EMPIRE DEFENCE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1649, 16 January 1913, Page 8

EMPIRE DEFENCE.

r~. ■■ ' - CANADA'S CONTRIBUTION. SPEECH BY MR BORDEN. ; t * mi .ok 7,000,000. FOR THE NAVY. ap. , . • - KO ' — ir.s JP. "AN AID TO THE KING." . :«1 — : , lui Mr. Borden, the .Canadian Prime Mini 'ay ter, on Thursday (December 5). introduce i Dominion Houso of Commons ti idy Bill entitled "An Act to authorise mei ell sures for increasing the effective navi ■ a forces,of.the' Empire." Ho said: ro- The responsibility for the Empire's d ic- fence upoh the high 6eos, in which is I lie, Iks found the only, effectivo guaranteed its existence, aiid;. which has hither! lto assumed byiitho United ICingdon itn has .necessarily carried with it the n on sponsibility for and control of. tho En en pire s. foreign policy. With the enormoi on increase -in naval power which has bee ut, undertaken by all great nations of rccer in- years this tremendous responsibility 1m it 1 ??■ ftlwost impossible burden ■ upo a.® the British Islands, which for 1 nearly ie? thousand years have exercised so profoun !r ? oh influence upon the world's history. >al That burden' is-so great: that tho da has como when cither the existence of th ps Empire will be . imperilled' or the youn S 6 . "Dominions must join with th its lloltherland to make secure the conimo n " safety and common heritage of all, Who Great Britain no longer /assumes the sol responsibility for defence upon the hig seas sho. can no longer, undertake to a: suriic.the sole responsibility for and sol contrftl over foreign policy. I desire to express my warm apprecia 3 tion of the mariner in which wo .were rc f"• c?i*ed in' London by his, Majesty's Govern t- ment, who took v us most fully into tliei a confidence, im the, great"questions.of- for it eign policy and defence, and' whohav )G accorded'us all the relevant informatioi r- at their disposal. .A portion of-this- i 't necessarily, of. a. very' confidential charac ter, which ; cannot be nmde. public,* bu an important ; part wi|l be communicate* to the House in a document which'l shal '. lay.':on the/-table' this 'afternoon.• '(Her. . Mr.. Borden read' ths Admiralty- Memor , andum.) . 1. . One..Defeat; Fata}, i.' While war, is the. supremo arbiter'be d tween the nations we, to whose caro thii a vast, heritage has been , committed,' lriiis r-., never forget that we are tho trustees' o: io its; security. ■ Do Canadian's .sufficiently Is. realise, the, disparity''between tho.-'nava d risks of our Empire and those of any d other! natipii?' •< >, , i- '' A crushing defeat upon the; high sen! o' would-render the British-islands or-any it of; the Dominions siibject to invasion bj o'. any . great military. Powerj and: the loss o) 0 such a decisive battle by Great Britnir a wbyld practically destroy the' United King- . dom, shatter' the British , Empire to its ■ foundation,: and' change profouiidly the . destiny of its .component parts.,- . The ,ai vantages which Great Britain could gain -i from; defeating, tho naval forces of 'any other Power would; bo non-existent-; ixcept in so-far-as' the .result' would ensure a the .safety of the- Empire. On : the other •• hand, there are; practically, no limits ,to '} tho ambitions which might be indulged d by .-other Powers if-the.-British-Navy ..were 1 onco destroyed-or-disabled. k The great .outstanding-fact, which-ar- >• rests our attention, is that twelve -years s. n'qo tho British; British flag 0 were predominant in every. ocean of the V /world and along the shores of every, con- '• tinciit. ■ To-day tliey- are predominant rio--8 where except-in the ': The'para- >; mount, duty of. ensuring the safetv of homo waters has been. fulfilled by withT or'reducing the -squadrons; in every 'part of the World and by concentrating.nearly all the effectivo naval.forces in'close proximity to.the British Islands: In. 1902. there were 160 British warships ' on- foreign •; and .'Colonila stations,' as t against f6 to-day/ 1 1 Do not' imagine .that this result has - been brought about by any reduction of, ? expenditure, for; the, case is practically i tho reverse.' l Great' Britain's 'naval'cxs pendituro in 1902 was less than .