SUBMARINE WARFARE.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 131, 2 April 1901, Page 4

SUBMARINE WARFARE.

Mr W. Laird Clowes, the editor of the Torpedo-boat. .Section of Lord Brassey’s Animal, wbo b probably better qualified than any other Englishman to speak upon the subjects of submarine navigation, strongly condemns the apathy o! the British Admirality in respect to recent discoveries and inventions. He points out that the Governments of both France and the United States are spending large sums of money on naval experiments, and that though the reports of the results may be highly-coloured and exaggerated, it is not safe to ignore their significance. During the last session of the British Parliament it wig announced that the “attention tf the Admiralty had been called to the additional provision for submarine boats in the French naval programme, and a statement would be made when the Estimates should be laid before the House.’’ Since then the Central News has announced that the Admiralty does not intend to make any such experiments at present,- “ being convinced that the submarine boat can never be made a practical fighting force.” This Mr Clowes characterises as “criminal indifference.”, The amount of money being spent by foreign natioi 9 justifies the assumption that some success has already attended tb; ir experiments, and it is more likely that the submarine boat will be an important and terrible factor in the next great naval war. While deprecating anything of an alarmist nature, Mr Ciowes presses for the appointment of a committee of experts to investigate the subject, which would probably have, in the first instance, more satisfactory results than a policy of construction and sub-equentexperi- ; ment. The question of defence against the attacks ut oubmarine vessels, while of ;m-n greater importance than their construction, is, Mr Clowes holds, of easier solution. Yibrative annunciators, .submarine explosives, and electiic launches, all present possibilities of defence, whilst the layingof mines would many cases, be an effective method of retaliation. “ There is,” he says in conclusion, “ no need for any kind of panic on the subject; bet ;■ e.n q ;;-b / sure chat we can tiu longer ;iG.-rd to boas indifferent as we have been during the post i-n yj-.r?- to r- : o development of tir- -iniyyv.u-'uy) boat.”