TRAFALGAR DAY

Otago Witness, Issue 3590, 2 January 1923, Page 58

TRAFALGAR DAY

NEW ZEALAND WREATHS FOR NELSON’S MONUMENT. SAVE THE VICTORY. (Feom Ode Own Correspondent.) LONDON, October 24. Nelson Day was celebrated last week with renewed fervour. The Navy League’s new lease of life, and the fact that the nation had been again on the verge of war, possibly accounted for this rekindling of the patriotic spirit. In London the Nelson Column in Trafalgar square was decorated in commemoration of the famous victory 117 years ago. In view of Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee’s appeal for subscriptions to the fund for the restoration of His Majesty’s Ship Victory, it was appropriate that the most beautiful and by far the most striking emblem of remembrance on the plinth of Nelson’s Monument in Trafalgar square was a magnificent. representation in flowers of that glorious old hulk, now lying in graving clock at Portsmouth, which Sir Edwin Arnold so finely described as “Britain’s Sea Cathedral.” This fine model was composed of mauve and white flowers, with a deck of moss and yellow blooms, masts in violets, and anchors of heather. There were scores of other splendid memorial wreaths, among the most remarkable being a large laurel wreath mounted with pink roses and cvcas palms, tied with purple ribbon, from the Union of South Africa Government; a wreath of yellow chrysanthemums, mounted with yellow roses, from the High Commissioner of the Empire of India; a splendid chaplet of palm, mounted with pink roses, from the Australian Government; and a large ai chor, composed of everlasting flowers and Table Mountain leaves, from Capetown. Prominent among the large wreaths in front was the one from the Government and people of New Zeala.nd. This stood some sft high, and was composed of large pink chrysanthemums set artistically among asparagus fern and pink heath. A number of army regiments and ships of war sent their contributions, and several of the Navy League branches of New 1 Zealand were represented. The finest of all the wreaths was dedicated to the Royal Mercantile Marine by the Navy League. This floral tribute stood some Bft in height, and was composed of white lilies and chrysanthemums backed with flags. TRIBUTES FROM NEW ZEALAND.

From the Canterbury branch of the league came a wreath of pink roses, fro-m iriawke’s Bay one of yellow chrysanthemums and red berries on a baso of greenery, and from the Otago branch a wreath of yellow chrysanthemums and white marguerite daisies. As usual. Wellington sent its choice ot flowers picked in that city in February, and sent to this country in a block of ice. Much interest was shown by the public in this, though the leaves and flowers were not so well preserved as they have been on previous occasions. On the Hawke’s Bay tribute were the words: “The sea is our Life, by the use of it the Empire was formed. By holding it the Empire has been preserved. If we fail to appreciate its value the Empire will perish.” All day long great crowds gathered in Trafalgar Square and reverently circled the monument, examining the inscriptions on the wreaths. COMMEMORATION SERVICE. In the morning there was the usual service of commemoration and thanksgiving at St, Martin’s-in-the-Fields. The sermon was preached by the Archdeacon of London, who took for his text the words from the Book of Kings, “The King lias at sea a Navy.” As it was in the days of Solomon, so it was to-day, said the preacher, the King had at sea a navy. Whatever the contrast between the two fleets, that of 950 B.C. and the British Fleet of 1922 A.D., they had this in common; both contributed to the safety and well-being of the nation. It was well that on such a day they should be reminded of the two great branches of the navy; the fighting fleet and the merchant, fleet. The preacher recalled at length the four periods of British history when the navy had proved the salvation of the nation ; in iSOB. when Drake set sail to smash the Spanish Armada; in the reign of George 111, when Napoleon threatened us with invasion ; during the South African war, when after reverse had succeeded reverse the navy came to the rescue with their guns on land; and once more during the Great War, when Jelliooe and Beatty kept the German Navy locked up in its own waters ? Why did they hold a service of commemoration and thanksgiving? Were the two tilings consistent? Yes. The navy existed as a protective force; and the time might again come, in our imperfect state even of Christian civilisation, when it might bo higher moral law to fight defensively than not to fight and so go under. There did come times when it was a lesser wrong, a lesser evil, to protect the people of the nation, the women and children, and to protect their food supplies, than it would be to refuse to go to war and allow outrages to be committed on these women and children. Thus the work of the Navy League was free from 'all political bias and party feeling. Its sole aim, its great patriotic aim, was to see that the King had at sea a navy for the defence of his subjects. NAVY -LEAGUE’S APPEAL. In a manifesto signed by the Duke of Sutherland (president) and Sir Cyril Cobb (chairman of the Executive Committee), the Navy League invited all its members at Home and overseas to unite in doing honour on Trafalgar Day to the immortal memory of Nelson and his colleagues. “There are those who would have us believe,” they wrote, ‘‘that the old foundations of our security have been done away with, that the defence of these islands no longer rests upon the water, but that, with the march of invention, other and cheaper means of defence can b; substituted. The argument is specious, and makes a strong appeal to those who are finding the burden of taxation well-nigh insupportable. But it is unsound, and must remain so while we are dependent upon the free use of the seas for five sixths of the food we need and of the raw materials for our manufactures, as well as for uninterrupted intercourse with our kith and kin overseas. Command of the air has become a necessary part of the command of the sea, and the task lies before us of devising how these two may be most effectually combined. The Navy League, therefore, calls on the patriotic public for support in its task of constantly reminding the British peoples of the things which belong to their peace ”