£81,000,000:" ' for .the .present fiscal year it will exceed ' vC4-t,ooo,ooo.'."Why, then, has 1 tho naval , forces of tho Empire been so enormo'ust ly , reduced throughout the world, while . at tho ; same time the' expenditure litis- in- • creased by' nearly SO per cent? For tho ' simple reason that the increasing strength : other navies, and especiallr of tho German Navy,. has "compelled Great Britain, not only to ' increase her fleet • but to concentrate it'in tho vicinity/of the British 'Islands. In; short, the strain of .: meeting - the changed conditions has been so hea\Vandunccasing_that, in spite of largely'increased expenditure and-every possible exertion, the Admiralty have been compelled by the pressure of circumstances to withdraw or diminish' their forces throughout tho world. .. ' ; f -.- • ' .. -. It is neither necessary nor desirable hero to debate or discuss tho probability, or imminence, of war.' The real'test of--our action, is: the existence .or non-exist-ence of , absolute, security. Wo' cannot n , satisfied with anything less tflan that, for.tho. risk 9 aro.too great. • j Disaster Without War, . , It should ;'ncver be forgotten that without/war, without, tho firing of a shot or the ; striking- of 1 a blow, our naval 1 supremacy may disappear,, and with it the sole guarantee of the Empire's continued existence. I especially desire to emJhasise this, consideration,- for all his-' toryj .and especially modern History,-ion* .ye.vs to_us many grnvo warnings'that the ■ issue "of great events'may'be determined, and often is determined, not by'actual v.ar resulting in .victory or' defeat, but C'X the mero existence of unmistakable ana pronounced- naval or military superjonty on either side. -: The 'fact. that the trade-routes, vital to the Empier's con- , unued! existence'' are' indAquatelv defended .and. by. reason-of tlio necessary concentration in home waters is exceedingly impressive and even startling ■ Upon the information I' have disclosed -. o thp House tho situation, in my onihion,.is: sufficiently gravo' to'.-"demand 'iL .mediate notion.' -.Wo haveVasfed'his Majestys iiovernmsnt in'what form tem-wrary-and lnimediato aidican bo given by •fcwn" 4 i j ?. ncture % : T ho '.answer has been unhesitating and unequivocal: \\ e have no -hesitation in answering; #f.ter . prolonged Miote'deration' of all 'the" circumstances, that.it/is desirable that such ,aid should includo. the provision of a tho,]atgest and strong, est ships of war which science can build or money can supply." • v ... Unon_ inquiry'-as-t? the cost of such' a lnformed by the Adnnft i i- ■ wa - approximately £2,300,000, . including ■ armament and the nrst outfit of ordnanos stores' arid arnmunition. Tho total cost three such.battleships, ths most-powerful'in'tho world W w li, .£7,000,000. and wo a«k tho people of Canada through their Parliament ta.grant that sum to his ! Maicsty King of Great Britain : and Ireland-nnd of the .Over-Sea Domiriions in order to mcreaso the cffcctivo naval forces J of tho. Empire, to safeguard our shows ' and our seaborno commerce, and to make 1 secure the: common heritage of all who 1 owe allegiance to the King.' i These:ships,will "bo at the disposal -of 1 tjTfr r° illc common de- ' fenco of tho Empire.-' They will 1» main- ] tmned-and coniTollcd as part of tho Royal 1 Aavy, and we have an assurance:that, if n-iir n> f Vr°p n ty 6 futuro it,should be tho will of tho Canadan people to estahlislr a Canadian; unit of the lirit.h Navv.'thcsS f1 i i n J b8 ' rcoal . led by.'Canada'to form pait of that navy,, in which case thev will bo.niainfained: by- Canada and not by Great Britain. In _tho nieantimo I am 1 assured that special arrangements will bo' f made to give Canadians an opportunity of i serving as officers in these ships. , I .Best;NAvy In,the" World, £ ; 1 may be permitted to allude to British „ naval, organisation. "I have had occasion ® o learn, something of, its methods, and I ?