DEFENCE OF THE EMPIRE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1434, 8 May 1912, Page 4

DEFENCE OF THE EMPIRE.

TITE WAIiKKGO TRIALS. ; Sir—lt seems to 1110 that tlio press of Australia has been sliirkiujr its duty in rcferenco to the building and . trials of this ship, which is referred to in almost every metropolitan or country paper which one picks up in New .South Walts us the "first battleship built in the Commonwealth." Tlio electors of the Commonwealth, who are responsible for tlio cost and maintenance, as well as for the policy which entails the necessity of maintaining an Australian fleet, arc thus kept in almost absolute ignorance of llieir commitments and risks by a system of makebelieve—a play too silly for children over ten years old. If my information is correct—and I am sure it is—the W-.u-rego was built in Kuglaml or Scotland, by British shipwrights, engineers, and designers, trained for generations in such work, and having the best facilities in the world. Her engines, guns, and machinery were all built in the same place and put together by the same cla's of men. Then the whole thing was taken to pieces at an enormous cost! ami shipped to Svr.ney to be put together again at the Government dock, so that we could publish a palpable Ho, as wo have been doing, by saving that wo built her. The keel was laid with much self-adulation and many lying speeches, and now, after a lapse of time greater than required to build the ship in the first place a few hesitating and careful trials of somo parts of her machinery are being made in such a way that defcels and shortcomings cannot become known to the electors of the Commonwealth, who have to pay the money that lias been wasted, and suffer the responsibility for inefficiency. The question whether wrought to have a locally-controlled fleet or not is a difficult one, because, if the contest for sea-power comes off within the next twenty or thirty venvs, before the ! Commonwealth has had time to increaso her population or resources, the Australian Ileet will certainly be a negligible quantity of 110 more Uf-c than the proverbial stick in the porridge pot. Our destiny, will be settled by the battles to be fought in European waters, and our first notico of defe.it will bo a cable mcssngo from lierlin announcing the cession of Australia to fierinim.v mid the .appointment of a German Uovenior to take charge of our affairs. If the building and manning of the Wnrreso nml our iwo other little ships is any criterion. I he Australia fleet when completed will have cost at least six times as much as it need have done, and that means that in efficiency for defence we will only get for our money and our effort one-sixth of what we might have had, taking iti.Hiat each locally-built ship is as good as if it had been "turned out of a llritish shipyard, complete and ready for action after te'-tiiig. and that assumption is certainly wrong. There is 110 hint of trying the Waircgo with her full battery power in operation, and until that trial is mads the taxpayers of Australia have 110 guarantee that she has any efficiency at all as a lighting machine, .fuilgin? by reports current as to the tunny difficulties that have arisen in merely assembling tlio parls and rivetting up,' it seems probabl" that il' such a trial were made she would shrike herself to pieces 011 tlie first discharge of her gun?. Now what I want to suggest is tlmt the Wan-ego should be handed over to the Admiral of the British local squadron, and that he should be to make a complete trial of her guns and machiiu-ry, as we cannot ■ expect to get an unbia'-ed i-ppnrt from I here who are re.-pun.-ible for any defects that may ba shown. What we want is the "truth, the whole truth, and unfiling but the truth," both to cost and efficiency, and I. for one object very strongly to the silly :'maks-believe - '

which is being ladled out t„ [|, 0 eleclors of Australia tor political or parly purpose--. Four or five years ago, in'my address as president ol the I'asUirali-ls' Association of New ,South Wales, I urged very strongly that the proper course for Australia and the other Dominions of Iho Lmpiro to take was to tax (lieniselvci to the same amount per capita as that, imposed on the llrilish taxpayer for naval defence, and then use the money (o build lirsl-class ships of the blest and most eflicicnt type, to l>a handed over to the Lords of Ihe Admiralty for u«e wherever they were most re<niircd. In (hat way it seemed to mo that we could really ami nl once as-i-t elfeclively in our own defence, and iu the defence of the ihupire. The suggestion was published in the London "Times," anil very si rongl y supports! in (lie same paper liy ihe lain Sir John C'oiunib, who after Captan Mnlisn was a leading authority on "sea-power." Our Cummun wealth politicians (unfortunately, 1 think)- adopted Ihe rival policy of 11 little local fleet of little fifth or sixlhclas.s ships of no u-e for our defence or «•) an assistance to (lie Hrilish ileei' which has defended us hitherto. Now we have inoro tnxation tliim that rei|iiired for .the first scheme (still growing), and no prospect of even a little ellicioncy. Surely the time has arrived for reconsideration. We would save money now mid again iu elliciency for defence by dropping childish make-believe and scrapping our little toy fleet at once.—l am, etc., W. K. AUISOTT. "Murrulla," Wingou, N.S.W., April 20. l'.S.—Xcw Zealand lias reason for congratulation in that she has escaped die Serbonian bog into which the f'ominonwealth is slipping.—W.K.A.