NAVAL RIVALRY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 493, 28 April 1909, Page 4

NAVAL RIVALRY.

PRESS OPINIONS. . SOME INTERESTING VIEWS. ' '-'' Tho following are extracts from the opinions of soiuo leading .-British newspapers on tho naval situation, as revealed in tho important debato in tho - House of' Commons on March IG, and subsequent Parliamentary discussions. .; ■ ■ "Tho Times" of March 18 says:—"The net result of two days' debate on tho subject is that, whereas only forty-oight hours ago tho country was willing to .believo-that wo. were safe and mofo than safe in respect'of tho Navy, that wo could in fact "sleep quietly in bur beds," wo now know on the admission o£ tho Prime' Minister and'tho' First Lord of tho Admiralty thoinselves that unless we' bestir ourselves promptly, steadily, and continuously we are or very soon shall be within measurable distanco of a vory grave situation indeed. The worst of it is, too, that we do not even yet know, nor can the Government or tho Admiralty tell us, that we are out-of the , wood. They can only say that they''hope and; believe, wo are.-Yet only a few months ago' they could hopo and believe, with even greater confidence and assurance, that we should never get into the wood in which the country now finds itself. ■They.-havo been mistaken once.. Can wo be surd that they will not be mistaken again P Wo, acknowledge that the whole 'tenor of their insurances goes to show that they will not ■■willingly or wittingly allow our naval supremacy to be jeopardised in any respect, that they understand, in "fact, that, as Lord Rosebery says in tho' letter we print to-day, '.'as soon as the nation realises the threat to its predominance it will vote all that is possible." Rut that being so., surely they, .'might have the courago of their convictions and declare at once, a-s the Opposition have invited them to do, that the four additional ships of the present programme/hitherto represented as contingent, will henceforth be treated as ■a: substantivo and integral "portion, of. this ■ year's programme and bp put in hand without avoidable delay. ..v''. ■.:' The -Opposition have not hitherto been ; in any sense disposed ;to criticise the Admiralty adversely. They now speak with all the more weight on that account." ' ' ;' ; ■ . :. The : Expense of , Personnel. : • .-., ■The "Standard" (Unionist) thus comments' on. the debato of March 16:—"Mr. Balfour reckoned 'the .number-,of Dreadnoughts re-, quired by this country upon the experience, of,the past. The only conclusion to be from the discussion is that Mr.' Balfour j is anxious,. to' . provide' against the 'probable; event, 'while >the Government aro ; assuming the;best possible.complexion of affairs.'. "Tho; issue before- the 'nation , therefore : narrows down .to this: Are the Government, to bo forcedte carry, theirpolicy to its. logical, end, or, are they; to be permitted to, take; chances in; order to save, money ? ■ When this , point is• settled, there; remain.some highly ■ disquieting aspects of naval administration to consider, which were recently/ presented to. Parliament by the , • First: Lord pf the Admiralty. Mr.; M'Kerina actually.: stated yesterday in so many .wordsj that there.was'need to fear, tho ; extra' expense of hastily building large numbers ~of now and improved- .battleships, because came into .coinmisT . sipn,' an ! equivalent (number .of -.older!; ships wouldibe "passed out/jin .order to , keep down the expense br;pcrsonnel.".CThat principle,: now clearly enunciated , by>'Mr. M'Kenna,-; has.'guidedi Admiralty .pblicy l '-since: 1904,'-. as ■ we-havo constantly , pbintetl but:'-A more; expensive: and;, armbre' 'disastrous could not bo conceived.; \lf the, Government' have "determined !that. tho.'. security , pf. the country demands,that we- should outbuild ;bne. foreign'Pbwer in ono type of vessel; well arid good. But what in the name of common senseis the' use of that; when 'tho excellent .ships we already possess are.being abolished, in a proportion?' "If,?- said; Mi - ." M'Ke'nna,, "wo have 'twelve/ Dreadnoughts' iri vconimission in 1912, twelve other .vessels will bo passed-qutif'b This; in, .materialism run: , mad, in ■, harness .-With fraudulent- economy'.-■'; '-If tho country'. cannot afford.-'to iucreas6'th i o iporsonnefi' J ;-"then tho' country .• cannot , ' nffpild to. increase - the number- -p't'.-sliips.;, lyhichy -'.by themselVesyhavo-rio Snore'.''fightihgr'jcap.acity' than, a'fubbish heap.''! Le- us haVe'fnore ships by all means j the ,secnrity ■ of the; Empire/demands''more ships'j-.biit if Two iaripto have no more men, trained men, kept at sea instead of idling on shore.,to save the coal bill and the'repairs bill, the .country is , being elaborately defrauded. .',:■.'.: It is not unfair to assume from the Prime Minister's statement that the two-Power standard has in fact been tacitly abandoned. This question will .'undoubtedly; be raised again in'tho House; and wemay repeat,'that no assurance the Government may. give,; can bo regarded as a; redemption 'of . the ' Prime Minister's pledge, which does;not. provide'.;for; tho institution-- ;and : mairitenah'ce v bf-' ; twb;'complete ,sea-going fleets.'each ofi'whiphvis superior respectively .to tho fleets/of the.-two Powers next in order of: strength.'?' ' ■■; : ';■ ,

