Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, OCT. 31, 1899. War.

Manawatu Herald, 31 October 1899, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, OCT. 31, 1899. War.

In confirmation of our leader on Saturday, cablegrams have come to hand that French and Russian newspapers persistently advocate the extension of the Russian sphere of influence in the Persian Gulf, the trade of which is mainly with India and Great Britain. This is simply offering an inducement for Russia to step in and assist France and Germany as we showed! would be done, when the two latter countries go so far as the " Le Matin " newspapei suggests as to collective action on the question of maintaining the balance of power in South Africa, or broadly speaking, go to the assistance of the Boers. The President of the Orange Free State is doing his best to encourage the. Boers in Cape Colony to rise, and had we not a large force already in that colony, with more to arrive, we might have found a task equal to the Indian Mutiny to suppress, and two or three of the largest European Powers ready to aid them so as to secure advantage to themselves elsewhere. Our readers will not fail to notice also that despite the London Times discrediting the rumours of a European coalition against Great Britain, yet an insurance broker in Sydney has received a cable message from London underwriters stating that on and after November 10th all Australian produce for Great Britain will be subject to war indemnity rates. We have no desire to create a panic but it is as well to be prepared for some upheaval, and there can be no doubt but that the actions of the British Government point to some such being expected. In the event of war with a naval power the following statement of our fleet, taken from Whitaker's Almanac!;, the standard authority, will be of interest. It gives a list of vessels of the Royal Navy as on ist December, 1898, and we find that the list comprises 489 vessels, 89 of which are armoured battleships. We were led to this investigation to find out what vessels are in commission and what are left for the reserve fleet. Of the 489 vessels 218 are in commission, including 49 armoured battleships, thus leaving 271 vessels ready to be placed in commission, which would include 40 armoured battleships. On November ist, 1898, there were building (some completed by now) 13 first-class armoured battleships and 46 other vessels, comprising first-class cruisers and torpedo-boat destroyers all of high speed, which brings the reserve up to the formidable number of 52 battleships and 277 other vessels.