The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 1895.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 73, 27 March 1895, Page 4

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 1895.

for the cause that laoks a_ista_-3, Tor th» Trrontf that needs resistance, for the future in tha distance. And the good that ire can ao.

The question of Britain's naval strength, which is being discussed in the House of Commons at the present moment, is one that should possess a much greater degree of interest for these colonies than nine-tenths of tbe matters which occupy the attention of the British Parliament. It. will affect us little whether the Church in Wales is disestablished or not, whether the members of the House of Commons are remunerated for their Parliamentary labours in hard cash or in honour, or even whether a greater measure of Home Rule is granted or withheld from Ireland. But the maintenance of the British navy in a state that will enable it to cope, both at home and abroad, with all probable combinations of its enemies, is of the deepest concern to us. '

We are apt to forget how much our existence as self-governing colonies is dependent upon England's naval supremacy among the nations of Europe. We congratulate ourselves on the wonderful advance we have made in a comparatively short period of years, "but we hardly take sufficient note of the fact that our phenomenal development would have been impossible had the sea power of Great Britain been broken in the early days ot the century. Nay, it is very questionable whether, had such a catastrophe occurred, these colonies would have been English-speaking communities. It requires the blast of the war trumpet to wake us up to the full realisation of the enormous benefits we have derived' from a peace that is coeval with our history. Fortunately for us, the Home authorities are quite alive to the paramount importance of maintaining the navy in a high state of efficiency. . If they were not, there are always a hundred newspapers in the United Kingdom to remind them of it, and if these should not have proved sufficient, they have had quite as powerful a reminder in the increased activity to be witnessed in all the great European dockyards.

The results of recent endeavours to strengthen the navy are considered to be, on the whole, very satisfactory. The programme of'B9, which has just been completed, has added to the fleet eight large warships. Under the same programme a large number of vessel"? have been refitted and repaired, and some forty-two torpedo boa: destroyers

are now in -course of construction. The agitation for a further increase of the navy which was commenced in 1893, although it did not lead to a new Naval Defence Act, as the agitators strongly recommended, stirred up public feeling and materially strengthened the hands of the party in Parliament who believed that an increase was necessary. The immediate consequence of the scare and of the pressure brought :to ■'■ bear on the Government were visible in the efforts made to expedite the completion of the vessels already in course of, construction. The activity. in -the Royal dockyards was immense, and- looking, back, on the last three years ,we find that there were launched in that period 22 vessels of 137,000 tons, 1.6 vessels of -0,000 tons,, and 29 vessels, including six torpedo boats, of 32,000 tons.

The last - mentioned ':) ships were launched in 1894, and in the same year France launched ironclads with an aggregate displacement of 28,690 tons, and Russia warships with a displacement of 34,850. In :.: other words, these two Powers, which represent one of the possible combinations against Great Britain, launched vessels of war whose aggregate tonnage doubled that of the warships built in the Home, yards. . This fact would seem to show that the cry for an increase of the navy was bty no means inopportune.

The carrying out of the programme under the Naval Defence Act of 1889 has cost 000, or ,£750,000 in excess of the original limit. It is now proposed to expend a sum of on naval construction during the present year, and a further amount of is to be spent on defensive works at Portland, Devonport, Dover, Hongkong and Gibraltar. With these additions to our national defences which the above expenditure will secure, it is evidently considered that our naval power will maintain its required standard, j But, of, course, that ail depends on what the other nations do.

We. have lately seen in France an attempt on the part of M. Lockroy to excite an agitation similar to the one in England in . 1893. M.. Lockroy, who was deputed to draw up a report on tbe state of the French navy, declared that the ships were deficient in' speed, armed" with obsolete guns, and managed by admirals who never left the shore. The whole navy of France,,according to him, was not worth a third of that of England. One does not know how to . treat such a report. If it Is a trpthful statement of. the condition of affairs then all the better for England. ; But it is very probably an alarmist cry, got up with the ..object ot securing an a^ditiott to Mi navy, that may.really not". be required. ""The ""French Minister of». Marine ,h as ~r efuted M. Lockro.*. : stalcmenls, and as. if to assure themations that the navy is not in' the -decrepit state M- Lockroy declares, France has arranged for a great naval review at Cherbourg to take place after, the opening of the Kiel Canal, and has ■ invited , air the Powers to attend to witness.tbe affair.

In regard to the British navy a serious difficulty" has arisen that, does not seem to have presented itself very prominently before./ Even should .the number of warships be sufficient, it is no easy matter to find men to man them. Mr E. Robertson, Civil Lord of the Admiralty, in his naval statement the other day, referred to the failure of the attempt to recruit the navy from the mercantile marine. The problem how to find sailors has assumed quite an alarming aspect. That the lack of seamen now available for service in war vessels is no mere conjecture, was shown at the naval manoeuvres last 5-ear. The Admiralty enlisted the coastguard men and all the naval reserve, and then they found that the shins had Lo put to sea without their full complement. The eyes of the country were opened to a new danger, and since that time -». the manning of the navy " has become as. important a question as the building of new shins. It is hardly necessary to point out what a disastrous thing it would be in time of war if England found it impossible to secure the services of competent sailors. It would be almost as bad as haying no ships at all.. .'

There is not the least doubt, then, that a strong naval reserve must be formed in the Old Country,, and some scheme for the establishment of one is of immediate necessity. That a great maritime nation like Great Britain shouldhave a smaller naval reserve than France may seem preposterous, but it is the case. Lord Brassey .suggestion is that after boys have received a naval training in the fleet they should join the Reserve, which would be similarly constituted to the naval reserves of France, Russia and Germany, these powers , have .in their maritime reserves a large number of skilled sailors who can be called on at any moment. Lord Brassey's suggestion has been - approved by able authorities at Home, and although the First Lord of the Admiralty doubts its success and considers it too expensive, it is very certain that, some scheme making ample provision for the establishment of a powerful naval reserve will have to be carried into execution before long. ~ *