The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, MAT 12, 1909. THE NEED FOR A GREAT NAVY

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 505, 12 May 1909, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, MAT 12, 1909. THE NEED FOR A GREAT NAVY

, It was apparent from the cable sum-' • mary sent to us at the time that the weightiest; of all the speeches delivered iri'tho House of Commons when the stato i of the Navy was being most hotly -. debated was. that of Sir ■ Edwaud Ghey, , the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The full text of the speech, of which wo give a summary in .our news I columns to-day, makes easy, to understand the.depth. of the impression which ' it made on the minds of all thoughtful Englishmen. Quite apart from its own. value as a'lucid and.powerful utteranco [■ freo from any tinge of party feeling, the , speech was of great importance as com- • ing: from'the Minister entrusted with the I conduct of British foreign policy. His , starting point was the fact that the German programme had "created a new '. situation," and ho dealt in elaborate detail with all the aspects, of that situai bion. "'"I am not going," he said, "to attempt to minimise in any way. the seri- \. ousneßs oi the situation. \ \. , The

I House and the-country are perfectly right to view tho situation as grave. A new situation is created for this country by the , German programme. Whether that programme is carried out quickly or slowly, the fact of its existence makes a new situation. When that programme is completed, Germany, a great country close to our own shores, will have a fleet of thirty-three Dreadnoughts. That fleet will be the most powerful the world has ever yet seen. . . . That imposeß upon us the necessity of which we are now at .the beginning— except in so far as wo happen to have Dreadnoughts already— of rebuilding'the whole of our Fleet. That, is tho situation. What we do. not know is the time within which' we shall have to do it. That is the element of uncertainty.; There is no dispute' as to the issue—that in order to meet the German fleet when it is completed, we shall have to build a new fleet of. our own, more powerful : than any we have yet had." ; ■'.',-

Accordingly, he continued, the first thing to be assured was Britain's capa-1 city to build. In this respect he wae able to give the House ample assurances of the Government's alertness and the general capacity of British yards. The relations, between Britain and Germany were, diplomatically considered, good, I and growing better, but the fact that thenaval expenditure of Germany was increasing was a fact that had to bo dealt, with. A cessation of competition in naval expenditure in both countries, eaid Sib Edtvakd, would be taken by the \rorld as a guarantee of the good intentions .of the two nations, and "the effect would he incalculable." Such a result might be brought about by a frank exchange of intentions and: a: definite" arrangement, but that arrangement must b,e on the basis of British naval superiority. The argument justifying this view is perfectly simple and convincing, but it will not, perhaps, be accepted by Germany.. .SiE Edward Grey puts it in this way: "There is no .comparison between the importance of the German navy to Germany and the, British Navy to this country. Our Navy is to us what the .German army is to Germany. , To them a strong navy'increases their prestige and diplomatic influence, and their power of protecting their Commerce; but it is not a matter of life-and death to them, as!our Navy is to us. No superiority of tho British Navy over the , German navy could ever put us in a'position to affect the. independence or. integrity of Germany. . , But.if the German navy" were superior to ours, they maintaining tho army that tney dp, it would not be a ; question of defeat—our independence, our vory existence, would be at stake.','

Nothing was moro natural than that this prospect of two great nations feverishly arming against each/other shoul'd have led Sir Edward Grey into a' burst of- passionate : regret at "the' growth of armaments. He admitted to the full, the virtues' of/a martial spirit, but he .'deplored the results to which it has led. "The great countries of Europe are raising enormous revenues, and something like onehalf of them is b-eing , spent on naval arid military'.preparations. You, may,-, call it national..; insurance, that is perfectly true; but_ it is.equally true that one-half of'"the national rovonue of. tho great countries in Europe is being spent on what flTOjk.after all, preparations to kill each other.- Surely the, extent to which this/expenditure has grown really becomos a satire and a, reflection: upon civilisation.,- Not in our generation, perhaps, hut. if it goes on •at the rate at which it lias recently' increased, sooner or later I believe it will'submerge that civiliSation. The burden already shows itself in national; in our'national credit' than m the national credit of. othor nations Mmt-sooner, or later,ju it goes/on at this rate, it must lead to national bankruptcy." This language,; we aro) not ■unfamiliar with, but it takes on a new force.when it is. coupled, as ,it was ; :;in, Sik Edwakd Grey's:speech, witha/firm.declaration.of the necessity, of facing the.position with as much courage as regret. .' '' .*, : ,V: ', ■ "If we alone," the Minister added, "among the l Great. Powers, g,aye up the competition and sank into a position or .inferiority, "what ■ good should we .do? None whateyer;; '■ no' good'to ourselves, because we cannot realise great,ideals of social reform at home when we are, holding our qsistenoe at the mercy, the caprice, if like, : of another nation. That is not feasible. If we fall into a'position'of inferiority our self-respect is gone, and with' it that enterprise whioh is essential both to the materiaFsuccess of industry and to the:carrying out of great ideals. ' Wo should fall: into a state of apathy; we should .cease to: eount:for' anything amongst 'the nations of Europe, and we should he fortunate- if pur.liberty were left and we did not. become the conscript appendage of sonio stronger Power. .-That is a brutal way of stating tho'case, but it is the.truth." ."',•' Nobody, after hearing such words from Bucti a source in such a situation as that in which ; they. were delivered, can doubt for a moment the seriousness of.; the naval situation and the great struggle in which the overseas States of the Empire miist assist Great Britain. ..- ■'.'".■ .