BRITAIN'S AWAKENING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 48, 22 March 1909, Page 2

BRITAIN'S AWAKENING.

CABLE NEW* [By Cable.—l'rcss Association,—Copyright.)

THE NAVAL ClilSlS. LI'I'TUISNT SR'UKT SKUVK'K. London, .March 1!). I A number of. f'cers and Commoners I lave signed a requisition' asking Air .Vsijuith for an inquiry into the administration of the Admiralty. Meetings are being organised in the „'ity and at Liverpool to discuss mailers ill connection with the naval crisis. Tile Standard's lierliu corre.s]ion,lent reports that -Mr Asuuith's statement that the Admiralty hud ascertained what had happened almost immediately I after the construetiou of Hie (.erman battleships was begun was an unpleasant sun-prise to Herman authorities who lind no idea that their secrets were so inefliciently guarded. lilaliorate precautions had previously been taken to conceal the extent of the shipbuilding operations. Melbourne, March 20. The Miuister for Defence, referring to the naval situation, said it was the moat serious situation that Hritisii statesmen bad Hud 10 face smcc the last century.

BX1) iW A I'OOIAS I'AKADISE. SI'UiKSTKD AUjI'ISI'JTOX UF BRAZIL'S J)KKAI)X(IU!UTS. Keeeived March 21, 4.11U p.m. London, March 2u. Xlie .Spectator declares that England lias been living in a naval fool's paradise. Many newspapers suggest that Jlriluin should' purchase Brazil's llnei- Dreadnoughts now being completed at Elswk-k and Barrow.

Xaval exports assort that the present, is an exceptionally opportune time lor laying now ships. " Material is eheap, in view of unemployment, and several great firms would In; glad to keep their plants running and their workmen together for the smallest margin of prolil.

I'EVKIUSiII (IKKM'AN cuxsthuoTIOX. ■ Berlin, March 20. The papers publish details of liie night and day work in extension of the new naval base of Wilholinshavcn, and declare that within a few months it will supersede, Kiel. All the Dreadnoughts 'and liivincibles under construction are stationed at 'W'ilhelnishaven. Count Uevenblow, naval expert, states that Mr. Asqnith is in error regarding (lermany's assurance that she will not accelerate the construction of her navy. Count Uevenblow boasts that (Jennany's shipbuilding is capable of more rajjid progress. Count Von Bulow (Chancellor) and llcrr von Schon (Secretary for Foreign Allah's) refused to attend*a meeting of the Hudget Committee. The members of tt&-£otTOitrtee—Ttre 'taimndißg- irß £S> planation of the discrepancies between Admiral TirpiU's and Mr. Reginald MeKunna's statements regarding Menna-iy's rate of construction.

THE COIjONIES IMPRESSED. DREADNOUGHTS HUME FOR PRESENT POSITION. London, March 20. Canadian and Cape Colony newspapers are impressed with the naval m- Insures ill the British House of Coniii. i;-. .Many Ministerialist speeches have been delivered in the province*.

Mr. ltunciinan declared imu h '«ould be lolly to build many years ahead, lie regretted the const met ion of t:.c lirst Dreadnought monster. Mr. 11. W. 0. Murray, Master of Elibank, said the lirst Dreadnought had led to wild competition. The Conservatives must bear the blame. Nevertheless the Liberals were determined to maintain the superiority of the. navy at all costs.

Mr. C. I'. Trevelyan said the country was on the verge of panic, stimulated by exaggeration. Culonel Seek (Under-Secretary for Foreign Allah's) pointed out that if the Dreadnoughts were beaten, Britain still had other war vessels.

AUSTRALIA'S SUGGESTED DREAD' SOUGHT.

WELCOMED BY THE TIMES. Loudon. March 20. The Times says the suggestion of the .Melbourne papers that Australia should present a Dreadnought to the Imperial Government would be welcomed. The spirit prompting it would ly evidence of the solidarity of the liritish race. "Although Britain must lie prepared to maintain her supremacy in the North Sea alone." The Times' concludes, " we count upon uui- dominions taking u share iu the necessities growing in almost evcrv sea."

AUSTRALIAN OPINION FAVORABLE Melbourne, Mnivh 20. The newspapers support the suggestion that, in view of the acute naval position, Australia should present the Imperial Government with a Dreadnought. Mr. Fisher states that the Federal Government quite appreciates the idea, though he does not ucsire to express an opinion upon it. He added that nil the resources of tile Coniii wealth would be at the disposal of the Imperial authorities in case of dill'iciiltv with unv Power,

THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS. P-VBI.NET CONSIDERING THE POSITION. Ixmdon, March 20. iu the House of Commons Mr. Balfour (Leader u f the Opposition) gave notice of motion of censure on the ground that the immediate provision for battleships .of the newest type, proposed bv the Government, was insufficient to secure the safety of the Empire. Cabinet held a meeting last night, lasting two and a half hours and considered developments iu connection with the naval situation.

