The Daily News. TUESDAY, JUNE 24, 1919. SCUTTLING INTERNED WARSHIPS.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 June 1919, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, JUNE 24, 1919. SCUTTLING INTERNED WARSHIPS.

There is no doubt that the news of the deliberate sinking of forty-six out of the seventy-two German warships interned at Seapa Plow has caused a startling sensation. The time was chosen, with true Teutonic cunning, to coincide with the expiry of the five days' limit for the signing of peace, for as soon as that event took place the warships passed into the posses- , sion of the Allies. There will, of tiourse, b.e a into

this act of treachery, for the ships were in the custody of the British Navy as trustees for the Allies. Although, under the armistice terms, German crews were to remain to attend to the upkeep of the ships, it seems to the lay mind impossible that arrangements were not made for having British guards on board to prevent such an action as that which has now taken place. It is quite possible that there were good reasons that, operated in the course that was adopted, which has proved so disastrous, but the question arises as to whether the British Government was not quite content to run all risks with complacency, considering that the ultimate disposal of the vessels was a very thorny question, but that does not in any way lessen the treachery of the German naval officers and crews in scuttling r.nd abandoning ships that have cost many millions to construct and equip.' That the delinquents have been arrested, and will in due course be tried and punished, will not be the only remedy, as the Allies will have good grounds for making a claim on Germany for the value of the vessels, and it may readily be believed, under the circumstances, that the payment of a fair price: will be far more satisfactory to the Allies than any other course. Looking at the matter from this point of view, the policy which left the Germans to sink the ships at will was not so careless as would appear at first sight. It has to be remembered that a semi-official cable message from Paris on Febt ruary 27 stated that the British Government favored the sinking of these warships, but the other Allies opposed the idea, and it is j known that America desired that the ships should be got rid of by any other means than by allocation among the Allies, though France put forward a strong claim to an important part of the fleet. Speaking in the House of Lords, Lord Islington drew attention to the report that the Paris Conference contemplated sinking the German fleet, and Lord Lytton said it was questionable whether it would be economical to scrap the ships, which, he advised, should be offered at auction. That these ships were in a disreputable condition was matter of comment at the time of the surrender, and under all the circumstances there seems to have been no inducement for Britain to exercise supervision except to prevent the ships being used inimically. In the light of these facts the scuttling of the ships would appear rather in the tight of a blessing in disguise, especially if a monetary payment can be exacted. It is a deplorable waste of good money, but it solves a problem that might well have created friction among the Allies. At the same time additional emphasis is given to the oft-repeated statement that the Germans are absolutely devoid of honor and trustworthiness.