The Dominion. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1914. BRITAIN IN WAR TIME

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2266, 28 September 1914, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1914. BRITAIN IN WAR TIME

A perusal of English newspapers to hand by last Saturday's' mail affords most convincing evidence that Britain having been unwillingly forced into the greatest war in her history will be no laggard now that all her efforts' at a peaceful settlement have been frustrated by Germany's ruthless ambitions. It can be Justly said of the Asquith Government that whatever opinions may have been held regarding it prior to the war, its conduct since has met with the fullest approval and' support of all classes and all parties. The appointment of Earl .Kitchener to tho supreme control of the military forces, appears. to have. had a remarkable', effect,' not only in establishing confidence in the. minds of the public that everything possible would'be done to ensure that Britain's military preparations would' leave nothing unprovided for; but the appointment itself, has been also regarded as in the nature of a guarantee that the Government itself, would prove equal to the greatness of the occasion. The promptness with which Mr. Winston 'Churchill, First Lord of the -'Admiralty, : dispatched the Fleet to.- thq,'North' Sea, anticipating as it did the outbreak of hostilities, was another vital factor in strengthening confidence in the Government, and reassuring the public as, to the competence of Ministers to I meet the emergency with which the Empire was faced. Mr." Churchill had many warm admirers and many bitter enemies prior to the present war, but to-day in Bri-tain-his admirers only a,rc to be found. It may be that he was fortunate in that the Fleet had been mobilised, and was ready for quite another purpose than the * present war. but the fact remains that it was ready,, and it is generally felt that this circumstance proved to be one of the blows to the Kaiser's plans. The, danger that has been feared' in connection with our Fleet has been that Germany in the event of war with Britain would first strike a foul blow at the British Fleet, and bo cripple. it before it would • have a chance to prove its • real strength. Tho breaches, of treaty obligations and' the despicable outrages committed by Germany in its land operations show conclusively enough' that only opportunity was wanting for the Kaiser to make an equally treacherous move against tho naval strength of Britain. It is satisfactory to know that in the Mother Country the utmost confidence prevails in connection with the British Fleet. It is not merely that' we have more fighting ships than Germany, but it is claimed that at the present time the Empire is particularly fortunate in the men who command the fleets and the ships. It is an era of old-young men in the Navy—old in point of years of service and experience, and young in actual years of living. "Not;an admiral over 60," remarks the" naval writer of the London Times, in reviewing the commanders of the main fighting fleet, and he goes on to direct attention to the special qualifications of the officers for their tremendous responsibilities in the present great crisis. The secrecy observed regarding everything of a naval and military nature that is happening in Britain is quite astonishing when consideration is given to the freedom usually exercised by the British Press at war time as well as at all other times. Tlie papers arc full of interesting war matter, but it mainly relates to past events of a nature which disclose nothing which could bo of sn,y itso to tho enemy. Wo in Now Zealand..

have been inclined to grumble at times over the vague and tantalising nature of the news sometimes sent us,, but we appear to have received practically everything of importance that has been published in the English Press relating to the operations both at sea and on land. It is noticeable that despite the anxioty and loss and suffering caused by the war, leading public men, business men, and financiers in Britain arc actively engaged in their own ways in strengthening the economic resources of the Empire, and so' assisting in a material way to make the burden of the war as light as possible. If a given branch of «trade, is lost on account of the war, then suggestions are promptly forthcoming for making up the loss in another direction. There is no sitting back and waiting for things to get better; the prevailing spirit is one of action, and in this part of the world we cannot do better than to follow the admirable example thus set us. In all directions the people have been awakened to.the magnitude of the crisis, and with that knowledge has come an added'strength to the universally expressed determination to "see the thing through" to the bitter end, whatever the cost may be.