MR BALFOUR'S REPLY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXV, Issue 8207, 3 August 1915, Page 6

MR BALFOUR'S REPLY.

INGLORIOUS AND IMMORAL EXPLOITS.

GERMAN NAVY IMPOTENT

LONDON, August 1, The Press Bureau has issued a reply by Mr A. J. Balfour, First Lord of the Admiralty, to Count Reventlow. This says that he does not desire to belittle the courage and skill of the German sailors. Doubtless they have done all that was possible in honourable warfare, to which they wore inclined, and in dishonourable vyarfare, which was required of them by their superiors. The fact that the German fleet avoided Sghting was hardly a triumph. The exploit was well within the competence of the least efficient fleet and the least capable commander.

• The process of attrition of the British Fleet which Germany had threatened had not commenced. Not a British ship was either sunk or seriously damaged in the sea fight. We did not lose a "cockle bo.it" in the action of January 24. The naval equality which Germany desired was more remote than a year ago. Apart from purely imaginary triumphs. Count Reventlow dwells with pride and satisfaction upon the attack upon the undefended Yorkshire towns. This exploit was as inglorious as immoral. Two or throe fast cruisers crossed the North Sea at night and bombarded an open watering-place and killed a number of civilians. After an hour and a half of this gallant performance they retired to the safety of their own defended waters. It was better to invent stories like the sinking of the Tiger than to boast of such feats of arms as at Scarborough. ■ Count Roventlow's apology for Germany's High Seas Fleet only amounted to praise of German mines and submarines. Mines had been scattered at random, Rnd had been responsible for the destruction of much neutral shipping and a few war vessels.

_ -In submarine fighting Germany had introduced nothing except the employment of these vessels against defenceless merchantmen and unarmed trawlers. This was certainly never foreseen either in Washington or London. It was purely German. Count Reventlow was profoundly mistaken if he supposed that. Germany's murderous methods affected^ the economic lifo of England in the slightest degree. They only fixed an indelible stain on the fair name of the German Navy.

The British Fleet had successfully performed all the functions possible. No German commercial ships were now on the ocean. The Allies' commerce was now more secure from attack than after Trafalgar.

The Gorman Fleet wns impotent. No invasion of Britain was possible^ or had ever been attempted. British troops, in numbers unparallelod in history, moved over the' seas and the . Fleet secured supplies for those armies, and upon occasion assisted the armies in tneir operations.

Germany had seen. her colonies wrested from her one by one while she was unable to land a man or gun for their defence.

No fleet had ever done more. The citizens of the British Empire can only Itope that the second year of; the war will show no falling-off itv the success-, as _it, will assuredly show no'relaxation of the/Navy's efforts.