Several newspapers regret Mr. Halfour's motion, and consider it will drag the question into the arena uf political strife, but the course is deemed inevit-

Admiral ('. ('. Penrose Fitzgerald angrily demands what the Naval' Intelligence Department, has been doing to be I'ft iiwaro of Germany's spurt till months Inter.

Admiral Komii'dy advocates the building of tu'u vessels to everv one huili liv (iiTiiiany. If llritai,, sne'iuU liflv million, il would he hut a llea-hite coni|>ari'(l n-illi the cost of invasion.

Many political meetings in the provinces demanded immediate c-onsliiu-ti«n of Dreadnoughts (inly if (iernnmy accelerates her liuildinir programme,

FKKUXCi IX AUSTRALIA. I A tUFT DKF.ADXOUGHT EVERYWHERE FAVORED. I Received 22, I.KI a.m. Sydney, March 21. llio sii«<;estcd presentation of a Dreadnought meets with funeral siiol'»rt in Sydney. I'olitichni-, however. while sympathetic, arc reticent, realisinj; (lie liuaneial problems involved 11 r. W. It. Kelly, a inembc- ■ vHouse of Representatives, wired In .Mr. Fisher iirjriii" him to call Parliament tofti'tlicr mi the ma tier, or as an nltcra.ilive. countermanding the huildinjr of destroyers f„r Australia on the pronml (hat the augmentation of the Kiii]iiri-'i< ■ (battleships is t ,f mon , j,ii]»»rtnnro than I the eiealio-,i of an isolate,! flotilla here. Mr. Cook. Leader of the Federal 0:iIHiHtion. referring to the naval silun lion disclosed by the cablegrams, sii. there should he an instant respond (ruin the oversea doniinioiiH.

Mr. Doakin. ..peaking at Miirwillumbiili. made ,1 spirited appeal for entlm=liimu mi tin. defence question. Tin' spirit suggesting tin. presentation of a l)rc'u.liiouf.ht was a spli'mliil ono.

Melbourne. March !>l. The newspapers' suggestion of pre-sc-.iting a Dreadnought meets with' strong general support, An enthusiastic meeting of the Stock Exchange earned a resolution asking that Parliament be called together t„ authorise the building of a gift Dreadnought. Lord iDudlev and many public men have expressed approval of sueli a pre- I senlation.

Telegrams from other Stales indicate a similar feeling.

TIIF. <<o\T.nXMFAT'S NWU, I rROCKAMME. I The (Joveriiuient has undoubtedly i,,.. fore it tin' duty of solving a very ililliciilt problem. On the one band' there I is a deficit of very mnnv millions, anil on Hi.' other a demand, not only for old age pensions, ibut. for the urgent needs of the Navy, and those of the Army as well. Wherever else we mav fail' we cannot let the Xavv go. U stands for security within an', for saMv without. I

It is the bond 0/ Empire, and the guard "I our raw uiulehul, our commerce, uild our mod supplies. Win, j| «■„ J,,,,,,,, tarn the heritage our forefathers have

irii.iMiiitled lo in-; without it, save for such shore defence a, tli.-.v bave, our possessions lull like ripe fruit into tie' i-'l> u ' Ihe ultimate -eu I'.mcr. <H- S 'i <IK .\li.\l.\Ul-.\iS I lie liuluell. iiu doulil. i- hcavv, hut Mich burdens do not fall upon us'alone. iiiiliui 11 uii/.i'H w-ai- ilenii.iiu iiaa i.icreuncil her military expenditure ironi i.;i|,iuiii.iiiiii 1,1 niMiiy v.lJ,iiiiii,iiuii. ami her iiuial . \juti.iiuiii* l-i,m a liule

mure Mian l(l.ihi;i.iiiiii l 0 .cltl.imu.Uu'i. ""'I in liilii-i.-t ii.e increase will be nearly Vet, i'rimc llueluw. ■-peaking 111 t|„. |"ruiisiaii Diet, M |id mere would be n„ cheeseparing on mlicr -erniv. "We cannot and dare mil, he Mini, "mih- money ai the cv

