The Chronicle PUBLISHED DAILY. LEVIN. TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 1914. NEW ZEALAND'S NAVAL

Horowhenua Chronicle, 24 March 1914, Page 2

The Chronicle PUBLISHED DAILY. LEVIN. TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 1914. NEW ZEALAND'S NAVAL

One aspeel ui : the policy o! the present (iovoniracnt is utterly wrong , . That as])ecl is thu oni- >u respect of naval dciCncu. The di'inaml i'oj- a New /ralaiul Navy is persisted in by the present Administration with a warmth that could not be exceeded by any peanut purveyor or sellers ol! corned cay may , who hoped to secure profitable trade will) the sailors. There beiii.i' , no possibility of suspicion that any New Zealand trading firms have the ear of the present Government, the insistence of Cabinet on the need for »ivin,u' effect to an obsolete agreement is the more puzzling.' The agreement we speak of was made heiween the British Government and Sii Joseph Ward in H)0i). when tin; policy of the Biili'sh Naval Administration was less wise than it is to-day. The agreement |)iovided for ibe inainicnance in Australasian waters of a powerful fighting si|uadvon. Complaint was made last weel( by Ihe lion. V. M. B. Fisher. Minister for Marine, about the British Admiralty's change of policy. The Admiralty's agreement had been broken, be said,

"for reasons that did not seem adequate to the New Zealand Government. The actual position in which we now found ourselves could be staled in simple terms. After n'ivin.u , a subsidy of -£iO(),O()() and a battleship costing , two millions, we had less ii<>'Mini>' power in the dominion to-day than we had in ISST. "When we paid a contribution of £-10,000 a year we had (i.ti-lit injr ships of a tonnnirc of -11 .'•')() tons. N(nv, for .in expenditure" of a quarter of a million a year, we had (!•!()() tons of out-of-date defence three ships Avhicli were no earthly use at all. If (he British Government, in its wisdom, was unable to carry out ,thc atrroeiiKMit made. New Zealand must assert its nationality, and have at least an up-to-date ship.* Cabinet had t decided that New Zealand should have a model cruiser of ihe Bristol typo, which would cos! very little more in annual cost for interest and upkeep than the amount of our subsidy of £100.000. More than this, fhere is the fact that then l did not seem to be a g'ood reason why tho British Government had not supplied this country with an adequate protecting fleet. , '

Tlic need for nnval defence of New Zealand in Pacific waters may become apparent if ever it unfortunately happens that (ireat Britain's navy moots with irreparable defeat at sea. r riio besi means of averting Iliat possible danger is lo keep the "British fleet strong where the danger 7TT attack exists. l T ndnubtedly that point is the iVorlh Sea. For Australia (here "is" a local . dangur, with Japan, bill a I'ew days', sleain from her northern shores, bul Ts T ow Zealand's ease is apart : her points of danger are those whoroin tin , trade routes converge for the run northward to (neat Britain. There I here will arise the danger to New Zealand shipin.U, in time of actual war. This view of Ihe ease was pill to The Chronicle last week by* a μ-eiitle-nian who views lliese matters quite apart from dominion politics. Lately he travelled to England and back by the trade routes, and on Ilieiii lie was most impressed by (he loneliness of the voyage : that is to say. hy the in frequency will) which other vessels were sighted. From New Zealand to South and from thence across the South Atlantic. vast distances id" ocean lie, and aiiv vessel desirous <»f eliidinu , observation thereon eouhl vary her course by live hundred miles from tin- regulated trade unites and still keep true lo her desi ina! ion points. What chance, then, can ;i rival nal ion's meii-o -war have of intercepting our traders on this part of the run 'r and, further, how eouhl rival nation's raiding vessels be kepi permanently here in fhe absence of available slalionsP !>ui where (he world's routes converge from all quarter* .

- -where flic sc;i run northward h> (ireal Mritain commences .-iloni: , the fronts of the Kur<>])r;i!] countries "there" cxhl ilie tyreni dangers, iilld hliere. wisely. 'I he Hi'ifisli Adrnirnlty eonives iis sf I'Oiiii'fsi- line of Tli;if eeiilriilisiiiiou is ;i wise policv. we venturo to s:i\ : ;iiml For ill = ■ yoorl repute of TS r ew Zenlntid we would

like to K'c tin.' prese.ui A-dmiuihtta-Uoii ;il);-iti' Us dc]]i:ilid I'M' the ob--Uvaiier iif tile clVete U lulfTt ;ik iliji* of !!«)!). \aval matters surely should lie a- free Ifoin the local polilics bia> as iniliiary defence a<l in il leilly :s in Xew Zealand. Th'/refore the ] nc-o nt Government gracefully can recede from theposition i;*l< 11 u]) in recent public pi lera iices I>v the lion. Tames Allen am! the' Hon. F. M. B. Fisher, without evokinu , from the public coinnieiiiators anything more than Ihe adiniraiion due to a statesmanlike retraction.