DEFENCE OF AUSTRALIA.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81824, 17 August 1906, Page 2

DEFENCE OF AUSTRALIA.

SPECIAL COMMITTEE'S REPORT, , Melbourne, August 16. ■V' e le l ,ort ' approved by the Comnuttoo on Imporial Defence, and prepared at tho request of the Federal uoviTmnent, deals exhaustively with nlSr 0f dof °' loo of the Com - A second ■ report supplied by the Committee covering details an d estimates of the revision! of coast, defence, is secret, and was mot tabled ! just night with tha scheme of defence. Tho opening part of the report discusses the broad principle otf Imperial naval defenco and the necessity of maintaining the supremacy of the sea. It says : "Any attempt to wrest it from Britain can only be made by the fighting of groat naval battles, in which the main fleets of the contendmg Powers are concentrated. Although raids would be mado on distant portions of the QjJmpire they, would only bo of secondary importance, as the ultimate issue otfj thq war must depend upon the result of fleet actions. The constant policy of the Admiralty is to keep British squadrons oh distant stations sufficiently strong to protect trade from normal foreign squadrons stationed at soa." ' Th . e re Port continues : "The object of making tho naval commander on the China station responsible for the strategical distribution of the cruisers on the China, Australian, and East . Indies stations is' simply to ensure that all tho ships .of the enemy in these ee a s may be dealt with at tha earliest possible moment whereven ■ found. Closely concerted offensive action by powerful seagoing ships \vill atford the only effective protection to ~ a Australia's floating trade, whether on the high seas or in local waterß." b Regarding % risk of raids on the 11 Australian coast, tho report Bays ! "Sa s long as the British naval strength is J maintained as the basis of security of g the comtoand of the sea h n " probable enemies, , attacks on the Australian! coast will y bo limited to hasty raids by s shiglo vessels and small squadrons." e Discussing tho means of meeting e raidte, the Committee urge the necessity for fortified harbours of refuge, y There i$ no likelihood of an undefended h own 'boing subjected to bombardment if as an alternative to the payment of ls an indemnity, even if it were not the (. case that any wanton damage would ' provoke reprisals, whioh must fall l ' heavier on a weaker maritime power, o Stress is laid on the need' for defendr ing tire cable lat landing places. ®ha only fortified ports required as strategic harbours of refuge are Frdmantle, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Nonmanby Sound, ejld Hobort. It is calculated that the maximum number of vessels engaged in a raid would <bo threo or four, "willl a idisembanking force of a thousand at the outside. The report says : The _chie{ I- defect in the present Australian "arint. m'ents is wont of homogeneity and: deficiencies in accessories,, A scheme of reorganisation is outi- lined. e Regarding Captain Cresswell's pro- . posals for a local navy, the cofnJnitteq is of opinion that the proposals app--11 ear to be based on an imperfect cony ceptiotn of the requirements of naval e straregy of the present day, and improper application of (naval force. n It concludes : —''The natural and leg--8 itimato aspiration of Australia to furf riish a distinctively Australian element to tho sort power of tho Empire will 0 find a satisfactory realisation .in 'an in- ■- creasing degree, when tho schlemo (still . in its infancy) initiated by thte fcraval agreement of 1903, has had~ time to take full effect. In the future it may be expected that an inoroasini; .number! of ships, specially manned and officered by Australians, will be included in tho fleets of the Royal Navy. This will in time of peace ensitts. wide opportunities for training, and enhance the fighting value of the units to a degree unattainable in a small navy; while in the event of war these ships will represent Australia, anid enable s her to take a more worthy share/ in i. tho operations than if her naval activity were.confined to guarding age ainst problematical attacks on her 10 coasts."

SPEECH BY MINISTER OF DEFENCE. Received 16, 11.36 p.m MBLBOtTBNB, August 16. Senate Plaj ford, Minister of Defence, in reply to questions regarding the Defence Committee's report, stated the reports wero not yet received from the Government's own officers. A groat many inquiries would be required before the Government were able to say how far they acquiesced in the recommendations. He admitted that personally he was more favorable to the recommendation of Captain Crcsswell than to the Committee's representations.