!"'"""' "' '""' readiness lor war, and to iiuiintuiii llm peace of t i„. Wl)l .|,|; .Mori- rcmilly Hi,. „nii'iiil Jluriin-Huiid- -. 11111 l llil- sought |„ enforce ihi. \ic» Unit the (jcnnan shipbuilding programme in intended lo iiiiiiutui-,1 the illicrcsis ni peace, iiml mat every ship launched )>iing„ Ccrmanv nearer to thui object, liy which j, presumably meant tllUl she Hill lllai'l'll til her pUI|H),SCS unimpeded. Til,, ollicinl .Militm-Wochcn bhiit lias also recently been discussing the doiilili' naval iiiilitur.v liurdi'ii whicii Cicnuaiis have to Iwar. It has idiown iliut to maintain lu-r Army and increase hoi' Navy is nut bi'.vuud 'tin. power of tin. Orman taxpayer, mill lias enforced tin' view that only thore nations are Hintlii of re-pccl which, in time of I |ieai'e, in correspondence with their national expansion, nie prepared to mai'.itain the naval and military fortes of their needs. As the Herman Emperor said at I'otsuiini in 11)02, every day showed (icniiauy more clearly that a prosperous developnient of the Fatherland was unthinkable .without a corresponding development of the fleet. TWO • I'OWKK STANDARD. These facts should tiho'w that it .s not in lCnglnud alone that these heavy burdens are borne. Our two-Power standard is the accepted formula which 1 has given us the Navy we now possess. It is unnecessary to ili»cuss it here. On November 23 M*. Auquith stated in the I ii.'iiM- of Commons ilial "under cxiai-itij-r condition*" the phrase "two next strongest Powers" must be taken to mean "the two next .strongest Powers, whatever they may lie, and wherever I hey may be situated." There was to be no parleying with those who wished to rule out the United States, because, is the Prime Minister said, he regarded "the two-d'erwer utttiidaril as a workable formula." The standard has been accepted as the bimis of the shipbuilding programme with a ten per cent. margin, asid the calculation of strength is to b ( , in ''capital ships," which are interpreted to be such us are fit to "lie in the line" of battle. Now it has not escaped the attention of observers, either at home or in Gennanyy-that the ttoe of the term "i-apuul snips" has caused a certain doubt to be introduced hito tlii*.question,'because in nrmnmemi and speed, if not in protection, the Indomitable*, built as cruisers, are sometimes denominated battleship-cruisers, are well fitted to engage battleships—its to engage some of the Herman tout-th'ships-aud thus to ''lie in the Hae" ami to constitute a fast -wing of th» battleship fleet. CAPITAL SHIPS.

lnlo this question it. is not necessary to go further. The red matter to l>e arrived ul in tin- interpretation of the standard iu terms of "capital ships," unit here we may at once say thai the only authority able ami qualified to pronounce upon this subject is the Board of .Admiralty. It is for Hie Jioard to say wliethcr the preponderance of 10 per cent, is to lie a numerical preponderance or is it to be in the sum oi" offensive anil defensive power in our slii]* of war. We relaxed our rate of naval construction for good, eullicicrit and known causes. Our preponderance was demonstrable, and there were excellent reasons for not building additional ships when they were not called for Iby the standard adopted, because it is an immense advantage to employ the lalc-i development.- of science applied to the construction of warships, aad liccause, up to the present time, wo have been able to build much more rapidly than our rivals. This latter advantage, it must be noted, is now rapidly tending to disappear, ruder the (icrman naval programme, 1 as amended, three battleships arc being laid down this year, and the same number will be laid down in the two following years, and it may be assumed that they -will lie completed within about thirty months from the putting down of the the keel plates. In each' of these same years a large armored cruiserwit bout doubt a "capital ship"—will lie put in hand. But it is not likely that any of the German battleships or armored cruisers built us replies to the 1 Dreadnought and Indomitable will bo ready until the close of the present year. We have the Dreadnought and i the three Indomitable*, ns well as three Tcmernires approaching completion. Ami we have also the Lord N'elson audi Agemcmaon, which though pre-Drcad-noitghts, must be taken into the ac~ con-.it, and bv the end of next year we> should have'the three St. Vinccntst ready. Thus by the close of 1910 weshould have twelve capital ships completed, compared Svith the six of the Germans. Meanwhile the Americans should have ready the Michigan, South Carolina, North Dakota, and Delaware. from this it will be neon that in "capital fihips" we shall at the end of next year have n superiority oY two ships, if we include the Lord Nelson and the Ageniemnon. But, in view of the rapid naval expansion in Germany, and additions to the United States navy, it is evidently incumbent upon us to lay down at least eight capital snips in 1009 and 11)10. We know that Germany and the United States will this year together begin six capital ships, and the name may be expected next year. Therefore ivc cannot be satislied with anything but an adequate programme comprising no fewer than the number of vessels stated, and greater demands are likely to be mnao in subsequent yenTs, because, if wo count the programmes, there is an increasing strain, which will otherwise hrcak the standard we have adopted. The navy of the future will be due to the foresight of to-day. Tt is a harrowing business, this counting of heads, the more so as we know there arc requirements in the smaller class of cruisers and in destroyers to meet the cruising fleets and "flotillas that Germany is creating. Nor cair we forget the supreme importance of the supply of trained oflicors and men—for the man is ever more than the machine. .Nor again can we forgot the enormous requirements in building and docking facilities. ,nnd tlie thousand and one other things which go to create the burden that Englishmen have to bear, and must and will bear.—John' Leyland. in the London Daily Chronicle.