THE BATTLESHIP CRUISER

Southland Times, Issue 17347, 19 May 1913, Page 5

THE BATTLESHIP CRUISER

A RECORD DAY. SCENES AT LYTTELTON. (Per United Frcas Association.) CHRISTCHURCH. May I*. If last Thursday was Peoples Day ol* H. New Zealand, then it is impossible to find suitable title for Saturday. Not since the days of the departure of the South African contingents has such an enormous crowd surged into Lyttelton. A mighty host poured through th« tunnel the whole afternoon, and long before the barrier gates were opened the crowd had collected until it was a sea of people filling the whole of the open space on the wharf, and extending out into the railway yard. Train after train came in and discharged Its freight,"and hurried off to Christchurch for-more. The police and the gatekeepers had a ' strenuous time controlling the people, who swarmed'against the stout barrier®, desperately keen on gaining admission. When the gates were opened a. mighty Hood poured along the wharf, which bent beneath its load. Seen from the 'railway bridge the sight was an extraordinary one. The wharf was packed with people and thousands more crowded behind thein. The gangwaysWerejpacked with a never ending crowd, which spreading-out on the decks, sweUe<l the thousands already on board. It was a hopeless task for the ship’s guides to attempt to pilot the parties, and they gave their attention to ail and sundry. Thousands poured through the turrets, and the guns were worked 1 without a break for nearly four hours. Thousands of other people could not get into tha turrets, and a big proportion of the people saw little; of ,the shlp,',,as . n it,v~wats almost Impossible to move through the alley ways. The. upper. deck r .bridges, and superstructures and the tops ,of the , turrets were' Absolutely crammed‘ with -- people, and there were dozens cllmbinC nearly to the tops of the masts. So dense was the crowd outside the •_. barrier that it was. almost impossible - - at times for people leaving the ship te . get through to their..trains.- The stream' on the wharf ran the whole afternoon, without cessation, and ' at- frequent intervals petty officers were sent through the ship requesting visitors who had been on board half an-hour to go- ashore , , and make rooin for others. The total on Saturday, as disclosed by an. official tally, reaching .the astounding total of 23,994. Subtracting the morning’s _ figures, the tally shows that between - - I. and 5 p.m. no fewer than . 19,i84l , people passed over the gangways, which; easily constitutes a record day”? attendance for the dominion cruise. number of visitors for the five days is as follows:—Tuesday, 4900; Wednesday. 18,714; Thursday, 20,006; Friday, 13.734; Saturday; 23,904,. a- total DUNEDIN CHILDREN GOINOiffC CHRISTCHURCH. . - DUNEDIN, Jifaar<ia Over 1500 children in Staadaeds and VI. intimated to their teachers off Friday that they were wflMng to make the journey to Lyttelton to -.'visit —the . warship. At the meeting of teacher® held later in the day, it waer decided; in view of the great number coming forward, to take- only -file children of Standard VT., numbering a han't 900, and this fact was made 'known to the children when they assembled according to instructions at their respective schools on Saturday moraine. Naturally it caused keen disappointment in the breasts of many of the yaavg people. An attempt was made to get the Railway Department to convey th« Otago High School boys and girls, who are at present enjoying tbeir term holidays, to Lyttelton, but the Acting-Minis-ter of Education could not see Ms way to comply with - the request, although. 200 of the number will be taken. The children’s special train will reach Christchurch to-night at 7 o’clock. The parents of the children are very grateful to the people of Christchurch for their thoughtful and very generous offer. CAPTAIN HALSEY AND THB CHILDREN, DUTY TO THE EMPIRE. AN INTERESTING LETTER. Copies ■of -the May number, of thd ■“School Journal,” which have been re- ■ ceived in Christchurch, contain a facsimile of a letter to the children written for the journal by Captain Halsey. The letter is as follows; — "H.M.S. New Zealand. “To the Children of Dominion of New Zealand. “It-is with great pleasure that the officers and men of this ship have been able already to receive so many of you on board the great battle-cruiser which, bears the name of your own dominion, New Zealand,’ and it is the earnest wish Of- all of us that the visit of you who have been on board has shown you, and that the visit of those of you who have yet to visit the ship will show you, what a vitally important duty you all have before you in life to uphold the great traditions of the glorious Empire to which we all belong. “Whether we are living in the Mother Country or in any dominion or colony, we all belong to that Empire, and it is the duty of every one of us to be ready to defend that Empire. . “Your fathers and mothers have given that great ‘Battle-Cruiser’ to the Empire in order to make that Empire strong and united and. therefore, safe. “You children, as you grew' up. must always bear in mind that you have to, also, in some way or another, do your duty to your" Empire by your actions; and to do this very little Is required of you. It is only this: — “First —Always remember that your first duty to your King and Country iM allegiance and loyalty. . , "Second —Refrain from doing any act •which you know is not' straight and right. , , “Third —By every act of your Bto. endeavour to uphold that great heritage which your ancestors fought for, died for. but won —namely, Honour. "In conclusion, I should like to say to you that every one of you who does not lead a straight, clean life, and who doe® not do his or her duty in life to tn« - utmost possible, is helping to endanger our grand Empire and to tarnish, it* honour. "LIONEL HALSEY. "Captain Royal Navy, "WeHlngtoo, April 2,9 th, 1913.**