The Manawatu Herald. Tuesday, August 18, 1914. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 1286, 18 August 1914, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Tuesday, August 18, 19 14. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The Government is taking steps to find work for all able-bodied men who may be thrown out of employment through the war and the Department of Labour is inviting representatives of employers and local authorities in the chief centres of the Dominion to form employment committees. Persons who are thus workless, and employers who have vacancies, are requested to notify the nearest office of the Labour Department. This will give no excuse for anyone to hang about, pipe in mouth, waiting for something to turn up in his own locality and to run up a score with tradespeople in the meantime. In many centres relief committees are being set up and lists of unemployed will be submitted to them and work found, and assistance rendered to dependents. It is anticipated that the Public Works Department will be able to find work for all able-bodied labourers through the agency of the Labour Departments bureau.

There are several people in this community who are very down in the mouth over the war and are croaking dismally about the terrible hardships that will be inflicted on the people of this country as a result. They see the proverbial wolf a hundred miles off. Already they have done much to throw cold water over local efforts on behalf of the patriotic fund. “Poor souls with stunted vision,” they. This is not the time to croak. It is a time to make cheerful sacrifices on behalf of our glorious Empire which is being menaced and to keep the old flag flying. We may be called upon to suffer to some extent. Let us be prepared to do so cheerfully and not with a craven spirit. Let Foxton evince to the other parts of the Dominion that it stands second to none in its patriotism and loyalty.

It will be remembered that last week a German fleet of submarines made an attack upon a section of the British Fleet in the North Sea and were driven off and one sent to the bottom. Sir Percy Scott, one of our greatest naval experts bad something to say in the London Times recently anent

submarines

"Submarines and

aeroplanes have entirely revolutionised naval warfare,” he wrote, ‘‘no fleet can hide itself from the aeroplane eye, and the submarine can deliver a deadly attack even in broad daylight. Under the circumstances I can see no use for battleships and very little chance of much employment for fast cruisers. The Navy will be entirely changed; naval officers will no longer live on the sea, but either above or under it, and the strain of their system and nerves will be so great that a very lengthy period of service will not be advisable ; it will be a Navy of youth, for we shall not require nothing but boldness and daring. In war time the scouting aeroplanes will always be high above on the lookout, and the submarines in constant readiness, as are the engines at a fire-station. If an enemy is sighted, the gong sounds and the leash of a flotilla of submarines will be slipped. Whether they must go out to search for their quarry : if they find her, she is doomed, whether it benight or day, fine or rough, and they give no quarter; they cannot board her and take her as a prize, as in the olden days ; they only wait till she sinks, then return home without even knowing the number of human beings that they have sent to the bottom of the ocean. Will any battleship expose herself to such a dead certainty of destruction ? I say, No. Not only is the open sea unsafe; a battleship is not immune from attack even in a closed harbour, for the so-called protecting boom at the entrance can easily be blown up. With a flotilla of submarines commanded by dashing young officers, of whom we have plenty, I would undertake to get through any boom into any harbour, and sink or materially damage all the ships in that harbour. It a battleship is not safe either on the high seas or in the harbour, what is the use of a battleship ? It has been argued to me that if a foreign Power destroys our submarines we are at the mercy of his Dreadnoughts. There can be no doubt about the accuracy of this statement, but submarines are difficult to destroy, because it is difficult to attack what you cannat see. A Power that sends out ships to look for and destroy submarines will be courting disaster ; the submarine when in the water must be kept away from, not looked for. Submarines will be hauled up on land, with arrangements for instantly launching them when required ; they can only be attacked by airships dropping bombs on them. What we require is an enormous fleet of submarines, airships, and aeroplanes, and a few fast cruisers, provided we can find a place to keep them in safety during war time. It has been argued to me that our enemy will seize some island in the Atlantic, get some fast cruisers there, with plenty of coal, and from this island prey on our commerce. This is ridiculous; the moment we hear of it we send a flotilla of submarines towed by an Atlantic liner, she drops them just when in sight of the island, and she brings them back to England when they have sunk everything they found at the island. If we go to war with a country that is within striking distance of submarines, I am of opinion that that country will at once lock up their Dreadnoughts in some safe harbour ; we shall do the same ; their aeroplanes and airships will fly over our country ; they will know exactly where our ships are, and their submarines will come over and destroy anything and everything that they can get at. We shall, of course, do the same, but an island with many harbours and much shipping is at a great disadvantage, it the enemy has submarines. Ido not think that the importance of submarines has been fully recognised, neither do I think that it has been realised how completely their advent has revolutionised naval warfare. In my opinion, as the motor vehicle has driven the horse from the road, so has the submarine driven the battleship from the soa.”

Japan has issued an ultimatum to Germany to quit Kiau-chau, lock, stock and barrel not later than the 23rd inst. The Japanese Cabinet has for some time been considering the question of chipping in on the ground that British possessions in Eastern Asia are in jeopardy. By the terms of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1905, which was renewed in 19x1, Britain and Japan pledged themselves to preserve the common interests of all Powers in China by insuring her integrity and independence, as well as the principle of equal opportunities for the commerce and industry of all nations within her borders. They agreed, on the other hand, to maintain their own territorial rights in Eastern Asia and India, and to come to each other’s armed assistance in the event ot those rights being assailed by any other Power and Powers. The naval strength of Japan is as follows : Four Dreadnoughts, six battle cruisers, xo pre-Dreadnought battleships, nine _ armoured cruisers, 13 cruisers, . 55 destroyers, 13 submarines, 63 torpedo-boats. Two of the Dreadnoughts, the Settsu and Kawachi, carry each 12 tain guns, while the Aki and Satsuma have tour 12m and 12 xoln guns. Five of the pre-Dreadnought battleships are about equal to the British King Edward class, mounting four rain, with a heavy battery of 6iu guns. The battle-cruisers Kongo and Hiyel are very powerful vessels of their class, each carrying eight 14m and 16 6in guns. The other four are less powerful than the

Australia, each carrying four i2in as their main armament, with secondary batteries of Sin or 6in weapons. The Japanese Army comprises 19 divisions, and it is estimated that the mobilisable war strength is 1,400,000 men, of which the peace strength is about 280,00. Japan has a fine auxiliary fleet, comprising 19 modern liners, ranging from 5000 to 20,000 tons. These vessels, some of which are on the Australian run, in time of emergency would carry 6in and 12-pounder guns.