THE NATIONAL DEFENCES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXX, Issue 2492, 30 June 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE NATIONAL DEFENCES.

A Sensational Article. Uxiikr tho headings—" England in Danger ! Our Army without Arms ! Worst Guns in the World " !—the Daily Telegraph of May 11th contained the following:—"We have to state on the highest military authority that the subjoined facts arc undisputable, and that it is, therefore, a matter of supreme importance for Ministers, discarding all less impottant business, to devote their earnest attention to the statements which follow. It is, indeed, of the first necessity that the nation at large, and the citizens of London especially, should know the simple and naked truth as to how we stand in regard to our defences against an invasion. Owing to the deplorable neglect of Parliament and the mischievous system adopted by successive Ministries in deliberately hiding the truth from the people, it has at last to be sorrowfully acknowledged that we are wholly unprepared for war, if not indeed at the mercy of any European enemy, unless immediate and energetic steps are taken to put the kingdom and Empire into a state of soonrity. The strength of our army is insufficient.; rnoro inftu are instantly required. If the men were enlisted tomorrow, barrack accommodation does not exist. The country is in the shameful position of having many of it* artillery batteries in possession of the worst gun served out to any army of the preseut day, In the service it is true that we possess a gun which is unsurpassed, but we have no means of manufacturing this arm except after much delay. We are said to have the best magazine rifle which has yet been invented, but up to the present moment not one single regiment in tho army is provided with this weapon. Army stores are lamentably insufficient. Hitherto it has been tho boast of Englishmen that they want no army, because their navy was invincible. We are now assured by the same high authority that tho navy is inadequate for the defence of our own coasts, of the coaling stations, and tho outlying parts of the Empire ; even if it be strong enough— with respect to whioh grave doubts are expressed—to command the Channel. If ive had to concentrate a fleet of any dimensions, say, at the Straits uf Dover, othor positions would bo left practically without protection. At this moment there is not, it is authoritatively stated in any one of our land fortresses, from Portland Bill to the Tweed, a modern breech-loading gun. The latest | type actually in use is the seven-inch I Armstrong. The guns served out to tho volunteers are obsolete ; the piles of shot and shell at Woolwick are for the most j part obsolate. Four of the finest armourI clads, built to resist every possible form of attack, are in the monstrous position of having no suitable guns, and two of them will have none at all before the end of March, 1889, if then. Two belted cruisers must wait some months before their guns are ready." The Defence of the Colonies. Mr W. H. Smith has placed on the paper resolutions ratifying the agreement with the Australian colonics, and authorising the issue, out of the Consolidated Fund, of £530,000 for building, arming, and completing the vessels mentioned in that agreement. The money will be raised by terminable annuities for ten years. The First Lord of the Treasury also proposes to move resolutions authorising tho issue of £2,000,000 for the defence of certain ports and coaling stations, and for making further provision for Imperial defence. The interest on this money is to be defrayed out of the votes for the army, but after 1894 all dividends in respect of Suez Canal shares are to be applied in paying off the amount borrowed. Lord C. Beresford on the Navy.

Lord C. Beresford, writing to a Doncaster correspondent, says : —" For my own part I would bo glad to accept the responsibility of all I have said by proposing that I should be tried by courtmartial and dismissed from Her Majesty's service if I have exaggerated and made statements not founded by fact, roliablo to cause a scare and panic. Until a system of administration for the services is instituted by which direct responsibility can be given to individuals, it is useless to ask the people of this country to add a largo sum of money to those already voted by Parliament, when time »iftor tiin<3 money previously given is proved to bo spent in an extravagant manner. I believe, if once the services were made thoroughly efficiout in strength and organisation, and a system of administration in forca, givinir direct responsibility, the present estimates would be sufficient for the nation's wants." Proposed Naval Manoeuvres at Milford Haven.

Arrangements are being made by the naval authorities to hold some very extensive operations on tho British coast in the ensuing autumn, and this year the centre of operations will be Milford Haven. The operations will bo on an unprecedentedly largo scale, and nearly all the available ships will take part, as well as the greater portion of land artillery quartered in Great Britain. At Milford Haven forts, all of which, it is stated, will be fully manned, several thousand artillerymen will be stationed, and there will be also detachments of the Horse and Field Artillery, besides some of the submarine miners of the Royal Engineers and Volunteer Engineers. A general plan of operations has been laid down, but the details are kept profoundly secret, as tho officers entrusted with tho defences are not to bo informed of the tactics of the attacking force, aod vire vena.