DEFENCE OF THE EMPIRE

Otago Witness, Issue 2895, 8 September 1909, Page 18

DEFENCE OF THE EMPIRE

THE AUSTRALIAN NAVY LONDON, September 1. Lord Charles Beresford, speaking at the Toronto Exhibition, said that if the result of the Defence Conference produced lan Imperial organisation for war, in I which organisation the whole Empire par- | ticipated, 't should preserve our supremacy of the sea intact. He pleaded for ' an organisation based on broad national, Imperial lines, and founded on the prin- , ciple of the five nations — one navy, one army, one flag, and one throne. Lieutenant Carlyon Bellairs, M.P. for King's Lynn, commenting on the Defence j Conference, states that the A*dmirailty, surrendering to its critics, also decided to reoccupy the Pacific. The strength of the fleet will consist of three fast battleships, officially classed as armoured cruisers of , improved Invincible^ type, but which are spoken of by both* the front benches as Dreadnoughts ; ako 18 . destroyers, nine eecond cbss cruisers, and submarines. Another change is contemplated in all the big-gun Dreadnoughts by introducing 6in guns for secondary armaments. The Germans hoaxed the Admiralty, by the use of painted canvas screens, into believing , that they had abandoned the 6m guns when the Naesau was launched, bu^ it has been discovered that ehe has 12 llin guns t and 12 6in guns. j OTTAWA, August 31. Lord C. Beresford, speaking at Toronto, said that, with Imperial defence complete on the basis of the overseai dominions sharing the burden necessary to maintain the security of the trad© routes between the Empire's scattered units, we shall ensure our future safety i September 3. Sir J. G. Ward, who was interviewed in Montreal, said he believed that all the dominions would ultimately agree on one navy under one control, local navies being impracticable. j MELBOURNE, August 31. Mr Deakin, in reply to criticism, declares that the new squadron will be thoroughly Australian in character. September 1. Mr Deakin, replying to questions in the . House regarding the scope and supervision J of the new squadron, said that the scheme did not provide for any additions to the i British squad Ton in Australian waters. The character of the new unit would be enth-ely Australian, and entirely different fiom the existing squadron, and manned, as far as possible, by Australians, with additions from the Royal Navy if sufficient I Australians did not offer. The Commonwealth also would have control of the large cruisers as well as the small vessels.