THE BRITISH NAVY

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 35, 5 November 1917, Page 5

THE BRITISH NAVY

"MADNESS TO PASS INTO BALTIC" j FIRST LORD REPLIES TO j CRITICS j SUBMARINE CAMPAIGN GOING WELL j i I BRITISH LOSSES LESS THAN ! ESTIMATED j

London, November 2. Speaking in the House of Commons, Sir Eric Geddcs, First Lord of the Admiralty, replying to criticisms, said it would Ijc madness for tho fleet to pass into tho Baltic, as tho Germans would occupy and fortify neutral islands in itd war. . .

The German dbjecfc in seizing command in the Gulf of Riga vb® * n order to gain facilities for an attack on Reval ami an advanco on Petrogrnd. fto responsible naval officers would support such an enterprise as an attack on tlio Germans in tlio Baltic.

Dealing' with the submarine campaign, ho said tho measures taken wet® effective. In September 90 per cent. of tlio total number of vessels sailing on the Atlantic trade routes wero convoyed: and sinco tlio convoy system was started the total loss was livo per thousand. Tlio displacement tonnage of the Navy in 1911 was 2.-100.000 tons. To-day it was 71 per ceut. greater. The personnel or the Fleet before tlio war was 116,000; to-day it was 390,000. Tlio (tomans claimed to have sunlc 808,000 tons of shipping of all nationalities last August. They sank little more than one-third of that amount, and tlio British tonnago snnk was little more than half of that of all nationalities. Tlio German September iigures vrcro 672,000 tons, but tney sank far less than ono-third of that amount, and the Brit ifih. loss comprised less than hall 01 tiioso of nil nationalities. . The net reduction of tonnage in tne last lour months is to-day 30 per cent, less than was estimated early in July; and tlio total not reduction since tils beginning of the war from all causes in British ships 'over 1600 tons is under 2,500,000 tons gross, or li per cent. After summarising the progress made for combating the submarine warfare. Sir Eric Gcddes referred to the fact that tho Germans wore building submarines faster tiian hitherto. They had not wit attained their maximum strength. The submarine warfare was therefore becoming a test of determination, grit, and ingenuity between tlio two contending forces. • lie concluded: "Tho submarine warfare at present is going well for us. Una is justified in regarding the futuro with courage and coniidencc. Ho recalled that tho German raercMtilo marine before the war totalled 5,600,000 tons. To-day nearly half had been sunk or was in tho Ententes hands. —Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-lteuter.