The Daily News. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12. EXIT THE EMDEN.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 144, 12 November 1914, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12. EXIT THE EMDEN.

At lust tli'.' Ehi.li-'.l's circir 01 uamage and destruction is over. There, is no doubt that tin- intelligence wis received with gratification throughout the; Umpire. To Australia belongs the pride of accomplishing :;. task that Ins enabled British and French shipowners to draw a breath of relief, for 'the marauding Kmdeu has been a very terror to shipping, having in the course of her raiding j exploits as a commerce destroyer eap- ; tured or sunk twenty vessels, including j the Russian cruiser Jeintchuiig. The Commonwealth certainly deserves all the congratulations and felicitations that have been forwarded to her, and the captain of the Sydney is equally deserving of the gratitude of the Empire for removing the raider from the highways of the sea. It is particularly pleasing to note that both New Zealand and Australia should have played an important part in the naval work of the war as well as in the military sphere. So long as the Emden was at large there was a justifiable feeling of uneasiness in slipping circles, and this was'reflected in the increased premiums payable for war risks, the destruction of the raider being at once marked by a reduction of those rates. At present there is but little danger to commerce, but how long this will last it is impossible to say, as the Kaiser may offer sufficient inducements for the manning of another such cruiser, though it is scarcely possible for this to happen as matters are at present, if at all. Coming closely on the heels of the naval engagement at Valparaiso, the destruction of the Emden will, in a measure, act as a tonic for those Britishers whose weak j nerves quake at the slightest 'reverse j suffered by their country's naval or inili-

tary forces. At first sight, the news' of that engagement was likely to have a depressing effect, but up to the present the details have been so meagre and posj si!)'.v more or le.-:s unreliable that it is as well to wait for the fuTi official account before forming an opinion as to the merits or demerits of the fighting powers of the British ships engaged in the action. There is an ominous dearth of news as to the oxi-nt of the damage inflicted on tin- ' 'Kerman warships. Neither do we kno>v for certain what happened to our sddp-; beyond the fact that the flood Hope exploded and foundered. The Germans claim to have sunk the Monmouth, but it m:\y be found that she is only aground. However that may be, th»re is no question that as fighting machines the flood Hope, Monmouth, and Glasgow were heavily overmatched by the Cneiseimu, Scharnhor.,t and Number?, the total British hroa-Mdu amounting io two !).2-incli, 19 fl-ineh, and five 4.1-incb guns, while the total German broadside was twelve S.-Mr-ch, six ijiucl-, are.! iive 4.1-ineh guns, the German.; firing 21 pound shells against the British 12 pound. If, as the cable message, seems to, indicate, the action was fought at long range, the British ships would be outranged by the enemy's guns, it being quite possible that the British ships were not v.ithin range for any of the 6-inch guns to hit effectively. Whatever happened to the Monmouth and Good Hope, the result of the fight, on a comparison of the ships, was practically a foregone conclusion and our ships lost no prestige by their defeat. In a war such as that which

is now progressing minor reverses ate to ho expected, though they are not relished. Our confidence in the Imperial Navy remains as firm and strong as ever, and if the occasion arises when the most powerful vessels therein come to grips with the ir.emy there need be no far of the r-sult. Tt was quite in aoocrd with the traditions of the Navy that ships should go into action notwithstanding the odds being against them. Unfortunately the engines of modern warfare make this exercise of pluck somewhat hazardous, at times, but all the same it <-vo!-<«t our admiration and stimulates our pride.