The Daily News. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1914. VALPARAISO DISASTER AVENGED.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 159, 11 December 1914, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1914. VALPARAISO DISASTER AVENGED.

The gratifying news received yesterday; . announcing the siuking of three German warships,!)}' a"British, squadron- off Falk-land-Isknijs e'oudl, not fail, to arouse . the greatest pleasure among all British subjects..., It-was. only about ta in'oiitil ago -thdt the German vessels:belonging to Admiral Von Spec's played: liavoc with . three. British cruisers l —the . Monmouth, Good Hope, . and . Glasgow, only'th<s last nante'd escaping! ' It. .wfts, of ,'courSei" only a. question of time ere 1 the. warships of the enemy would, come toaii eiid,'but every day that they - were 1 at. liberty meant further destruction of British' and other ships of.. commerce, The techarnhorst, ; ; Gnieseilau, and Leipzig have attained a notoriety • that their destruction will be all the 'more •j'T ■ rejoiced over. It is only within ,the last ■few days'that tlie world liaa learnt how . nearly these hostile ships were to destruction by H.M.S. Australia, wlien that. Vessel, then-, close on the track" of Von Spee's fleet, was recalled to act as a convoy to the Samoan force. ooweyer, we' can all be thankful/that at last Nianesis.has overtaken three of the German warships, and that' the Dresden and- Nurnberg are being pursued, and this time, it is sincerely to be hoped, that the whole brood will be wiped out, leaving the highways of the sea free from these piratical cruisers. Admiral 'Sperdee, who was in charge of the British squadron, is the naval hero of the hour, and'if he quiekiy succeeds in accounting for the whole of the German vessels that have been terrorising the Southern • Pacific and Atlantic for gome time he will justly be entitled to the lasting gratitude of a country that well knows how to reward its faithful arid zealous naval and:military heroes. Our naval. disaster at Valparaiso lia?' been ' well avenged, and the Kaiser will.ones again have- to recognise that there can be but one issue of the war; and that" issue ; adverse to his arms. The victory of Admiral Sperdee will also have a great .moral effect on the general naval and military/ operations, and in stirring tip the. Allies to still greater and more t glorious triumphs, over the enemy. The details at present to hand are meagre, and the full account of tlie battle Will be awaited with the greatest interest, especially as to which British warships took part in the affair, and how ' the elusive German cruisers were rounded up. Sucli a smp.ll victory, does not justify any boasting, neither can we altogether forget that a, considerable time has elapsed before the enemy's cruisers were eifectively dealt with. There has been so much secrecy over the naval and military movements (io'nneetcd with the war that jt is. impossible to judge whether the authorities are, deserving of blame or censure for apparent want of promptitude. That we shall learn when the ihistory of the war comes to fee written. When the news of the disaster to the British ships arrived it produced a most profound and depressing effect, not go much because our ships had the worst of the fight, but chiefly owing totne fact that the Empire is justly proud of its navy, and any reverse to that arm of tlie service is always most keenly felt. Admiral Von Spee, the German Commander, "lias had an exciting, time whilst' roaming th 6 seas and eluding' cap-. ture. Shipping, circles will greatly rejoice over the sinking of tho three Qerinan ships mentioned. The number of these menaced to commerce is now greatly reduced, and the citizens of ijhe wholo Empire may be pardoned for rejoicing over the punishment meted out to the. Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Leipzig. The news is hardly likely to improve the Kaiser's indisposition, but the Allies need not worry over that. It is good news, and, what is more, bids ,fair to open the way to equally good, news when the chase of' the other vessels is over. To lis in New Zealand the victory means immunity from attack—a result, for which we have to devoutly thank our navy.

coastline on the Adriatic is vtfry well protected by mines and submarines and' by her lurking—by no means insignificant—fleet. An effeetivo Italian land campaign against Austria would, have'to 'be carried on by both land and sea, and to' db. this it is advisable to wait forv the 'spring. Therefore, it is quite conceivable that Italy's immediate objec:, tive is simply preparation of her arms. That is, .so far as Austria and Germany are concerned. The case of Tur•kfejr Stands on a different basis, and Italy .might easily find a casus belli, in Jth.e jehad itself... If, as German reports have alleged, the .Sultan of Turkey has called on Mohammedans to fight the infidel, Italy has a big stake in the contest, and so has Holland. A universal jehad would concern Mohammedans in' Tripoli and Java, as well as in India and Asia. Another obvious factor is that the Germanised Turk has presented the Italians and the Balkan Slavs with a fine opportunity to complete the dismemberment of his western possessions, provided that they can agree as to shares and can remain loyal to the compact—which the Bulgars and Serbs failed to do in 1912. Though Italy will probably postpone her efforts to secure Austria's Adriatic coastline, Bhe may find it expedient to take an earlier part in the Mediterannean of the future. It is in the plunder in the Agean Sea and the Levant, snd to strengthen her position as a Mediterranean Power. Ultimately she may find the Slavs stronger neighbors that the Austrians, but it yet may be advisable for her to.co-operate now with those same Slavs in order to secure a foothold in preparation for the Latin- . Slav,rivalry that must inevitably arise in the Mediterranean of the future. It is a' general principle that in any settlement a successful combatant must speak with greater authority than a neutral—except in the event of all the combatants being reduced to breakingpoint; and that is a too hazardous presumption for an expectant country to gamble upon. There is, therefore, some ground for the early intervention of Italy in the Turkish struggle, and inthat case a nice question would'arise. As Turkey camo to the rescue of Germany and Austria and made war on Russia, would Germany and Austria come to Turkey's rescue and make war on Italy should she attack the Turks'? Morally, the German and Austrian Governments would be bound to do so, and in that case Italy's entry into the .conflict would be complete. This, no doubt, is the consideration that compels Rome to use caution. In 1911 Italy attacked Turkey without warning, in • order to ;.seizc Tripoli; and would no doubt do so again if there were not collateral considerations. Meanwhile, frince Buelow, ex-Chancellor of Germany, has been appointed Ambassador to Italy, a fact which sufficiently indicates how gravely Berlin regards -the ' issue. . .