THE BRITISH NAVY

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 18 August 1909, Page 27

THE BRITISH NAVY

m FOUR ADDITIONAL DREADNOUGHTS. LONDON, August 12. Mr M'Kenna has announced that the four * additional Dreadnoughts will be built by contract. August 14. The sub-committee of the House of Commons appointed by Mr Asquith has issued a report on the Tecent allegations made against the Admiralty. It declares that during the time covered by Lord Charles Beresford's allegations — namely, from April, 1907, to April, 1908, no danger to the country resulted from th> Admiralty's arrangements for war whether considered from the standpoint of organisation or the distribution of the fleets, the number of ebips, or the preparation of war plans. '" We feel bound to add," says the committee, "that the arrangements were quite defensible in themselves, though not ideally perfect, but tbey .were in practice seriously hampered through, the absence of cordial relations between the Admiralty B/>ard and the oommander-in-chief of the Channel feet. The Admiralty does not appear .to have taken Lord Charles Bar-esford sufficiently into its confidence regarding the reasons for the dispositions to tfbich he took exception. Lord Beresfoxd, on the other hand, would appear to have failed to appreciate or carry out the spirit of the board's ""nstructions and* recognise its paramount authority. The committee is impressed by the differences of opinion among ofScers of high rank on naval strategy and tactics, and looks forward- with much confidence to the further development of a naval war staff, from which naval members of the board and flag officers and their staffs at sea may be expected to derive common benefit." August 15. The naval discussion with Australia has ended. There will be a final plenary meeting of the conference. Though The Times considers the report of the committee lowers the public estimate of Lord C. Beresford's judgment, some of the Unionist papers maintain that the condition of the navy during the period under review has been shown to be unsatisfactory. Moreover, they say, every member of the sub-committee is a member of the Government. The Daily Chronicle (G.) says that, while nothing could be complete*- than the vindication of the Admiralty, yet something is amiss — firstly, the uncertainty about the navy policy ; and, secondly, the personal feud.-, which, if continued, would threaten more serioufi dangers to the country than any that Lord C. Beresford Ims so far imagined. The DaiJy Mail states that it is intended

to make Malta a sort of Clapham Junction of Imperial defence. Thi'ough it will run all the lines by which the Empire's fighting force will bs concentrated to any threatened point.

Mr M'Kenna will to-day present bills to amend the Colonial Naval Defence Act so as to make better provision respecting naval establishments in the British possessions.

MELBOURNE, August 16. One result of the .Oefenee Conference is that the alternative to a Dreadnought will be cruisers, but beyond that nothing is known whether the cruisers will form part of an Australian fleet or of the Imperial navy.