The Daily News. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26. TRAFALGAR DAY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81874, 26 October 1906, Page 2

The Daily News. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26. TRAFALGAR DAY.

OXE hundred and one years ago, IJclsun won the Bailie of Tratalgar, decoyed thf ]• rench fit*' l * broke the p<>\ur ot the enemy of "Ui nation and established the pic-em nence of tiie Briii-li Navy. Last SunI day was the anniversary of the greatest naval occurrence in all history, and Now Zealandors in a spa=mou*c way recognised it. In Nelson s day l, Ciie uglv old barges Nelson and his tais wt-re -o proud of were mere transports to gee truops tog_nher for hand-to-hand work. Nelson did not man-1 ot-uvre to any gieat extent. He rush- j ed for the spot wflorc lie wanted the fight to take place, and it took place. Once together the ships of th£ contending navies were simply resting places or the foot of men intent on slaying each other. Nelson fought his battles by sheer force, pluck, endurance anil enterprise. The battle of to-day goes to the e'ev-

crest scientist, the great strategian. One boat steams at the rate of twen-ty-five knots, and fires at another steaming the same rate ten miles away. Modern armaments, the absolutely fiendish perfeciion of imple nients of war, have so changed naval warfare that Nelson and his l navy would be absolutely and entirely helpless at the guns of one up-to-date cruiser. But the courage and the need for a pre eminent navy is greater than it ever was.

Just as Napoleon in those old times was so sure of breaking the mignt of the British Empire that he struck medals of himself as king and emperor oi England and others commemorating the march of the 1' rench on London, so do Continental nations turn their longing eyes to the richest city in ail the world. We in the colonies receive contradictory cables informing us that the naval estimate;, aie being cut down, and they are not being cut down, that the reserve iieet

is being weakened, that the reserve fleet is being strengthened, that the Biitish public is apathetic, that it is not apathetic, that Germany is building a navy thai is going to outclass our navy in less than no time. But chiefly we in the colonies accuse our people at Home of gross and culpable negligence. It may be that amongst the alleged fools who run a country that has supplied (lie blood and sinew for these countries (where of course there are no foi,la at all), there arc people who see as clearly as the eha.rman of the Ruaponga Road Board or Captain Thingumebob, of tho Waipune Naval Volunteers, and who arc as able to judge of England's preparedness for the encounter they all believe will come.

It is credited in many (juarters thai Germany has covetous eyes on Bit tain. 1 tic man who caies to io,h past the irothy mournings ot luu pt'acnt German Emperor, and tae boastings ot tae military paity in German)

ftnuws liiac UK Gcimaus arj ui me iamc race as ourselves, and arc iac mfjiu eager to beat us for our trauc than for our country. They aie lighting with us at uic present time a war mat is ot as groat importance as tiie prophesied war of hjio —and there is uo evidenee except me wail* oi the pessimists among us that Germany or any other nation is beating j ihe iritioh nation in enterprise, irauc expansion, up-to-dateness and method. The opinion of Continental sentiment \ye so much in the o u,ny is usually military or naval op moil.

Tlit- sailor or soldier naies ine ilicuglu ot ins occupation being tut oil:, and lie is able 111 high places to iuincni disputes between nations. This position being fomented by military persons it beconies apparently nece>saiy lor the nations'to build warships in a feverish hurry.

GERMANY builds a warship, Britain builds two. Une nation builds a gun 10 throw death twelve mih>, another nation builds one to throw destiuction at a range of titteen. Whciein lies the safety of the nation which keeps on building and maintaining it= lieel and tne personnel "f the ilea ill a state of the highest proficiency. The nation with tile largest trade, and therefore the deepest coffers, is the nation that can afford erhciency the best, and there is no nation on the face of the earth at the.moment whose commerce is so flourishing or increasing in such volume as that of the British Empire. Despite the wails of the uoli(nics that tho Old Land has gene to sleep over her gup. has let Hie loom lie idle, and the field untitled, yet it happens that the nations that aro supposed to be mostly millionaires and extremely wide-awake still hot row money from the universal ''uncle" John Bull.

The point is that when John Bull builds ships—and he is building twice as fast as any other nationally—he is able to pay for them without impoverishing the country. And we who criticise the etiiciency of the Navy, and tell the Navy how to go about keeping up a state of efficiency Uj wo heip in any way besides in a ciiticism? Tnere was a gathering ot peop.e in une of the large centres on Sunday lasi, engineetcd by a local branch of the Navy League. Ine people d:d not go to the function to subscribe any money for building a new waiship to defend the shores of New Zealand, neither did they roll up out of re-pect to the Navy. The volunteers who attended were few in number—just a few citizen soldiers who were supposed to be loyalists to die deepest dye. Why should they celebrate Trafalgar Day?

WliA'i' is Trafalgar Day anyhow? Wiihout Trafalgar, for one tiling, ihcre would have been no British NewZealand, without it the British nation would most probably have been a dependent (fie, without it no color nips, no Dominion of Canada, without it no naval tradition. Do you think Tiafalgar Day matters? Anoiher trifling incident happened on Trafalgar Day seven years ago. Ah. but the volunteers didn'i want anv invitations to turn out then. On that day a small body of men left New Zealand among scenes of tlia wildest enthusiasm en route for South Africa. where iliey gained the eulogy of the lje-> of Briiish generals. Who gave them a single thought la-t Sunday 3 Cheering frantic crowds are of no earthly use t« a country while they only cheer, hti' if the seeds 1 t loyally that have llu ir origin in such ciowris make any of ihe eheerers go away and do -omelhmg for his couii try besides yell, tlun keep cheering Irantic crowds on every national occasion, ~

W'r. want a navy in the Australian States and \>w Zealand. Th. v |i>n' *»'" one John Hull allows us L not ef ii i* merely an expensive luxuiy. We an- not quite .sure whether John Hull wouldn't gladly throw off tin' shackles of the. Australasian colonies, and w are not quite sure whether Australian sentiment does no: favor Mich a course. Whatever happens, the recurrence of Trafalgar IVi'v on thi' :\<\ of every Ociob'r. .-hould i-'iniiid 11s ilial it is from that (';iy in My ihnusind eight hundred ; r<\ f'v ilia" ih'' naiM»n owes jis exigence a- the gieaiest the world ha* sc-n. Pondering 011 things, i'. 's for i'verv !■> help to keep t,-' 1 nation in the forefront tlm-ugh all the years to be.