AT PORTSMOUTH. The observance of Trafalgar Day in Portsmouth was marked by a naval pageant procession organised by the Lower Deck on behalf of the Trafalgar Orphan Fund. Groups of sailors in the naval uniforms of the various periods from the time of King Alfred to the present day formed a feature of the procession. The Commander-in-Chief (Admiral the Hon. Sir Somerset A. Gough-Calthorpe) and the principal officers of the port inspected the pageant after its assembly at the Royal Naval Barracks, and the Mayor of the town and other civic authorities tendered their greetings, as the procession passed, from the Town Hall steps. Nelson’s famous signal, “England expects every man to do his duty,” was flown on the Victory, now in dry dock in Portsmouth Dockyard. Laurel wreaths were suspended between the masts of the ship, and bunches of evergreens swung at the yardarms. On Southsea Front the pedestal which bears the Victory’s anchor was draped with the Union Jack, and on the anchor itself was entwined strands of evergreens. , THE VICTORY That the Victory has not shared the fate of other vessels built at the same time ha 3 been largely a matter of chance (writes a Times correspondent, referring to Admiral Sturdee’s appeal for the vessel’s- preservation). Not only has she taken the risks of battle, but other risks as well. On February 14, 1798, just a year after her service at St. Vincent,••'the Admiralty ordered her to be fitted as a prison hulk, but the Navy Board objected, as it would prejudice her against future sea service, and a captured Dutch vessel was substituted. Then, when, after Waterloo, it seemed that an end had been put to her fighting days, it was proposed to break her up: and only by newspaper agitation was the vessel happily saved from that fate. Now, cncc again, the destiny of this historic ship is in question. A visit to the Victory is well calculated to five the imagination and act as an inspiration to those ideals of self-sacrifice and duty which marked the Nelsonic spirit. Nor is this feeling of veneration confined to those who, like the late Sir Edwin Arnold, described her as the sea cathedral of Britain. An American humorist, for instance, visiting the ship, admitted a thrill of inspiration and a sense of awe and reverence as he stood by the spot where Nelson died. A Japanese visitor to England, asked what were the most impressive sights in the country, replied : “The Tower of London, Shakespeare’s birthplace, and the Victory.” An interesting story is told also of how, when a French naval cadet ship came up Portsmouth Harbour, instructions were given the British officers acting as guides in the dockyard to be careful to direct attention to sights on shore, in order to avoid any disagreeable feelings which the sight of the Victory might produce in the minds of these young Frenchmen. But even before tlie ship entered tlie harbour, groups of excited cadets surrounded their guides with the question: “Where is the Victory?” “Point us out Nelson’s Victory?” £50,000 NEEDED. What is proposed is to raise about £50,000 for the restoration of the Victory. A much larger sum would be required to restore the ship entirely, but the amount named would enable the whole of the decks to be cleared, and brought to the conditions of the Trafalgar time, with dummy guns in place. Tlie stem would be rebuilt exactly as it was, the masts would he erected and stayed, the yards properly slung, the right shrouds set up, and the ship would be pajnted as in Nelson’s days. No attempt can now be made to replace the bow built into the ship by Sir Robert Seppings in 1820. The timbers are too far gone, and to restore the 1805 bow would involve large expenditure. Neither, on grounds of expense, can hemp rigging be supplied. Subscribers to the fund may be assured that the problem of saving the Victory has been approached in a very practical spirit.