruisers to protect our trudo routes. This would havo to bo remedied in tho future. There was also a shortage of destroyers, and this might, havo had serioim results in tho early stages of tho war if the cn-juiy had shown greater energy. Until tho ond of th© war thero had never been a sufficient number of destroyers, even though they waro being built at tho rate of about fivo per month. THE ADMIRAL'S MISSION. Speaking in regard to his mission to tho dominion, Lord Jcllicoo said that until his report had been submitted- to tho naval authorities it would bo improper for him to express an opinion in regard to tho manner in which Now IZealand should contribute towards tho upkeep of tho Royal Navy. PROTECTING THE TRADE ROUTES. ' New Zealand's trade routes required protection. That was shown by the damage which had been, dono by the raider Wolf. Tho dominion in th.a past had not borne quite tho same proportion of tho expense of naval armaments as tho Mother Country. Now Zealand's contribution before tho war had been, about 6s 8d per head of the population, as against £1 par head in tho Homeland. When it was considered that New Zealand's prosperity was dependent on tho Empire's naval defences, ono wondered if tho dominion could not give moro assistance than at present. Ho and the members of his party had been received with generous hospitality in every town they had visited in New Zealand, and if the samo generosity were shown in assisting in tho naval expenditure there need be no fear of the result Ho trusted that tho dominion would co-operato fully. Co-operation was tho keynoto of their work, and he hoped to find a method by which, whilo tho dominions co-operated cp-nerally in tho naval defence of the Empire, he could suggest an organisation which -would satisfy thoeo national sentiments which tho populations of tho dominions naturally felt It was but natural that tho people wlio paid towards tho Empire's defence should liko to see what result oimo from that contribution. It was his hops that in the proposals ho would place before the Government of New Zealand tho first aspiration would bo satisfied, white still maintaintifr thab absolute co-operation and unity which vras essential to proper naval efficiency. Ho hoped they would be COMRADES IN NAVAL DEFENCE. Thsy had been comrades during- the war. Thar comradeship was best exemplified by the unity that existed between the officers find men of tho Royal Navy at Gallipoii 'nnd New Zealand's gallant 6oldiers.— (Applause.) SPIRIT OF THE NAVY. " Referring to the fino spirit which extstod in the nary, the speaker stated that a largo number of ships would bo of no use unless they wnro manned by crews imbuod with tho spirit of comradeship. During tho period he was in command of tho Grand

il?ct he had not seen the slightest sign of boredom among the men. TRIBUTE TO NAVY LEAGUE. Speaking in regard to the Navy League, ths speaker said that the Gtago branch had done good work in the past, and ho was sure it would continuo to do good work in the future. In concluding his address, Lord Jcllicoe returned thanks for tho groat reception which had been accorded him and the members of his party. They had all heard that tho navy was, and should, bo, the silent service, and lie found it difficult to express his gratitude for tho cordiality of the reception. They knew that it was symbolic of tho affection felt for tho Royal Navy as a whole. He and tho officers present wore there as his Majesty's representatives and of the Royal Navy as a whole, and those present wore gathered to do honour to tho _ great servico of which ho had tho privilege and honour to be a member.— (Applause.) At _tbo close of Lord Jellicoo's address tho Mayor announced thai their guest would have to leavo at onoo owing to pressure of time. The Admiral departed a3 he had entered tho building, the largo audience rising to its feet as he passed down tho hall, and tho ohoir rendering "Sons of the Sea" with great heartiness. Despite the fact that he had exceeded his tizno, the Admiral took tho opportunity to address a few remarks to several of the returned wounded men, who filled tho front seate. The Peace Celebrations Choir, under Mr Gale, and tho two military bands, under the conductorship of Lieutenant George, played an important part in the proceedings by rendering appropriate national music as occasion offered. The choir also sang the concerted number, " Hail to the Chief," very tastefully, somo of the pianissimo effects being especially beautiful. Tho musical portion of the programme was greatly appreciated by the public, even though it had to be curtailed by tiio enforced departure of tho Admiral to attend another function. The gathering terminated, as it had bogun, with the singing of the National Anthem.