toan..ot. a! Hundred-Millions, yi - In its issue "of .March 19,-' the "Standard,"-, after condemning tho. Prime Minister's action in declining to ; give a definite pledge that thq./four extra.battleships,; power to. order which: the Government were .demanding, should bo laid.down, continues:—"For some time; as wo may remind our readers, we-have urged tho raising of a hundred .millions.uponloan', .to be 'bxpended over'-: a series, of 'years Fleet. As we foretold, tho necessity of this, course has now become .imperativb. . In, up other way.can the safety of, the country, and of'the Empire be. secured. There is-the leeway, of years to be of the most serious character, "due to-the pblicy of the First Sea Lord of the zVdmiralty. Aclmiral. .Sir 'John Fisher:, has 'reduced the strength of the Navy in .every-respect; except oner-rthe .great battleship, -upon-which wo.are told , the whole future deponds: Be it so.. Then, where: aro; the crews to - man-tbeae' vessels, wherp the docks in .which they' can , be repaired, where the bases on the East ; Coast in which they may lie; where tho cruisers required for their complementaryunits, where the destroyer flotillas, without winch'they cannot lie in the-.North: Sea in war time, where their "reserve stores? iProvision, for .-all 'these things-has been deliberately neglected. And with what result? With precisely the result we anticipated. The country has been aroused from-the false security into which it-has btfen persuaded/and has awakened to the unmistakable fact that it.is m actual danger of its life."':' ' Thc."Standai-d" coos on to advocate' an immediate strict and impartial inquiry'into naval affairs. "Had. that .inquiry been cot; on foot; two -years ago, as we urged—as we were- not alono in urging—tho present crisis need never have arisen."

j. :; '• : A 'Liberal View.- ', - Tho "Manchester; Guardian" (Liberal) of March 17 concludes its article as follows:—' "Mr. Balfour's whole case last night rested on the assumption' that Germany had already begun hoT-rjrogrammo : for 1909-10, and that she meant,-in addition, to begin four, moro ships next month/-'He argued that Germany, would ' have seventeen Dreadnoughts to our sixteen .in November, ,1911, and twenty-one to four, twenty in March, 1012; but ho only arrjved (It theso results by' crediting Germany with four more than she can- have and deducting two from our strength. Ho omitted the. Lord Nelson and; tho, Agamemnon from his list of bur ships,' although these art admittedly equal, if not superior, -to.-the Dreadnought; andUie further assumed 1 that pormany meant- to got? a j;ear in-advance with' her own programme Evidently, what- Germany has dono is precisely what the Admiralty proposes to do. She has'collected tho (tun mountings arid shipbuilding- materials in advance for her programme 0f'1909-10. '• But "oven Germany cannot add anothor four ships to her programme without its costing her money j and if Mr. Balfoiir is right- in -his contention that Germany actually laid down four last autumji and means to lay' down' nnother four this spring, her Government would be bound to apply : to.-thc llciclistag for fresh credits. It is useless,. to speculate on a hypothesis that is certain ' to be either proved or. disproved in a few weeks. Should Mi-. Balfour prove to' be. right in his facts and -the Reichstag be 'willing to ;iind the 'money to eliablo.Germany to advance'her programme by a A vear, oiir" own policy would have- to bo modined in order to meet ■' this change. BuVfor^the - present it is quite safo-to disregard these purely hypothetical dangers conjured up by Mr. Baltour, To

