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Hokitika Guardian, 25 February 1918, Page 2

Admiral Jfxmcoe’.s confessions regarding the conduct of tlie naval side of the war. indicate that the pre-war opinions of Sir Percy Scott as to the vulnerability of the dreadnoughts to submarines, is being recognised as a fact by the highest naval authorities. Britain’s sea might was maintained before the war on paper by the number, tonnage and gun-power of her dreadnoughts. When the fray began, the

rpaiatynanee of naval power rested on ) her destroyer fleet, which had been sacrificed in part to secure the material advantage of the dreadnoughts. The destroyers are always on service, busily bent. The dreadnoughts have had very little opportunity to show their metal, and the plaintive talk of Admiral Jellicoe on this score can be well understood. While naval affrays are few and far between, it is clear that to maintain this negative condition, the British patrol system in the North Sea area must be very complete. There is a wide range of waters, and a constant stream of mercantile and warship traffic on the part of Britain and her Allies, together with the neutral ships to safeguard. Tlie care of all this rests mainly on the British, and the work falls chiefly to the destroyer portion of the greatest licet of all history. But great as it is, it has lacked in destroyer power, a fact which accounts for the American destroyer flotillas crossing to British waters as soon as the United State entered the war. There is of course much secrecy about the Allied naval movements and developments, but conditions are such that they must be ever on tlie alert. This is indicated by the freedom of the seas from the enemy ships. The occasional enemy raids are “tip and run” events, and the enemy ships do not get away scatheless always. What the navy has done and is doing, commands our highest admiration and fullest confidence in its ability to carry out a victorious conclusion.

Tick business-like way in which the | Christchurch people, on behalf of Canterbury, are setting about the organisation for the completion of tlie Arthur’s Pass tunnel, indicates that the agitation is going to be carried on ag- 1 grossively. What we especially like about th© movement is the fixing of definite time in the near future For the opening of the through connection. At present there is a feeling that it may be l finished in the very uncertain future—sometime, perhaps never. The Canterbury people are not thinking in years, but months. Twelve or eighteen months are mentioned as a reasonable limit of time, and looking to what other countries have done in constniotin similar large works, ’ eighteen months is a very liberal period of time, if tlie job were taken hold of in the determined way other countries have demonstrated. As was instanced before in these columns, when the North Island trunk railway between Wellington and Auckland was nearing completion, Sir William Hall Jones, the then Minister of Public Works, concentrated all available forces on the work to put it through by a certain date. He gave | bis officers explicit instructions to rush things and fixed a definite time for completion. The task was accomplished well within the period set, to the 'credit of the Minister and his officers, i If the present Sir William will go and do likewise he will be able to have something of a record behind him which will associate his name with a groat national work for all time. It would not be too much to ask Sir William Eraser to assemble bis leading Departmental officers on the work and get from them an idea bow best the line can be finished off in twelve months. He could then direct that they put through the scheme, and so the task would be accomplished. With the unanimous support being accorded the undertaking by ” tlie Dominion press, tlie Minister would be well I supported in any such action, and the end justifies the means.