The Wanganui Chronicle. "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1904. AN ADMIRABLE ADMIRAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLVIII, Issue 12362, 30 November 1904, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1904. AN ADMIRABLE ADMIRAL.

The antics of t!he Czar's Baltic -Fleet, wMeh have of late been so highly -divert-., ing to tih'3 casual observer, have, been described1 by a, writer who takes a serious view of the matter as "th.& bitter and pathetic illustration of a nation gone -wrong; of a nation whose patriotism :'(3 only skin deep, and of a navy which has no traditions to live up to." In -what oither great country could tiuch a spectacle of inefficiency, corruption, and unpreparedn£iss be, permitted to be flung in the faces of the laughing.world? .It was jthe obvious and paramount duty of the Russian Government to have this great and- costly- fleet ready at a moment's call to sail to any point of the Seven Seas, prepared to fight, for the Cza.r and the flag of St. Andrew. If, after the "bottlinig up" and! partial destruction of the Port. Arthur Fleet, the Baltic ships had beem despatched immediately, with decks ol€iaa*ed for action on arrival, there might have been some chance of reTteving tilie distressed fortress, for they would have* been able to strike aifc the Japanese besieging ships at a itiime^wlien. the strength of those ships had been comparatively weakened by strenuous work. But now, imstead of being in Chines© waters, the Baltic Fleet is dawdling slowily towards its alleged destination, incompetent, lincomplete, and Iharmlisss. It may reach tihat destination, but the mischief is done, and ten Baltic Fleets could not undo it. But pitiable as it must be. from the Russian pent of^view, till© spectacle affords a valuable object lesskm for Britons1. To quote a London contemporary: "Great Britain's last days wiVl ihave come;" if ever a fleet of hers degrades the Union Jack in the manner of the Russian ships. It is never a mistake to reiterate the old warning, 'Be ready'; nor is .;ifc superfluous to repeat that our national honour is m the hands of the men who rulle the Navy. Our very existence as a nation depends upon them. Fortunately theste truitlhs are imbued in the spirit of all Britons, of all ranks of life, and there is little danger that our Navy, glorified by the name of Nelson, will ever fail! to answer to the call of duty. We may be slow and conservative in .many things, but on the sea Britannia stiifl. leads the way." Pi-o-gress is still the watchword of our fighting force. Even while the Baltic Fleet was provoking the nation to laughter and contempt, the real work of administering the British Navy was passing into new and vigorous hands. "Tho frontiers of England are the coasts of the enemy," is itlh'e creed of Admiral S:'ir John Arbuthnot Fisher, who last month became First Sea Lord of tihe British Navy, and t!her>efoire its actual head. And a very good creed it is for a maritime nation. The strongest man in the Navy, Sir John Fisher" is in. his right place as the Admiral of all the British ships in the seas. If ever a man earned ■that proud post by ability, force, experience, find proved worth, Sir John Fisher-ihas. earnedl it. By common coii-' sent of tihe-tesit sai'jdrs of the*'--fleet, he is the; finest' admiral 'wfe' have' liad since ,NeLson.. And .addition~to knowing what ought to be, he, will have the power, as they say in the Navy, to "make it so." Before you place a mas terful man on .the bridge of your i'hip, it is as wall to .understand what he wants, and, thorefore, what he is likely to do. What S^'r John Fisher wants is cfear enough. He wants a Britie.li fleet strong enough to beat any combination of hostile fleets t<hat is likely to be ranged against it. He wants that fleet to bo efficient ; he wants it to be ready for wa>r at any moment; he wants iti to be equipped with the newest in guns and build that the ingenuity of the world can devise. He believes that warships are cheaper .than war. Can he do what h© waaivls? According to the undivided opinion of competent observers, if past experience is any guide, he oajv. W. R. Holt, in an appreciativet sketch contributed to the "Express," points to Sir John Fisher's control of the Mediterranean Squadron as preaching an encouraging ussson. When ho took command -he found the squadron slack and im&pfc. Its average speed was eleven knots, and after every cruise thert> wero lame ducks to bp patched lip. By working the fleet at steam tactics^every mornuig and afternooni <th& Admiral raised 1 tho average, lo •" thirt-een ct fourteen knots, and there were no mere breakdowns. His methods were drastic. If a ship came into harbour showing tco much smoke he' would send it back until the smoke stacks satisfied him, even, if tihe ship flew the flag of an Admiral. Sir John reaVsed that ho Avas not in the

Mediterranean for the good of his health; but for war, should that even unhappily arise. Supposing it did? Supposing this Power or tihat took the offensive or stood in need of a lesson T What fighting force wouxl Sir John have at h.'s d^posal? He asked the Lords 'of the Admiralty,- and they, shocked by the dreadful suggestion, replied that it would be all right when the time came. Sir John thought it any tilling but all riight; and at this point his stra.'ai of OrJental subtlety served him w«SI. Instead of demanding a reply by return of pest he invfted the Lords •<«?■ the Admiralty to take a sea trip and visit him at Malta. They as^ieed, and the Navy began dio speeu'iate <•■•.. the results of the meeting. Men tfoo Ir-lnot served under Fidher thougnu lie would be no match-far the Parliamer.tarians in. a battle of talk. Men who had -served: under hijm said it was "Two to one on Jacky." And they were right. He carried ■•'his paints, and Britain had good reason to be glad of ifc afterwards. 7fc was largely due to the effi iVncy ol the Mediterranean Fleet that ,'V.a.rnpcait. peace was preserved during the Boer War. Yet for all his force and a'iiliiy, it is safe-to say that until throe joars'ag;> tlhe bu;ik of the English people, did not so much asi know there was a. mail iia.'lied Fisher in the Navy. He- was the'last midishipma.n received into t'.e reryice by the. last, of Nelson's cap tans. Tiecommanded the InflexibL© at. the bombardment -of Alexandria, and he designed and fought liho ironclad tram against Arabi's army. Those details,, and a salt story or two filtering from the Mediterranean, were all that the pubuic knew of Fisher until he made has celebrated speech at the Academy banquet of 1903—a sp-eech described bysome of those present as the best thathad ever been delivered at an Academybanquet. There he told his famous taleof the Meutenant lai command of a destroyer of 260 tons, with as much swagger as if the were a battleship of 16,----000. On the wheel was the motto, ''Utveniant omnes.", Sir John asked what the deuce was tihat.. Saluting, the lie-i----tonant replied, "Leb 'em all coir.o, sir."' That is S-'r John's motto also —"Let 'em all com©." Sir John is not loved by everybody. He knows a good man whenhe sees h',m ; but he is "a holy terror lot skulkers and shufflers." He is no popu-larity-monger. Let a. man fail to keeppace with the march.of reform and away he"goes, for the Admiral admits no palliaifcion for inefficiency, b© it old friendship, former favours, or anything elseIn tb'\s respect 'he.is as ruthless as Napoleoen. He has been at sea vfor fifty years, yet he is as baldly modern in hisviews as tho youngast lieutenant afloat.. In a word, Admiral Sir John FiJier stands for progress, not retrogreissioii.. Tliere will b© no.ba-rnuioles1 that cannot be removed under- hi? - administration.. There wull be no Baltic Fleotis flying theUnion Jack so long as he remains at: Whitehall. ' * .