ARMED MERCHANTMEN.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1753, 19 May 1913, Page 5

ARMED MERCHANTMEN.

IS IT REVIVING PRIVATEERING? A "WORRIED" ADMIRALTY. By Telegraph—Press Association-Copyright (liec. May' l ,lß, 5.5 p.m.) London, May 17. Tho "Manchester Guardian," dealing with the schemo of the First Lord of the Admiralty (Mr. Winston Churchill) for the arming of merchantmen, saya that it threatens tho revival of privateering, and is a bad method of countering foreign volunteer fleets. ■ Mr. Churchill's armed merchantmen, the "Guardian" says, only differ from privateers in tho fact that they will be using their guns in , sclf-defonco instead of !in attack, but tho distinction,, is not easily drawn. Moreover, many ports will prohibit-. <he docking of tho merchantmen witli oxplosives aboard. This new policy, the "Manchester Guardian" continues, has shown that tho Admiralty is seriously worried with tho problem!of protecting the merchant shipping, and tacitly admits that tho Fleet cannot discharge its first duty by now suggesting that they should stake their existence in war time upon tho efficiency of tho gunnery on merchantmen. It would have been much better to extend the Declaration of Paris in order to obtain tho complete immunity from capture of sea-, borne commerce, except contraband. In any case, the article ooncludes, the arming of merchantmen ought to be publicly discussed. ". ARMING FIRST-CLASS LINERS. The First Lord of tho Admiralty, Mr. Winston Churchill, in introduijmg his naval estimates for jE'i6,300,000 in tho House of Commons, referred to tho arming of merchantmen, which would bo sub- , sidised accordingly. Admiral Lord Charles Beresford commended the proposal for the arming, of merchantmen. This, ho said, was worth moro than fifteen Dreadnoughts. The real danger was not invasion, but starvation. The steamer Aragon, of the ltoyal Mail Line, was the first vessel to be equipped in April with tw'o guns. Mr. Churchill, in the courso of his statement, foreshadowed closer co-opera-tion between tho Admiralty and tho merchant Gcrvice. He said: "It was made clear at tho second Haguo Conference and the London Conference that certain of tho Great Powers have reserved to themselves the right to convert- merchant steamers into cruisers, not merely in national harbours, but, if necessary, on tho high seas. Thero ia flow good reason to believe that a considerable number of foreign merchant steamers may be rapidly converted into nrmed ships by the mounting of guns. Tho sea-borne trade of the world follows ,well-marked routes, upoh nearly 'all of which tho tonnage of the British mercantile marino largely predominates. Our food-carrying liners and vessels carrying raw material following these trade routes would., in certain contingencies, meet foreign vessels armed and equipped in the manner described. If the .British ships had no armament they would 1)0 at the mercy of any foreign liners carrying one effective gun and ,(i few rounds of ammunition. It would bo obviously absurd to meet the contingency of considerable numbers ■of foreign armoured merchant cruisers on the high seas by building an equal number of cruisers. That would expose this country to an expenditure of'money, to faeet the particular danger altogether disproportionate to the expense icaifsisd to' any fo'reign Power in creating that, danger. Hostile cruiserß, wherever-they ore found, will be covered and suips-of-wa.r;'but the proper reply to an armed merchantman lis another merchantman armed in her own defence., : This is tho position to which the Admiralty has felt it', necessary to draw the attention of leading shipowners. Wo havo felt justified in pointing out to them the danger to life and property which, would bo inourrcd if their vessels were totally incapable of offering any defence to an attack. Tho shipowners have responded to the Adiijiralty invitation with cordiality, and substantial progress has ' been made iu the direction of meeting it as a defensivo measure ■by preparing to equip a number of first-class British' liners to repel the attack of an armed foreign merchant, cruiser. The Admiralty felt that tho greater part of the cost ot the necessary equipment should, not fall upon tho owners; and have decided, therefore, to lend the necessary guns, to supply ammunition, and to provide for the training of members of tho ship's company to lorm the guns' crews."