The history of the Republica bewise, interesting. She was under the British Emergency War Programme, a unit of the Azalea group, and called the Gladiolus, She Belongs, therefore, to the "Flower" Glass of sloops. "Sold to Portugal 1920 she was rechristened with her present significant name.
She is by no means a large ship, and was built primarily for utility as her lines and fittings show plain ly, The comforts of the "show' ships which various nations have] fon stations in far comers of the world are rather r.issing in the Re-publica which means that she has not an over-supply of unused space. But she has seen service, much of it, which means that she feels an ex: tremely superior kind of shi This service began during the war; the Republica was launched in October, 1915. To describe the ship with the accuracy of Jane's manual is to Learn that she has a displacement of 1,250 tons and measures B25 1/4 X'93 1/2 X 41 feet. Her Her armament *h, two 3einch anticaireraft guns, and four Pounders (Hotchkiss). She is cap-thie of making 17 knots. algo, she received the opportunity of her career when the Portuguese flyers, Admiral Cotinho and Com. mander Sacaduro Cabiel, set out on their adventurous slight from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. It was necessary for them to stop midway between Cape Verde and Rio, an extraordinarily insignificant clump of rocks in the middle of the ocean being designated for the rendezyous, the other party at which was to be the Republica. How the avi tors gauged their distance minute accuracy and met the shi fat the appointed place made one of the epics in hazardous long-flight aviation and proved incidentally the value of knowing the firmament to the tiniest blinking star, as the aviators had made use of astronomy to perform this feet.
After that the Republica went back to Lisbon, and in 1924 sot off on a routine cruise of about nine months' duration, around Africa from the West to the East Coast and back again to Lisbon through the Suez Canal. Another interesting assignment followed on the heels of this, for it was shortly after her return in 1925 that the news came of the Shameen incident in China. The Republica was forthwith ordered to Blacao, and 38 days after the orders were received, jeounting in a five day stop for re-airs at Port Said, she was on her station.
Last year when the Spanish aviators met with an accident in Macao the Republica was able to offer some valuable assistance and later to act! asa convoy to mark the way to Manila for the plane, for which service the Commodore of the ship and the second officer in command both received the Spanish cross decoration.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.