Sir Charles Dilke and lord Brassey.

Auckland Star, Volume XIX, Issue 177, 28 July 1888, Page 10 (Supplement)

Sir Charles Dilke and lord Brassey.

An article by Sir Charles Dilko on ' The State of Europe nnd the Position of England ' appears in the lirst number of the " Univers ,1 Review." The writer supports tho view lliat there is a renl danger of England having to liglili Russia and Franco togctlisr, and say*" in tho course of his paper :

_• Supposing that our navy is, as weenis generally admitted, 30 or '40 per cent, stronger than that of France, and nbout equal to a combination of thoso of Franco nnd Russia, our ocean trado being enormously great, I must agreo with Lord Brassoy that (hero ought not to bo room for much reduction of tho expenditure upon the lir.vy. Yet, as Lord Brassey showp, While improved administration counts for something, tho chief reductions of the last two yoara represent a diminished purchase of ships. Wo have ceased to lay down v single ironc'nd, but Russia is rapidlyconstruct ing thorn; and in facoof the invention of shells carrying high explosives which can bo fired from quick-firing guns, wo may havo to return to a system of complete armour. "Our available supply of heavy breechloaders" is pronounced "lamentably insufficient," nnd wo arc told that wo havo to face a largo expenditure to bring our store of guns for service afloat and ashore to a levol with our requirements. Yet at tho same, in face of those warnings, which it is impossible for tho experts to pronounce not justified, we are attempting to decrease our estimates instead of trying to spend the money to a greater advantage than we have 'done in tho-pnst. Although our naval requirements have become enormously greater now than they were 2S years ago, wo are sponding only about tho same money upon effective service that we were spending in 18(10 and 1861. Wo may have been extravagant then, but it certainly looks as though wo wore trying to stive monoy in tho wrong place now.'