ADMIRAL JELLICOE AND THE NAVY.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 268, 20 April 1917, Page 1 (Supplement)

ADMIRAL JELLICOE AND THE NAVY.

(Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, First SeaDord, delivered a speech of the highest interest on being presented with the freedom of the Fishmongers' Company, London. First appealing to the men of the shipyards to make good with all expedition the losses to our mercantile marine occasioned by the submarine menace, "now far greater than at any period of the war," he proceeded to. the following illuminating account of modern eea warfare and the incomparable work of the British Navy :

TN the Napoleonic era ships opened ■ fire with guns at rangesrof about 800 yards. The ships of to-day open fire at 32,000 yards (or eleven nautical miles) range, and gunfire-began to be very effective at 18,000 yards. The torpedo as fired from surface vessels was effective certainly up to 10,000 yards range, and this requwod that a ship should keep beyond this distance to fight her guns. As the -conditions of visibility—in the North Sea particularly—are "frequently such as to make fighting difficult beyond a range of 10,000 yards, and as modern fleets are invariably accompanied'by large numbers of destroyers whose main duty is to attack with the torpedo the heavy ships of the enemy, it wall be •cewgnised how great becomes the responsibility of the Admiral in command of a fleet, particulairlv under the (cowfitions of low visibility to which I has* referred. As soon as destroyers tumble upon a fleet within torpedo range, Abe situation becomes critical, for the heavy ships The submarine is another factor which has changed the situation, as tihs class of vessel, combined »ith the lusa of mines, entirely pwwents the close blockade resorted to in former days. In addition these two;.weapons add great'y to the anxieties of those in command. It is one thing to fight an enemy that you can see. It is a different matter to deal with a hidden foe.

NELSON'S DAY AND TO-DAY. r" Nelson watching -VfHeneuve off Cadiz had bin inshore squadron close into the enemy's port, and could seei what was actually going on inside that port. The British Fleet of to-day, watching the German High Seas Fleet, is not in the same happy position. The further the watching sh'ps are from the enemy's port the greater is the facility with which the enemy can escape, and the greater nis the difficulty of intercepting him. There was never any likelihood in the olden days of the enemy's fleet escaping unseen unless the blockading squadron was forced from its watching position by bad weather which, of oourse, occasionally occurred. In our day submarines and mines compel the watching forco to take up its station further and further away. In spite of this, and in spite of the German boast as to tho occasions on which the German Fleet has searched the North Sea for the British Fleet, our enemies have only on one occasion ventured sufficiently far with their main fleet to give- us an oppartunity to engage them. No vessels, neutral or have sighted the High Seas Fleet far from its ports en any occasion. It is true that on August 19 of last year the enemy's fleet came within measureable distance of the English coast, being sighted by some of our patrols, but turned back, presumably because the presence of our Fleet was reported by their aircraft.

THE REASON OF RAIDS. Raids on the British coast with fast cruisers or battle-cruisers have been carried out, but on each occasion the passage from German waters has been made, apparently, under cover of the night, the enemy appearing off our coast at dawn, and before comparatively smaJl forces. "Such feats wore, of course, impossible in the days of slow speed, and are now undertaken probably only in the hope of enticing mi into the adoption of a false strategy by breaking up our forces to guard all vulnerable po'nts. I do not criticise the Germans for their strategy, or for not running any risks with thd'.r fleet. On the oaher hand, their boasts of searching the North Sea for the enemy must bo pronounced as without justifiable basis.

The next point to which I would like to draw your attention has reference to tho world-wide nature of the war in relation to the British Navy. It may be interesting to state that the approximate number of vessels of all classes which compriso the British Navy of today is nearly 4000. Our activites range from the White Sea, where we are doing our best to assist our gallant Russian Allies, past the North and South Atlantic, where cruiser squadrons are at work, on to the far Pacific, where wo are working in co-operaton with our Japanese Allies. I should also draw attention to the arduous and continuous work of the cruiser squadron in Homo waters, which is mainly engaged m preventing supplies from reaching our enemies. Some SO ships- of all kinds aro intercepted and examined weekly on the high sees by the vessels of this squadron.

7,000,000 TROOPS TRANSPORTED. Without our Mercantile Marino, too, the Navy— and, indeed, tho nation — ootiW not exist. Upon it we have Wn dependent for tho movement of our troops overseas- —over 7,000,000 of men having been transported, together With all tlw guns, munitions, and stores reojinrod 1) ytho Army. Tn this hasty survey of tho naval side of war I have not a« yet said a word on the point which ; k really nearest to my heart—tho spirit of the officm and men of the Fleet of which I have so recently given ii]> tho command. I sa.:d at tho out.-et of my remarks thai cond'tions affecting naval warfare differed to-day from theso of a hundred years ago. Tha l applies almost exclusively to material There has been !itt!o change in our men, except in the development df higher principles and in fuller recognition of individual respons'iU'litv in the national' cause. The spirit of our forefathers lives on, 'n nil its vigour and devoton to King and country, in tho officers p.nd men of to-day: with thw added—that there is a higher standard of personal worth, of mental alertness, and of moral rectitude. Can thoro bo any doubt of the «sue

when th's fundamental belief is associated, ,i-. it \n, with all-pervading patriotism and unflagging zeal to accomplish tho end that wo and our Allies have in view? Of one prominent fact T can (.peak vsu/.h fu-ll confidence born of experience—tho nat'on can depend on tho Navy being ready, resourceful, and reliable.