JAPANIA RULES THE WAVES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVIII, Issue 81914, 8 January 1907, Page 4

JAPANIA RULES THE WAVES.

Eleven years ago Japan (writes the Auckland Star correspondent) had no navy to speak of—merely a few cruisers of which the world at large knew nothing till the battle of the Yellow Sea—and she was impotent with Russia, France and Germany interposed to rob her of the fruits of her victory over China. The positioii to-day is vastly different. Japan's navy is now equal to tackling that of any Power save England, France, and possibly Germany, with reasonable prospect of success, and by 1010 our Eastem ally will possess a navy strong enough to "take on" any fleet likely to be "in being" four y.uars Jience. Not content with the two Dreadnoughts and four- cruisers superior to their best ships in the late war, the Japanese are about to begin a still more ambitious programme, which in- , eludes warships beside which our latest battleship,, the Dreadnought, will be a comparative baby. The new battleships, one of which will be laid down at the end of this month, is of 21,000 tons, against the Dreadnought's IS,OOO. Her armament consists of twelve 12-inch of the latest pattern, ten li-inch, and twelve 4.7. Her speed will be twenty knots, with turbine machinery. She is to be buiit at i'okoauka. A second monster of the same sort is to be kid down next year.

A couple of enormous armored cruisers will accompany these two, and preparations lor laying them down are in progreai at iiurc. Xlics'. Witt: be the :|>iige=t warships ulloat, being designed for nearly Jsoft. They will carry lour 12-inch, eijriit 10-iuch, and a dozen 4 T in guns. The horsepower, with turbines, will be as high us 44,000, and the speed twenty-live knots.

As regards the ships now in hand, one battleship of the Dreadnought class is launching this mouth, and tin other at tin? end of the year. Uf tht four cruisers two arc nearly completed, the two others are about a yeai behind. By 1!)0S Japan will doksiw six vessels of the Dreadnought cutegory; that is to say, of the saint number as ourselves, and she will have four others building, whilst the United States will not have more than two completed, if that, and llermuiiy. not over three at the outside.

Ti\e object of all this naval activity is in pursuance of the Japanese ideal—a navy that no other fleet in the world can attack with any prospect of success.