Ashburton Guardian MAGNA EST VERITAS ET PREVALEBIT. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1915. WHAT BRITAIN HAS DONE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXV, Issue 8276, 22 October 1915, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian MAGNA EST VERITAS ET PREVALEBIT. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1915. WHAT BRITAIN HAS DONE.

There is a cui'ious tendency on the part of'writers in the Press o£ neutral countries to continually ask: What is the British Navy doing?- Where/ is Kitenener's Army ?'' When "is' Britain going to drive Germany out of France and Belgium ?•. -The. public pass from day to day in a state of tension, l and* are inclined to count as so "much time lost each week that does,, not, bring its record of a brilliant victory on sea or land. "The public," says the military of the vLondon *'Times," "must not expect to read in every morning's paper a report of an Allied victory." Yet that is apparently, what some neutral writers expect. The "fleet in being" policy does not appeal to neutrals, who can; not discern any difference between the German licet safely anchored in the Kiel Canal and at Wilholmshafen, and the inaction of the British fleet somewhere in the North Sea. The effectiveness of both is an abstract j proposition irreconcilable with the desire of the public ijo read of a gigantic naval battle to test the question of superiority. As for the concrete evidence of the British Navy's command^ of the sea, neutrals measure: jtWa in terms of active operations, and come to the conclusion '.thaV' the" fleet is doing nothing P'Ani'Ashburton gentleman who recently returned from a trip to America gives a striking illustration of this method of rea-soning. When the liner upon which he was travelling was entering New York Harbour it passed through lanes of inward and, outward-bound ships, 80 per cent., of which were flying the Union Jack. Ati American gentleman on board;, discussing with the i New Zealander various phases of the war, said: "Can you tell me' what your navy has done or is doing to help the Allied cause?" "There is no need to tell you," was the :reply, "for these mer- 1 chant vessols we are passing give the-answer. Not a single ship is flying the German flag, and the] Union is free to travel upon all the seas of the world." The object-lesson was a singularly appropriate: one,-and we trust'it carried conviction. In Italy there has been considerable Press criticism of Britain's share in the war, and quite a, number of the writers expressed doubts that she was doing as much as she ought 1 to do.' ";I1 Sccolb" " declares that the facd* are all against these arm-chair strategists, and in a remarkable (i article it sets out the actual achievements of Great Britain, active and passive, since,,.the war began. Dealing with the ,criti,cs' question :•" What is the meaning, off this command of the sea?" the. wr,iter says:—"lt means- that, from the day on which war was declared, the* German ' fleet'rrthat is to say, the .larger units—has not dared to leave the banks of the 'Kiel Canal and the ports, barred by mines, of Stettin and Wilhelmshafen;' it means that all Germany's oversea commerce is completely stopped, and tha.t her great shipping lines, the Hamburg-America and the North German Lloyd,' are in liquidation; it means that Germany can no longer receive by sea, except in strictly limited quantities and clandestinely, arms, munitions, foodstuffs and supplies of all kinds; It' means' that she: has been unable tp go and 4 defend 'her' colonies, "which she is . losing, one by • one; it means tKat she has not been in a position }o export her products to foreign markets which she had skilfully'acquired by many years of feverisk and profitable activity, and that these markets are now invaded by her commercial competitors, who intend definitely to supplant her." Tho writer then proceeds'to deal with Britain's land operations, and after re-.

counting 1 the successes achieved in the Geriaan colonies, in Africa, in! Egypt', and in Mesopotamia, he refers to the campaign in France, "where," he says, "they have everywhere fought like lions. And in the famous retreat from Mons to St. Quentin, where, having lost touch with, the French troops, they had to face alone forces four times their number, they taught the enemy, who affected to despise them, tq .respect and fear them." The writer does not 'gloss over the |i mistakes tthat the Britishs ham made. *' At the outset they were tod optimistic, and did not realise the gravity and the immensity of the "war '*' But he is optimistic of the result, " because the British are tenacious, indefatigable, and inflexible. ■ It is. they who will say the last word." "In the meantime,''' he cbncludes,; " let us give them their due for .what they have already accomplished; for it is, they who have' hitherto obtain; ,ed the greatest success', for the Allied cause by ridding the sea pi ( the ;Germans;. .fcfj.it is-,they ,smfc they-alone who hiive 1 wrested'from, the enemy "territories which willcount not a little when the time comes to discuss the terms of peace; they -have contributed to the campaign^ on, land all their available forces; ahey have advanced millions to the Allies who required them.; finally, they have given -to this War an ideal and spiritual pharacter by being the first to denounce militarism as opposed to peace, world domination as inimical to the principle ot nationality."