NOTES ON THE WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 70, 12 August 1914, Page 2

NOTES ON THE WAR.

THE FLEET OUR REFUGE. , If tlic Mother Country were deprived of the command of the sea, millions ol trained soldiers in her own islands could not save her from starvation. First and foremost, her defence is the Navy, and if its 60 per cent, margin over Germany's is not sufficient to give i s victory, Britain, according to Mr Asquith, has no other dependable resource. Without a protecting fleet, she could not put an army into Belgium, not defend her from the invasion of 150,000 Continental troops who would certainly arrive if Brittania no longer ruled the waves. It is tfcs consideration that constrains the whole Empire to wait with its ear to the ground for the sound of the l)ig guns in the North Sea. In 'his speech l oil the 1914 Navy Estimates, the First Sea Lord of the Admiralty (Mr Winston Churchill) likened a conflict of dreadnoughts to a battle be!,ween eggshells striking each other with hammers. Expressing the same idea, Sir Percy Scott, who knows most that is known about guns and armor, has termed naval conflict a competition in hitting power. He wins whb hits hardest and quickest. May tlie God of 'Battles be with the British gunners when, in the supreme hour, they lay their guns upon the target!—' Wellington Post. WHY FLEET MOVEMENTS ARE SECRET. Discussing the departure of Britain's First Fleet for an unknown destination in the North Sea, a writer in the Australian Press makes some interesting comments on modern naval warfare. In these days of submarines, torpedo flotillas, and aeroplanes, he remarked, it is suicjde for the main fleet to idle away its time at any position known to the enemy. The only safety for the main battle fleet is to concentrate at sea in some position unknown to the enemy's intelligence department, anil to wait for orders there. It can then be directed against the enemy's main fleet the moment he ventures to sea. But if its whereabouts are known it will attract to itself such a swarm of submarines and torpedo craft that some sort of a disaster is certain. The first days of a naval war, nowadays, are devoted to the submarines and destroyers; swarms of them would be let loose in the first hour of it—and until the sea was moderately cleared of this pest, t'he battle fleet could not venture to have its whereabouts known for many hours together. Oncft the sea is cleared of all the debris of this mosquito fleet—so many naval officers think the issue of the war will be simply in the bpnds of the battle fleets. But clearly the battle fleet cannot wait for the outbreak of war before it put out into the unknown. It must disappear from sight before a watch is set on it. That ik why the First Battle Fleet put to sea; from this fine out it may be expected What the. movements of the British licet will be kept as far as possible secret. NE ( W ZEALAND AND TIIIS WAR. New Zealand's position as the result of the Empire being at war should be' clearly understood by the public. The chief effect for the moment must be on our export trade, and on. this much demoralised and merchants and traders will experience difficulty in making their financial arrangements in order to meet their obligations in London. The refusal by the Telegraph Department to accept messages in code or cipher embarrasses both the financial institutions and the merchants, but this may be overcome. In addition to these troubles, there will, of course, be the interference of manufacturing industries in Britain, France and Germany, and the complete cutting off of all supplies from tihe lastnamed country. This will open the door to American enterprise, and no doubt, our trade, both outwi- .•<! and inward, with the United States will be materially increased if the war is at all prolonged. An effort will be certainly made to maintain a portion of at least our export trade, and on this much depends. A decisive naval engagement would clear the air and make the position plainer, but the risks to shipping from hostile cruisers and armed merchantmen will in any case mean costly transport and heavy insurance - rates. Tlie dislocation of our trade and commerce must inevitably react on the whole community, and the situation will not be improved by the effects of the war on the money markets of the world and consequence interference with the borrowing operations of the Government. Economies will require to be practised, and sacrifices made, but these are small things compared with the magnitude of the issues at stake. The greatest nations are those whose peoples in the hoi;r> of trial have been prepared to make the greatest sacrifices for their national existence. QUIET AND SECURE? Do the anti-defence people still believe that we have reached an era of perpetual peace asks "Ariel," in the Duncdin Star, and adds:—"lf they do, they are highly independent of evidence. Not since the times of the first Napoleon has there been such a hurricane of war as the world has seen during! the last few years and is about to see. There is civil war in several places in America. One of tlie most, sanguinary and amazing struggles in history has just finished in the Balkans. It was immediately succeeded by the Albanian civil war. Then came the threat of civil war in Ireland, and the danger of it still haunts us. A week or so ago the new war, between Austria and her little neighbor Servia broke upon us with the clap of thunder, and millions of men began to mobilise for a perfect Armageddon. Peace!' Nations do not go on spending hundreds of millions annually in preparation for an event tihat has ceased to terribly imminent. Of course, it is said that it is the very preparation that hakes the danger, and that if none were prepared, none would think of fighting. Alas! that is not so, for preparedness is a ma/tter of comparison. A big nation with its mere police could always bully a small one if there were no preparation. Preparation enables even the small power to put up such a fight that on one wants to handle the nettle unless there is dire necessity. If, again, all nations disarmed but one, (hat one would bully all the rest. Til tlie Book of Judges there is a story of how it befalls the unprepared. A band of adventurers "came to Laish, into a people that were quiet and secure, and they smote them with the edge of the sword and burnt the city with fire." That is precisely the danger that New Zealand runs. Let her be "at quiet and secure," and any little foraying expedition could humble her to Hhe dust. We took island after island in the great Napolenic wars on that principle. There was a small fleet at sea down near tlie cape. It occurred to the commander that Buenos Ayres was in a weak condition—"at quiet and secure"—and that it would have been an easy conquest. He therefore let his orders slide, and, went and took the

