EMPIRE DEFENCE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9584, 2 September 1909, Page 5

EMPIRE DEFENCE.

HOW TO ENSURE BRITAIN'S SAFETY. STATEMENT BY LORD BERESFORD. United Press As ocuuon—r>y uieCtric Telegraph Copyright. Received September 1, 9 a.m. OTTAWA, August 31. Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, speaking at Toronto, said: ■ "With Imperial defence complete on the basis of the Dominions sharing the burden necessary to maintain the security of the trade routes between the Empire's scattered units, we shall ensure our safety. AUSTRALIA'S NEW SQUADRON. Received September 1, 10 a.m. MELBOURNE Sept. 1. The Federal Prime Minister, Mr Deakin, replying to questions in the Federal House of Representatives regarding the scope and supervision of the new squadron, said the scheme did for any additions to the British squadron in Australia. The character of the new unit would be entirely Australian, and entirely different to the existing squadron. It would be manned, as far as possible, by Australians, with additions from the Royal Navy where there were not sufficient Australians offering. The Commonwealth would have control of the large cruisers ad well as the small vessels. THE PACIFIC FLEET. Received September 1, 10.10 p.m. LONDON, September 1. Lieutenant Carlyon Bellaris, Liberal member for King's Lynn, in commenting on the Defence Conference, states that the Admiralty in , surrendering to critics, also decided to strengthen the fleet in the Pacific. The fleet will consist of three faat battleships, officially classed as armoured cruisers, of the improved Invincible type, hut which are spoken of by both front benches as Dreadnoughts, and also 18 destroyers, nine second-class cruisers and submarines. The Germans hoaxed the Admiralty by use of painted canvas screens into believing that they had abandoned the use of sixinch guns. When the German battleship Nassau was launched it was discovered that she was armed with twelve 11-inch guns and twelve 6inch guns. Received September 1, 10.55 p.m. OTTAWA, September 1. Lord Beresford, speaking at the Toronto Exhibition, said that if the result of the Defence Conference produced an Imperial organisation for war, in which organisation the whole of the Empire participated, it should preserve uur supremacy on the sea intact. He pleaded for an organisation based on broad, national, Imperial , lines, founded on the principle of the five nations —one nation, one army, one! flag, one throne.