THE SITUATION IN ENGLAND

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2384, 13 February 1915, Page 8

THE SITUATION IN ENGLAND

VIEWS OP A LONDON

BUSINESS MAN

[ NAFAL'MATTERS f AMERICA'S ATTITUDE , CRITICISED accompanying e-xtraots from tho • letter (dated July 5) of tho London re- - .'iresentativo of a leading New Zealand ; business house- to his principals in the .will bo.read with interest: — f • "Thb' situation here is a difficult one I Ho 'sum up.- Reinforcing drafts conI : tinuo to bo sent to the front to mako ! .cood-the wastage of war, and wo do S Jittlo-more than hold our position. As tho spring approaches the newly formed ; Srmy will probably be sufficiently train- ; tei to . put into , the fighting line, and probably not till : then will; any solid • effort be made by the Anglo-French f Unny to drivo the Germans across •: i'heir. frontiers. . Meanwhile tho naval situation remains j; ?ittlo changed. .'At. Christmas I 'had a [ , very -interesting letter from a young r naval officer, serving with the North rSea Meet. The concensus of ; opinion 'i in . tho? Fleet is that ./tho .policy of the naval commander is, by recourso to raids and such like tactics, peeking to stimulate, a cry in this country for somo change of piolicy on thl part of our Admiralty, leading to a dis'ypersidn -of our fighting force and thus wgive the German Fleet a chance'of coming out-and beating us in detail. This would be, sheer, .folly, and Admiral Jeli licoe will not, I think, be diverted from ha sound policy at the bid of a few i scaremongers. His!purpose is clear —to "contain the German Fleet 'in ■ Kiel waters, and if it ventures to come out to fall upon it! .with overwhelming force and . destroy. 'it, and whilst, preventing or cutting occasional/raiders; not to :-'be perturbed :'-if, under "cover of fog; /jthey do slip through and.do .some coast s(-damage: the-like is incidental, and the j l ,'Joss of a few score lives is nothing as i" against the, general situation Fld be dealt with. Far too much outI "srj. was made over the Hartlepoolf Scarborough raid, and it is much to bo deployed that Churchill is so prone to' I; rush into print'with sem'i-emqtional : let- :. ter's... -War is war,, and.we know it will i, be ruthless,, and it.is'well topursue j. our ends with a dignified silenco arid a / settled purposo, which is to overcome ij the fighting forces of 'the enemy on sea ) or land. '- ..' .'."Probably, more raids, will,be attempt-' ■ ed ; they are incidental and have no in- | flnence on the main issue if the coun--1 .-try.; will cool and; trust our i Navy to 'do its- duty! .It'is' no child's [-play to steam at" speed with all lights ; out in tho darkness of a i North Sea » night— a . soo. strewn with .mines' and lather dangers,.and ihe strain on a oom- | 'inandefris- enough without 'the out6ry ; of a sensational,. Press. i. "From.the.Falkland islands I had an IJ interesting letter'from the' Secretary of : | Gpyemor.-v-Graddpck.-.jifc would ap--applied for* a heavier ship, ! routtho Admiralt|Yefused,'*aiid : he knew |jwlien v he::'put t&'sea'-'that..lie"ivas.going Uto. his death. ;--The . German, Fleet had j hoped - to'.i'seize, tho'-'Falklands- -to coal :; andj.destroyr-theiwireless.- Women- and ; childreK.were .all-"sent '■ inland;; '.-"the : j archives of - the' Governor's office were vhuriedj'and there was an exciting interval until ,if was known,'that Sturdie jhad .won the. race ' and destroyed the -fierman Fleet.bar'oneyTcssel" "M'Ke-nna, Homo Secretary, has be- ; Saved very"badly'vover 'the spy question. ihowing no, vigour _or ■ initiative. It has ; ieen perfectly- .well " known, that spies were thick on .the East Coast, and that 'J signals were exchanged - with the Hartlepool raiders and the land; now a i. tardy-order has oome out that all Germans naturalised, or otherwise, are to ;be sent' 30 miles inland. Even this is ': not enough. . '|._''Jnst now the . President of tho United-States..of!• America is- protesting ■ over our disturbance with their., trade" | For: years America has allowed Mexico boundary line to remain { m a state of anarchy,'-and-has allowed A A.mencan ' aiid British subjects -to - bo :wurdered and trade destroyed, and has tlono -. nothing" effective .to ; coiipel order ! Br exact' reparation for injuries, ■ and nndei; the'sacred shadow of the Munroe , 'doctrine, has :■ prevented' others doing. ! what ho is unwilling:or unable to ac- • complish himself. .Has President Wil-l-son not got the political grasp to underthat, if: the : Germans won now, 1 iMiinroe doctrines or any other doctnnes human or divine would not restrain .them from treating Munroe .doc-' ■'trines with scant consideration in their ! policy of world domination. If he. wants ■Jto do anything praotical let .him say to that if' they sow mines otitrirside • their territorial waters they' will .make it-a ca.su s'bel li, but he has not -political-pluck to do this and this ; 'wJuiioofhisis unworthy of his nation. - , i:°u refer to the supreme, need of ■our adding .to the fighting force, and , rightly so, but the fact is that we have j already more men mobih'sed than iriJ structors can he foand for, and even I officers coming homo on short leave are ; bemg employed to driU men. Still; ; there are a good many able-bodied loafcrs about who cannot be touched except by The contempt of their fellows does not affect them."