MEDITERRANEAN NAVIES

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1548, 18 September 1912, Page 7

MEDITERRANEAN NAVIES

A CONTEST FOR SUPREMACY. Bi TckErarh—l'ress Association-Copyright (Kec. September 17, 31.30 p.m.) Rome, September 17. The Italian press claim that as Trance aims at possessing naval strength superior to Austria and Italy, the latter must realise that tlie old entente relating to the Mediterranean have no longer any rnison d'etre, and must nlso consider Hip possibility of Great Britain utilising Egyptian surpluses to build an Egyptian fleet, under the British flag. Austria and Italy must therefore hasten to secure an equilibrium of naval forces.

AN ENCIRCLING OF GERMANY. (Rec. September 17, 11.30 p.m.) Vienna, September 17. Tlie "None Freie Prcsse" says gravo grounds exist for hastening the conclusion of peace betweeu Italy and Turkey. Tho concentration of the French fleet in tho Mediterranean is extremely important. The attempt to encircle Germany by land has failed, and an encircling by sea is now- being attempted. Italy cannot view the French fleet in the Mediterranean indifferently, and must draw nearer to Austria.

NAVIES OF THE DUAL ALLIANCE. . 'A NEW CONVENTION. The Naval Convention which has been arranged between France and Russia (writes the naval correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph" under dato of August 3) is rather of political than of naval importance at the present moment. At the same time it throws some light on the ideas entertained by the two Admir-alties-'ns to the possibility—and, indeed, necessity—of co-operation on tho seas .in future years;

The naval convention behveen Russia and France amounts to a distinct notification to neighbours—and to Germany in particular—of the unity of aim nnd solidarity of naval policy of the two Powers of the Dual Alliance, and, even as matters stand at present, may to some extent affect German plans of fieet distribution. The real ■naval, apart from the purely political, factors connected with tho new situation, arc not easily assessed, because the fighting value of such men-of-war as Russia now possesses cannot be lcadily fixed. On the one hand, she has a Baltic squadron of four battleships and four armoured cruisers. The former include the two newly-completed ships of the linperator class, with the older Tzarevitch and Slava, and tho latter ■ tho Gramoboi, llakaroff, Bayan, and Pallada.

Something of the same doubt as to the war value of the Russian fleet haunts one in weighing the sea-power of France. Tho Republic has a much greater naval tonnago than her ally, but there have been in recent years indications of something being wrong in the administration; and it is an undoubted fact that the moral of the personnel has not yet recovered from tho disastrous effects of the rule of the Socialist Minister of Marine, M. Pelletan. But some progress has unquestionably been made under the firm administration of the present Minister for Marino, M. Deleasse, and his predecessor, Admiral de Lapeyrei'e, who is now senior officer afloat, with supreme control of the inaiii squadrons which are concentrated in tho Mediterranean. There is reason to doubt that month by month the war-worthiness of the French navy is increasing, and that, consequently, the navel power of the Republic is growing at a greater rate than its, tonnage. . . . These are the considerations which the new Franco-Russian convention at once suggest, and it remains to inquire what armoured ships of the new types the 6evpral Powers of tho Thial and Triple Alliance could throw into tho scale. Such facts as these are, first, for reasons which hnvc been already given, necessarily misleading, because they are not a test of fighting power; and. secondly, ; tbere is no evidence that the Triple Allies have any such naval convention as has been arranged by France and Russia. Bearing these points in mind, it is of interest to note that when the ships now under construction or projected immediately, -nro completed—that is, in three or four, or possibly even five, years from now—ths position will bo as follows-.— Dual Alliance. Nβ. France 13 Russia 11 Total 21 Triple Allinnce. Germany 2,1 Austria 8 Italy j* * Total 35 It will b? seen that there is a considerable disparity between the two groups. Numerically, France and Russia would havo eventually ons Dreadnought moro than Germany if shipbuilding in thesp two countries proceeded ns rapidly as it does in German yards. This is far from being the case, and, though there may be sbnio improvemont-for which Ihero is amplo opportunity in Russia, which has taken nine years to build the latest addition lo her Baltic fleet-thorp is ground for anticipating that cither of tho Duiil Allies will in the immediate future attain the perfection of industrial organisation which enables German shipbuilders lo finish the largest man-of-war in about thirty or thirty-six months. Therefore, in units of the new type, Germany alone will remain, it may be anticipated, superior to the Dual Alliance. It maybe added, as a footnoto to these reflections, thot bv the time the Dreadnoughts mentioned above are completed, the British Fleot will possess thirty-five, apart from the battle-cruiser of the Commonwealth Government.