get .a.t.fthe; ihw proportions. ■'faL'.sfrcngt.h-. \vo lnu^tysill) i {liJct^irαi| ,^:■froln:^ll l s:Ge l r^a , !tll:.■ , figures and:-;add .-.-two , . ..to- , -our,.'own , ,' , ranking , thd'pro- ■ poi-tion,jcight(ien/;:to : vthirt-pbii. jiv .the , autumn , of'-1911* and- , twonty^ivQ,to'"seventcqn in thp J spi-i!)g r of,;l9l2; :',:.;WitK!.:,6ur',,.enormous.superiority in; all', other types.'.of.- ; ship. .than tlio Dreadnought;,-. ~,. \ye,, : .:shouM, . ..: a cqDpt this rntiti of. strei'gth . Svitliout ' the slightest mijgiviiiß.."-',..■.■■■;■;■ .-^'S:':!^■''•■■■'. '" .'' '■ ~.;:.?>- i 'v,'j' Cermari; Reassurance; -■ The. Manchester} ','G iiar'dian." .. coirttnciits on: March;;]9.y.: u from,: tho'. shockV'.of/TuesdayV-iand. -uie ■ Gqv.ornnioiyt has alreatlji 1 had-j'causQ'.'tq-.regrpli'" , '. that- it pitched':■■:the':liey , ' .so.; liifeli-. : ; ; It'»was.;"a. :liad, mistake'., .of >'Mp:. : ;.M'Kcnna':! to'; begin'.by., opeiir: ing' fire/qn , ,.Liberal.'economists^.-for , his'.guns aro-. no..v .turned..■,a , Kairist;,.li.im-.' by,-■thd iQppor ■ sition... : :iMr.-' ..Lpiign^y<>stcrday?-;.:spplce. , ''-«'itlj; justice ;qf'.-:the'- : unfair/ 'StV tacks .of; , . : the. :, ';Gppos'itipn,.V'.aridi;poiii]tod. .tlio- ■ moral , . mpro : . on■■ their -owiv':fjibn'ds..arid;not ,, seek; from tho Opposition;'■ iOiy the 'Liberal sidp' a .hio'st'Vrooiriinodatin'g'^spirjt^/i-has'^.bcoiv , shown, .andSi;simple, dcclaray tion th'at'',th'o:Vfom , ''p i , bnnissiy6% , Droadiiouglits'; constitute ...tho■■...prdgraramo' for next", 'year. would .probiil)l,y : Vs'ecurp,'for''tlio'..Cabinet.;.rill' . reasonable discretion;v'-'/Eut-"tKp!i Government.; jmust see by Vnow. that;,thoro ; is'; •the Opposition;'': , :\vlio'.-.turif'.ovc'ry',cdnccssioni to them ■■.into,- a.-Vreproacli ; "against , .!-the , ernment. , .,.. : :-' : v. , :r "■v> ; Admiral; H.voh...'firp'it.z° tdlcT tho Reichstag.'.'that , ' Germany, ..jvould! not/have--moro than'l3 ;.Dreadnou2lvts.;-in;.;1912; y and. that ■ ho could :; . hot ■'■understand .■.;hdw-. .'Mr';'.' ;M'Kcnna arrived-aktho -thorp'■ is Eome , misunderstanding,-.; : at'which* wo;-can;.; not guoss, in "the Use. of terms, Admiral'von'. Tirpitz lias destroyed , ,the■.official case.ifor.: any acceleration■ .■; at > all' -in-;pur v ,Blnpbuilding.", . ■■.... ■■'■ ':;.:-;-\R-r/. '%.X\:^ V '. "A Vague Speculation.^ , ;' : ?; : . Tho.v , "Daily' ■News" '■'. (Liberal). is, .not alarmed. "Ono could riot but feel," it says, "as Mr. Balfour pitted.his extravagant calculations against tho moro moderate, but still alarming figures of tho Government, how vague, the whole speculation is I Germany has not' yet got one single Dreadnought in commission. That is a central fact which .must never bo lost.sight of.;.'. Her:' future ■■ building is a baro possibility which rests, ori no solid: basis of achievement. It_js one thing .tot havo 'slips' on which 'these v vessels can bo laid down. But in addition to 'slips , ono requires money and/onp requires jnen. How, is a Heidi stag which cannot agree how to find, this year's taxes to bo persuaded to sanction this accelerated programmo? And, above all, how in so brief a time are' the men to be found to man this armada, and how, if they can bo f> .■ id, are they to be turned from raw conscripts into able seamen? Not all the science of Essen can do .that. A serious conflict against such odds and with such raw material is not thinkable. ■It is not so: much the safety"of tho .'Englishman's Home' which is in question as the adjustment of tho balance of power."; . ■ -In its next issiie the "Daily News" says: ■ "We now know, as tho House did not know on Tuesday, what is the official German view. Speaking to a committee .'.of tho Reichstag, Admiral von Tirpitz, tho responsible Minister, repudiated Mr. M'Kennas calculations, and stated that Germany's fleet of Dreadnoughts will number in 1912 neither 17 nor 21, but 13. That statement was made in a House which watches expenditure more carefully than our own, to parties which stand 'independent of the Ministry, and in face of a .consistingijof the Centre arid the tho present naval programmo. A Minister who ■juggled with tho facts in would risk'swift exposure at home, while abroad' ho might fairly, be .accused.of indulging in a ruse more suggestivo of war than of peace tWb should like to see a more detailed statement, but/ as- it stands; the Admiral's. declaration seems, to dispose ,of ■ all tho conjectures on which the Houso has based its,debates." ■ ':,