The Daily News. SATURDAY, JULY 27, 1912. NAVAL POKER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 59, 27 July 1912, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, JULY 27, 1912. NAVAL POKER.

It is easy, of course, for the man on the street, who lias a much superior knowledge of the needs and necessities of the Empire than the professional politicians of the Old World have, to comment critically upon the naval proposals of the British Government. For the last few days ou,r cablegrams have flashed all sorts and conditions of expressions of opinion upon this particular moot point. Naturally, these views have been condensed in form and, as usual with cablegrams, not too intelligible in character. The withdrawal of the Mediterranean fleet, the' Austrian naval programme, Germany's intentions, and the attitude of Canada, the Commonwealth, and New Zealand, have all heen discussed from the "A" of housemaid's knee to the "izzard" of zymosis. But from all this plethora of widely-scattered emotions and export opinions little is to be gained save the one critical fact—that Great Britain is determined to maintain the .sea supremacy that has placed her in the forefront of the nations. The whole story is really better illustrated in terms of poker than any way else. As a matter of fact, it has always been so, not only in questions of naval and military defence, but in all walks of life. The offensive stimulates the defensive. The moment a nation invents an unpiereable armour plating for its warships/science in another nation invents a projectile to neutralise its infallibility. The creation of the air-warship has prompted the production of special machinery to nullify the danger from aloft. The man who invents a non-extiiiguishable fire is at once met with an extinguisher that will not even allow a fire to be lighted, and the person whose ingenuity runs to the knprovision of a milking machine m:iv vet find himself ni(-( by (he evolution of [a iion-i!-;;!;;;ii!e ony. The whole gauie of life is. in /.".■!. one of viniaig.i te.l l.luli'. If Germany builds two Dreadnoughts, Great iJs-iiniii ''sees" those two Dreadnoughts and raises her two super-Dread-noughts. If Austria or Italy comes into the game (he same thing happens, and the whole procedure lias grown to such a point that there is no chance of a national show-down, and the longest purse bids fair to win the .game. Tl has always been the aim of Great Britain, altogether outside alliances and ententes

to maintain a two-Power standard, and the Mothor Country is evidently intent upon retaining this ambition. The Continental heathen may rage as furiously together as they like, but at whatever cost in men or money the Old Land is evidently determined to see the game out. It is matter of indisputable and emphatic history that the Island Nation has always depended upon her naval supremacy for her vigorous and expansive progress overseas, and it is gratifying to find, the children of the Empire vieing with each other to help the Old Lady to maintain this supremacy. The Continental nations are protesting vigorously that their elaborate ship-building programmes are intended only for the protection of their trade routes, but this particular story cuts no ice with naval i experts at Home. The whole elaborate tangle can simply be reduced to a recognition of the fact that as fast as other na- ! tions build Britain- must build faster. The building of elaborate warships and maintenance of a magnificent navy may seem in the eyes of the thoughtless a sinful waste of money, but the whole lesson of history teaches us that so far as our own country is concerned, the Empire, if it is to maintain its sovereignty, must ignore all protests of innocence from other countries, and steadily maintain the standard of power that will alone serve to retain its supremacy. In helping this the colonies must necessarily be guided to a great extent by the deliberations [ and advice of the authorities at Home. I We are all prepared to do our little | best in this field of ambition, and the i whole question is one of such gravity as ; to call for an unquestioning concurrence ! with the conclusions of the powers that ike.