GERMANY AS A NAVAL POWER

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2054, 4 February 1889, Page 2

GERMAN Y AS A NAVAL POWER

The new German naval programme,. H* It 1b Bet forth In U mamar*ndain whloh has been appended to the Imperial* naval estimates for the next year, is a very ambitions and a very Important; one. Hitherto the naval armaments of the Empire have bean mainly of a defensive nature, but the Government now announce* Its determination to aeoure for Its navy a> poiiMod proportionate to the pblftloal* military,, and trans-oceanfo interest's* of the Reich,- and to render alliance with the Empire an object to be desired from * military point of view. The Government proposea daring the next sis years to lay clown and complete for sea no fewer than 28 warships, of which four are to'be, armoured battle ships of, the latest type, and nine coast defence ironclads There are also to. be seven deok protected cruisers, four fast unprotected bruisers, two armed despatah boats,, and two sea, going torpedo gunboats. ,The eßttipa^ed oost qI all these additions to the German fleet is, In English money, v £&,840,q00. The determination of Germany to become a naval power of the second, * iiot aotua.Uy of the first rank, . wlll r doubt, be greeted with enthusUUra by German .Chauvinists, and, there are now many Booh . Nor will, the means for the fuiherance of the determination he refused by the Reiohstag. But tae conseqaences of the new departure will at once make themselves painfully, felt throughout Europe. For years tbe central Continental Powers hive been Striving one against soother for military super* iqrlty, and the struggle, althpugti it has onlefly been confined to emulation for inperlorlty on land, has been so terribly costly that no man, woman or ohlld In the> oountrles concerned has Smiled to sm It* [burden. Germany, has now deliberately extended the sphere of the struggle tb the sea, and, m oonsequenoe^ the strife will tend to become doubly expensive. The adoption of the new programme will oertalnly be tbe signal for Bussia and Franoe to lay down new vesnelr* Hussla's position In the Baltic is already imperilled. France, even at the present moment, might find It hard to proteot her Atlantfc and Channel coasts If she were involved In » war with Gerinsny and Italy combined. And If Franoe should begin to make large additions to her navy, we also shall be driven to make proportional addiUoDi to ours, and thus there is no knowing at what point tbe ball which has been unnecessarily set rolling by Germany may. stop. In 1870 71, when her .. n*vy ? tui compared with that of Franoe, ,w«b not half so powerfnl as it is now, Germany was quite strong enough at seato be able to guard her «hores from attack: Shoe that time she has fortified her chief ports m such a* manner as to re der them impregnable. T^e, greater part of her coast line has always, from, its nature, been difficult. of access, and modern science has now made it trebly, so. Gerqaany, therefore, has little or nothing to fear from attack by eea. If she had limited her new scheme to the building of more coast, defence vessels, Europe would have had no legitimate cause for apprehension. But, unfortunately, Germany .expressly deolares that she intends to become ft great naval power, and, by Implication, that she wants new ships for offensive, as well as defensive purposes. Herein lies the danger.—" Daily News," 2tth November