THE NEW ZEALAND

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 7 February 1913, Page 5

THE NEW ZEALAND

JCABLB_NBWS. [(United j-re-ti Association— By Eltc- * trie Telegraph—Copyright.)

INSPECTION BY THE KING. A REPRESENTATIVE GATHERING (Received February 6, 8.20 a.m.) LONDON, February ?. Admiral Sir Hed'worth Men?;, K.C.8., Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth, and Rear-Admiral Herbert Leopold Heath, Superintendent of Portsmouth Dockyard, received His I Majesty the King on the. occasion of his visit of inspection to the, battle- , "hip New Zealand. | His Majesty was accompanied by 1 Sir Josepi'i Ward (Premier of Now Zealand when the gift of the vessel v,iiv made), Hon Thomas Mackenzie (Hiuh Commissioner for New Zealand). Hon. James Allen (New Zealand A! mister of Defence), Mr Winston Churchill (First Lord of the Admiralty), Mr Lewis Hareourt (Secretary of State for the Colonies). Air T. J. Maonamara (former Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty), Yi.-o Admiral Sir John Rushworth JelHcoo (personal aide-de-camp to the Iv.ng and a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty), and others. The King devoted over an hour on a general tour of the ship, and was nartioularly interested in the barbette, where the crew operated the 12-inch guns and also the gyroscope compass. His Majesty was groa'.ly amused at the decorations of the gvn room, which somewhat resembled a ladv's boudoir. Before leaving His Majesty was nhotogranhed amidst the New Zealand's officers; and he expressed to Captain Halsey (commander of the New Zealand) his gratification, and" wished the officers an enjoyable voyage. NEW ZEALANDERS PRESENTED TO THE KING. (Received February 6, 10,30 a.m.) LONDON, February 5. The New Zealand-born officers and men on the New Zealand were presented to the King. THE SHIP'S PROPER PLACE. (Received February 6, 8.50 a.m.) LONDON, February b. The Graphic says that the battleship New Zealand'« proper place is as a unit of the, Pacific lleet, and not standing in lieu of a slhip winch ought to be built bv the Home Government.

FURTHER PARTICULARS. NO POMP"OR CEREMONY. A NEW "PELOROUS JACK." (Received Last uSig-ht, 9.35 o'clock.") LONDON, February (!. There was a complete absence of pomp and ceremony on- the occasion of the visit of His Majesty the King to the battleship New Zealand. His Majesty first inspected the bakery and examined the white bread, which, lie said, recalled the time when he first went to sea. The bluejackets had put up weevily biscuits and maggoty flour. The King inspected the hydraulic loading of the twelve-inch guns, at the rate of three rounds per minute. Engineer-Commander Turner sSlowed His Majesty tho new machinery in the engine-room. Seeing mauve, whito and green upholstery in the gun room, His Majesty remarked, ''This is more like a lady's boudoir." The remark led- to a general laughter, when someone pointed out that they were suffragette colours. The crew introduced the ship's mascot, a bull pup named "Polorus Jack."' The King was photographed beneath the shield and tho New Zealand coat of arms. Tho King afterwards "inspected the Iron Duke, the George V., and the Queen Elizabeth. The latter i.s now an inert mass of ribs and [dates. He then visited the floating dock, and saw. the latest .submarine. EMBLEM OF NEW ERA. UNION IS STRENGTH. (Received Last Night, 11.5 o'clock.) LONDON, February 6. The Daily Telegraph says the King's 'inspection of the battleship was no empty formality. He is a praetira l sailor, and the inheritor of the wardenship of seven seas. The New Zealand was an emblem of a new era. and the first gift of the daughters and son;; of the Empire to tho navy, .on which every Imperial interest depends. The vessel was a source of pride to every Englishman, and the .subject of amazement to those thought to wrest from Britain the ■supremacy of the sea. The Now Zealand would carry British ideals and efticiency round the globe, and she wa>- charged with the aspiration of the Empire, which was .searching fer' a means of translating tho pr>\-erb, "Union is Strength." into terms winch the world would understand.