young city. True, Ihe was afterwards driven out and then wnirt-martialled, but that does not alter "the fact that hej .yent, here the thought thas! it would be an easy conquest. Had hi) believed that the young men of the place had all "been trained to; arms, he would never of dreamed of attacking it. In the present case the costly British Navy is paying for itself over and over again. It is not only the chief confidence of our Empire, but is looked to with hope by Russia and France. GERMANS WORSTED, ATTACK ON LIEGE FAILS. WITHERING BELGIAN KIFLE FIRE, SHAKES H'HE MORALE OV INVADERS. Brussels, August 9. The morale of the 7th and 10th German army corps was seriously shaken by the withering Belgian fire, which mowed them down like orn. i Many Uernran shells burst iji the streets of Liege, setting fire to buildings. A number of guns were captured. When the shells fell at Liege, a thousand of the inhabitants became panicstricken and fled to Brussels and Tongeron. The rest took refuge at Collars. The Burgomaster desired to surrender. The German version of the conflict at Liege states that the German advance guards penetrated the entire Belgian frontier. ' , A small detachimlent tried a coup de main with great boldness at Liege. 1 Some carelry entered the city wife the object of seizing the ! commander of the forces, who only saved himself by flight. The uttack on the fortress was unsuccessful. The whole hostile foreign press ifrill naturally characterise the incident, which has no influence on the 'larger operations, as a defeat. It is announced thai the 8«h Russian cavalry brigade attacked the Germans near Soldeau. SHIPS FOR TRANSPORT. Sydney, August 10. The steamers' Grantala and Aorangi 'have taken up transport service. Negotiations are proceeding for the pur- '■ pose of chartering other steamers for similar work. The embargo on the discharge of cargo on German ships (has been lifted and the goods are-being delivered upon compliance with Customs requirements. The trustees of Elizabeth Walter Hall hav.e appropriated flo,ooo for the relief of war distress in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. German residents are required to register their names and keep the police informed of their movements'. The Lord Mayor has opened a patriotic war fund. LORD KITCHENER'S SUMMONS. Melbourne, August 10. Senator Milieu, states that the department as completely inundated with applications to join ihe expeditionary force. Sir George Rcid cables: "Lord Kitchener desires me to convey his special thinks for the splendid help promised. 1 He knows the Australian soldier, will give a good account of himself. His final words were, 'Roll up, roll up!'" j Lady Ferguson proposes to form an ■ Australian branch of. the British Red Cross Society. She appeals to loyal committees to organise collecting parties. Lady Strickland and the wives of Governors of other States have agreed to serve on the central council.