The Guardian (And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times.) FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1921. THE EMPIRE CRUISE.

Hokitika Guardian, 22 February 1924, Page 2

The Guardian (And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times.) FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1921. THE EMPIRE CRUISE.

Os' file *27tn. November last,, tho Special .Service Squadron, under tho command of Vice-Admiral Sir Frederick Field, lefti England to make a circuit of the globe visiting in turn till the British Dominions. The .squadron consists of the two battle-cruisers, ILNES. Hood and Repulse, and the four light cruisers, Delphi, Dauntless, Dragon, and Dance. Later it will be joined by tho light cruiser, Adelaide of the AustraIhin -Navy, in place of the Dunedin, which will rejoin the squadron later ai.d which is to become the flagship of the New Zealand Squadron. It is a matter of speculation, says the Naval Journal, how far the people of our race, who live within the compass of tile United Kingdom, beyond the conlines of which a vast number of them have never journeyed, will see in it anything more than a temporary depletion of the forces (already sufficiently scanty) necessary for their own salvation in case of any untoward circumstance arising. But by those who know anything of Greater Britain and of our kinsmen living overseas, the value of such a cruise will Ire regarded as almost incalculable. For to thorn, and indeed to nations other than our own immersed in the world-slough of confusion resulting from the Great War, Great Britain still remains Great Britain, the rallying point to which, in l he welter of world politics, all eyes are turned in the shaping of their destinies. The visit of these ships—real lighting n its of first-class efficiency—will serve to show tho flag under conditions that will bring a thrill of satisfaction to the people of our race overseas, and will serve as a reminder of the days when cruiser squadrons, permanently placed on British and foreign naval stations, brougnt to them an ever-present sense of national pride and security. The King’s ships, flying the White Ensign, will bring home proudly to the minds of all of British descent, that unity of strength and purpose for which the Royal Navy stands to-day. Men of the British race long separated from tho Mother Country will see in them the Homeland itself brought to their doors. They will realise that in the conduct of their daily affairs, whether domestic, social, or commercial, they live securelv in the shadow of a guardianship that represents the strength and majesty of ti:e British Empire. The cruise, too, should have a salutary effect in reminding the Dominions (if, as is doubtful, any such reminder is necessary) of what is essential to keep open the sea coninirnieations upon which their very existence and the existence of the Mother Country depends. A world cruise, such ns tho one how begun, is not of itself, sufficient to effect this. There must bo jv cruiser force ever ready at all ti-ipes I

to guard our trade routes and deny theii use to an enemy. Without such protection, in time of war, the successful defence of the British Isles themselves from hostile invasion would be of no lasting importance; for. as days and weeks went by, it would be brought home to our populace that the end of all things was at hnurl, with starvation staring them in the face. How near we were to disaster in 1917. ns the result of the crushing German submarine activities can be gathered from Rear-Admiral Sim’s excellent book ''l lie Victory at Sea”. In that year v.'e were losing a million tons of merchant shipping a month; a strain so terrific that, according to tho authorities, the limit of endurance would be reached liv November Ist. of that year.