NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 148, 18 March 1920, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY

I The memorandum of t.he First Lord of the Admiralty on the Naval Estimates throws no great light on the form the Navy of the future will take, but it indicates that Britain has no • intention _ of forcing the paccr in warship building at present. The German Navy has been sunk, the Austro-Eungar-ian Navy has surrendered, and the Russian Navy no longer counts. For the first time for many years practically the whole-of our capital ships in full commission were dispatched recently to cruise in the Mediterranean, and there was no possible cause for anxiety in leaving the North Sea empty. Two countries only are busying themselves with shipbuilding programmes —the United States and Japan. Both aro building capital ships on traditional lines, but our margin ovor thcin is uniplc, tlwuikß to our expenditure during the war of somewhere between £250.000,000 and £300,000,000 on new construction. No conceivable- combination can place us in danger, . avid the nation can well afford to economise in shipbuilding until the lessons of the war have been more fully digested and the international situation and the future igioupings of the Powers have bccome less obscure. » * * * One of President Wilson's famous Fourteen Points was the reduction of armaments to the lowest possible point. It is a strange sequel to Mr. Wilson's peace-making for his own nominee. Mr. Daniels, Sccictary of the United States Navy, to emerge as the advocate of a Navy that can "lick creation." Today's messages indicate that Mji. Daniels's enthusiasm for the big stick is not fully shared by Congress, which is showing a tendency to cut his estimates _ heavily. The Daniels programme is not remarkable for originality, and is a concentration on capital ships in their present form,' which may be rendered obsolete bv new developments at any time. Our big ships, kept the seas clear of German surface craft-exccpt for Ithe occasional raids. They were powerless to protect our mercantile marine against the depredations of the submarine. Germany began the war with about thirty submarines, and builfc about 350 up to the armistice. We aud our Allies employed in anti-sub-marine operations a total of 5000 craft. Yet the 380' German submarines were able to account for 5380 Allied or neutral ships, representing 11,430,000 tons displacement. We are still without any authoritative expression of naval opinion as to the submarine menace of the future. Neither of this nor the -blood-curdling possibilities of the air docs Mr. Daniels appear to take much account in putting his money on the capital ship of current typcj # # When King George visited Australia in 1901 as Duke of Cornwall and York, ho opened the first Parliament of the Commonwealth. The Australian Federal Capital League is-now endeavouring to arrange that.the Prince of Wales, or his coming visit, nineteen years after, shall be asked to lay the foundation-stone of the capital to he built at Canberra. The. Commonwealth Government has already spent just oil a million sterling on this oostlv scheme of building a capital city in the bush, and one quarter of the sum has been laici out on a water supply for the present benefit of a- population of 19*15 persons, as enumerated at the census in December, 1918._ The pros pects of any substantial additior in inhabitants have looked remote of late years. The Federal Capita. League, however, has brought the question once more to the front bj offering to stand all the expense o: building the capital, up to threi millions sterling, if allowed the benefit of the increment in lane value resulting from it. The Syd hey Telegraph points out that a: this increment will go to' the Gov crnmcnt, which owns all the land it could get the capital eventuall; for nothing, and have all the cos of its premises in Melbourne to th< good. The moral extracted fron the remarkable proposition of tn league is that if capital buildini is a good enough investment fo private people with no object bu to mftke money out of it, it shouli be good enough for the Govern ment * . » * A GO-AHEAD spirit of self-relian enterprise is abroad in the Norc Auckland district. Recently we re corded in these columns how th North Auckland local bodies ver proposing to pool their, local road and bridges works and invite firm of Australian contractors wit! extensive up-to-date plant to com plete the lot on modern construe tional methods. Yesterday, furthc Activity in the far north was evi doncud in the report of the deputa tion asking for either the complt t.ion of the North Auckland Mai Trunk railway under contract wit a. definite time limit, or for permis sion to form , a company with capital of two millions to carry ou the work subject to necessary safe guards to the State. It is wort recalling that provision for Jocn railway construction on a ratin, area basis was made in the Locn Railways Act of 1914, of which St Williah Fiuser was the authoi The measure has not so far bee taken advantage of, but if Nort Auckland wants its railway, an. the Government is not prepared t go beyond its unhurrying method of adding an occasional mile ever; year or two—in these circumstance the settlers have every right to 100 for encouragement to proceed c: their own initiative. if « «• * The removal of the double income tax now imposed on persons livim in Britain and having investment in the Dominions, or vice-versa, ma; be of' advantage to us in encourap ing a new type of well-to-do immi grant. Sir Thomas Mackenzie ha frequently stated that there is large number of English people o independent means who are anxiou to settle overseas and rcav thei families under colonial conditions The high cost of secondary educn tion and the increasing dilßcultie in the way of setting their sons uj in life in the Old Countr;- ar among the principal causes in tin movement, whirh the Riprh Commit si oner has r n nre w ntc'l ''s likely t attain considerable dimensions shipniwr accommodation bcrnim available. These people shouli form a valuable addition to on j ro'-uilation, and the. removal of lb "HI i rati on to pay , both, the hiV income tax and Mi" Ne\ 7"!'!p,nd onn. as well, should be : factor, in determining them to tak the plunge and transplant thoi [ fa-miles to these newer lands.