• have good reason to conclude, that it is un- 1 iloubtcdly the, most thorough and cfFectivo in the world, Thcro have been proposal?, -n to. wlucn I shall not. do mom than olhule. £ that w<v should build up a great naval ? Canada. In my humblo jpinion nothing of an cffoctivo- character bo built"up-in this oountrv within a ? luarter or perhaps half a century. Even liciiit woiilfi'l)? but a poor and weak eubrtituto for - that splendid' organisation vnich the Enipiro already possesses,'aiid, d( vhich has been evolved' ami built up by si; 'enlunes of tho most searching experience in md the hnjhest'endeavour, Sc Whoro BHall' tho jthipa bo built? They

will bo built under Admiralty supervisic 1 in tho United Kingdom for' the reakin tlii at present there nro no Adequate facilitii for constructing tlieui 'in Canada. T1 additional- cost-ofconstruction in Canad I, would bo about for the'thro and it would bo impossible to cstiuiato t! delay. No one is nioro eager thairl for tli development; of shipbuilding industries i Gannda, but it cannot begin with tho coi striiction of Dreadnoughts, 'especially who these 6hips are urgently required witlii two or three yearn at tho outside for ret doring tho aid' upon 1 Vihich may depeh the Empire's future'existence. • I discussed tJiis e'ubjcct with the'Ac miralty, and they thoroughly realisa tha ■t IS not to tlio EmflireV advantage tha all shipbuilding facilities should be con centrated in. the United Kingdom. I ai: assured that the.Admiralty; is pcrpared i lis- 'J lO ffr'y future Mt.giva orders for tho cor jed "ction in Canada of; small cruisers, oi he vessels, and auxiliary craft'of varion ed-' £ ln( js. Tho plant required will bo rela ,-al P ve '3" small a? compared with that whibl is necessary for a Dreadnought battleship "An Aid!to'tho King."'. ™ Those ships ' will constitute /an ale •to the. Canadian peoplb to hi: m Majesty the,lung >s. a. token of their dere- to' maintain tlio integrity, oi m- S?, mp V? , ani ' a®ist in repelling am iiis r!^ r Z ll r tlircaten its security,. ell i. Canada these .ships to rang< nt tho Em: ins aw >• -tho. Mother; Country, on thrii"'f°fr W i Zcal " nil- ' Tlle y lri '! a of tbemost, powerful battleships * in tho world, and will bear, historic a l «W«ie« associated with this country ay mL? m fi B l sur<!d '? y his Majesty's Governho H ?• ' PPiding n final; solution of ng ! ®i q i ucsl | 011 - of J oic P-and influence, thev he V A® in london ol oh Minister during the whole or ea' ? £ each 3'ca.r, such.Minister to )le „? ( r ,®® ul ,? to all '.meltings S' l w of Im P ei ' inl Defence, is- -?ff t0 re ß?. r 4W as ono, of'its; perman,lo ■ m w]il>M:s." ]\o important step in foreign policy would-be undertaken without a- v? nsi, r atlori such a representative of Oanpda. . . n.'- ' The next ten , or, twenty, .years,', will -be , ir pregnant with, great'results for the Emir- P"*j And it'is,'of. infinite importance that ve ? uestlons of purely, .domestic concern, in h c ow cver urgent, shall not prevent amis ofvus from* using-, te .the height'of this c . great argument, vy -. iit But'to-day, while, the clouds are heavy jd and we hear tho booming th'iinill « r »»<1 6M the lightning flashes above re j. ,v?°n, wo cahnot'and'will not wait r- an d deliberate until,any impending storm ■ shall have burst; upon us ,'iri'~fury, and disaster. Almost unaided, tho Mother- , land, not for herself ;• alono, but for us", r has dono well in siistaihinsr tho- burden '? Of a vital Imperial duty, and in 'confront- ■, . ing and over-inasterihg a' necessity. 1 ■ of P r i national, existence,. 1J Bringing thq best., assistance that wo may in the urgency of tho moment, wo «°n>o in tnye to her aid' ih. token, of our . determination, to protect and ensure ' tlio safety.'and'integrity.of tlio:Empire,. and ,£ °f our - resolve .to : ,dofcnd,'on' sea." as. well A as on.land, our flag, 'our,honour!' and'our.' heritage. . ■ .' • ;, ■ '