The Hawera Star. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1924. THE NAVY.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 13 September 1924, Page 4

The Hawera Star.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1924. THE NAVY.

Delivered eeery evening t>j & o’clock in Hawera, Matmia. N^nnanby. Okaiawa, Eltbara, PaCet>> Waverley, . Mokoia, Whakaznara, Obanga,, Meracnera, Fraser Bead, and Otakeuo Manutahi, Alton, Burleyville, Mangafc.ki, Kaponga, Awatuna, Opunake,

At the end of July the great naval review was held at Spithead. On previous occasions the King has inspected the fleet at sea when it has been engaged in manoeuvres, and the review at anchor at Spithead in July was the second during His Majesty’s reign, the first being in 1911 during the Coronation festivities. To British people the sea and its ships have from early times made a strong, appeal, and no one should be ignorant of what the Empire owes to the Navy and the great men who have been responsible for its control. For six centuries past the waters at Spithead have been the place of assembly for Britain’s ships of war, and one may look upon the array as the outward and visible sign of the inward and deep-rooted desire of the nation to maintain the peace of the world and to guarantee justice and freedom for all nations. The Navy has been employed as a defensive force, and through its activi-

ties many a menace has been swept from the seas. Sometimes it has been employed in overpowering pirates and preventing slave traffic: sometimes its services have been required for punitive expeditions; but chiefly has it been used to fight against nations whose ambitions have led them to challenge civilisation. The Navy has grown enormously, especially during the years since steam was first employed for driving marine, engines, but behind the material progress has been the spirit of the nation, the spirit of discipline and determination to uphold the great, principles upon which British citizenship rests. It was bemuse Germany outraged those principles of freedom and justice and sought to destroy civilisation, replacing it by the harsh tyranny of Prussian militarism, that the Empire entered the war. Without the Navy, Britain would have been • as powerless as Belgium and France to stop the German invasion; in fact, without the protection of the long sea communications afforded' by the British ships the Allies must have been defeated; The Battle of Jutland, important as it was in that the German fleet was ptmished so much that it dared not face a second battle, was, we think, of less importance than the wonderful vigil which the Navy maintained throughout the war, meeting each enemy attempt by improved methods and very careful organisation. The Navy proved capable to perform its very difficult task, though at times the position caused anxiety, especially when the Germans concentrated upon the submarine campaign. In the recent review at Spithead there were twelve fewer ships taking part than at the inspection by the King in July, 1914. In 1914 there were 205 vessels engaged, no fewer than 55 being battleships. Of these thirteen were sunk during the war, while others were scrapped in 1919-20 and later in conformity with the Washington Agreement. The following table gives the comparative figures of the two fleets

Types. 1914 1924 Battleships ... . ,j. ... 55 10 Battle cruisers ... ... 4 1 Cruisers and light cruisers 55 ,9 Flotilla leaders ... ... 1 10 Destroyers ... ... ... 56 88 Submarines ... ... ... 20 24 Aircraft carriers —2 Minesweepers... Minelayers 7 Auxiliaries ... 7 12,

; Totals ... 205 193 The strength of the Navy does not depend only upon the number of vessels composing it, and probably the 193 ships in the Spithead review this year would prove far more powerful in war time thgn the 205 upon which the Empire relied in 1914. Some, people think th.at the German fleet having surrendered there is no need for Britain to maintain her great sea power, but it is likely that similar views were held in Drake’s time after the Spanish Armada was destroyed by the help of the elements, and in days following the Battle of Trafalgar. At the present time there are no signs that any naval Power is likely to challenge Britain’s sea supremacy, but that does not mean that the possibility does not exist. British citizens are encouraged by the more general desire in the world to establish permanent peace to hope that the time is coming when disarmament can be safely effected, but that time has not yet arrived and, knowing that the British Navy will never he employed for aggression, we believe that it is a duty not only to the Empire but to the whole world to maintain it at a. strength and efficiency which would enable it to take its part effectively, if it was necessary again as it was in 1914 to uphold Right agaihst Might. ■