NAVAL DEFENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 163, 10 July 1914, Page 2

NAVAL DEFENCE.

A GRJEAT IMPEBIAi FIJBET. THE ONLY WAY. (By L.L.8.). *omc of our local politicians assume i knowledge ivi naval a I fairs w-hich LapUin Mahan would not ulflim, nor even Lli« Admiralty, which hw pivt-n man} lifetimes to Hi.' study of preri>cly the prob-lem that confronts this Dominion to-day, of course, these lc*-a-l gentlemen :iro sufforinff more from a f-wollcd head than a hMdaehe resulting from a stn.lv of deep naval problem?. 1 do not for a moment α-ciuno s*iH'Ji kni«vl«lgc, l.ut the little- knowledge that 1 do po«w*» leads in f to protest stron-ly against the mischievous effort,- of 'thi**' moil, whatfvrr position they may hold, to commit, I'ndaujrer or pledge Now Zealand to a separatist iww or naval s.-liUm: to i-aune lior to take one >trp win. h nnirt in the lonjr run make it harder to reali:-e tho ma-rnitieent vision of a 'truly Imperial federation of the mam unit* whioh now. more or less, stand apart. AYe differ from earii other on many important points in our domcet ie affairs; we can afford to do so. and it i< well that we should. But on this supreme question, this vita.] question touching the very life of our eotintry, nil tiuly patriotic Nciv Zoalsmlers should be at one. Kor-tuna-telv New Zoa.lan.l h.i* one strong man who lia* not only tilled with dignity the jiront ofh'r-e of Prime Mincer of New'zealand for many years, but also held -.in honoured place in the I-mperia! Conferenoei-. and i> still held in hixrli the jrreat statesmen of Hie Empire. In the matter of the Imperial Navy Sir Joseph Ward has spoken with no uncertain sound. There is no ■• vacillation " here. He knows M = mind, and like a true Britain speaks it. He is prepared to sacrifice every vote hi New Zealand rather than deviate one iota from (he <rrea.t principle of naval unity; ho lifts the whole problem far -above the contemptible pirtisam-hip and 'the narrow parochialism of hi-* detractors. In this I a.m sure he has the admiration of every New Zealander who love* his ronntry. and It prraid of beinp :i member ■>f the greatest Empire the world ha." \et teen. Sα .loiilit it will l>e answerfnl ttrat whatever notion New Zealand may uiwarde having a peuaratifet Heet. it will he 'taken with the full approval of the Hi-its 1 .! <:.>vcrnnn'nt. as the HemlersoTi naval ecjlism in Au-;raJi.i wiis politely npprov.vl «'f l.y it. But t hat does not .Titer Die ea-t- at nil. Tt matter* not ■whether'the srhissm U approval of or not by a British (loverninent. it remaine the t-'.ime thiiifl —an evil and a wcaknes.s. Besides, the ]iei>ple of New Zealand have premier int<?re«t ad btako from the IoM of naval miitv than even the i>eopl[> of the Tnite.! Kin"df»in. 'Moreover, the wiser lirei'd' in AimraHa are b€{rinTiiii{J in <pifssHon the Ilenilcrson waiiem even The ships, no 4oul>t. are very useful :i.s flo-atinp mwcuraß for the of the wounen of their ,~e-aport tO'Wm*; as a ti.-vp to quieten the inordinate vanity of tiie politician, an.! as ;\. home for that typo of British officer who prefers to attend upon wmmen, under 1 he delightful skies of Aiißtralia. th-an to submit himFel'f to the hard discipline in the school nf the Royal 'Navy, which. it is univerprodmees the finest tj*pe of man to he found in the Empire. TVut .lipsirt 'from this, if ever the fate of the lOr.i'pire is challenged, the emtniv will inn srive Australia a month's noliee in order to re.u-h nh<? danser zone where the decisive strusjrie will be fmijjht— the lwttle will 'he decided, one way or another, liefore the Aii-iralian ships are OUti-ido of Sidney He-.i<U. No doubt the whine of t.he U.oal '"praXlor" and parish politician «i!l he loud in favour of a eoctarian fleet; but hir> frothy chatter and interested ar<rumeilts will not. deflect ihe perrjile of New Z.a!and frran their liijjh duty to the Kmpire ns a -whole. Tile empty and interested n.rcuiment.-. of ;he " jrra'fter " can Iw left to he by ihe loyal ami le\el hrided Heetinn of the New Zealand people who TeaJise that the whole ca.-e at bottom is sim-ply this: New Zealand has Tin net»d whatever for a navy, while the Ilrrtisli Km.pire —of which i>vr Zealand is a. part-hais CTipreme need 'for the greairet navy in the world. To iw the words of y. Canadian phltesman. slight It alte.red to lit the .New Zealand c:t-e. "The people of Ne-w Zealand must realise in t-his question of n-a\Til unity and supremacy that it is the life o! NewZealand which is at eta.kf , —a final risk not shared "by even 'the people of the I'nited Kinjrd-om. The erimhinsr of frhe Briti-h Navy would wreck the >Jm-pire; nut would leave the flirted K.inp.dam intact. No foreign foe won-ld attempt the Tolly of TKlantinff nnother 'Calais' on F.ritb-h soil. But with the -wreck of the Umpire New Zealand would ditsappeajr from the map. AYe would have to fro 'to Txindon when we wanted to see. oneo. more. * the flag outlined against the sky. -, Birt it is not beyond the wit of Englishmen—l mean this <<rm Uy be taken in its widest sense—to unite in effort to hive "'the pTeatest nan- in the world"— a nan- of eudi Ptrenjrth that no Power or n combination of powers would 'dare to H'itae.k with im-punity. Tn thi-s jrrand aim New Zealand could take an honoiirable Tiart. Let New Zea-laiul Ttuiike tip its wind in Uue -matter, and inform the Admiralty that it will ,hm> no part in -a separatist fleet, h\ri. that it will take its T-iill share of the burden of naval de_fenee in the Pacific. T.el it he m-.uh> quite clear to the .Ufiuraltr tHint it is her wish :uift dream to Fee in the Pacific, a-s a whole, consistent with ,the RafeU- of the lvTiipire. an efTieieni strundron rf the British with TT.M.p. NVw 7p n l llm ] fis iN nm j n nav ,| i,. qF . o here in Zealand. Aivkftrml is t.],p mturU na\nl ifor the 'lareer nrna of •the P.io-ifie: -in-d there are many «plondillv ■'SarVnir* intennerliate be--twp.-ri w> and the Oinadi.in Tva.se a+ Pkrriiimaiilf—such -i? V.ivnn. ftrra. and rmn-i- . vh : xh it othH not V imr>rw«!Wp to nrui f.irtifv. T« if Sevnnd fh<* wit of "Rrif"n= fo r r Mlr .J, a fle(>l - fa hnV.J here a "reaih =fa tlon .ml let IAmAI-and J.e to inn Paoißio some evreTir leisi. wh-nf TieTmTi.-ln ie. or hni Wen. +f> the Allan-tic rvM <,>,„ n iriliihea.n Se.i , not. Ts it too „. Pr i n to,- f or r T, f . «. pif^mPnt nf this vrt.3.l rrue<rt : on? Ti it tivi «rr P nf n to TViflico for iV renvvnl of nH t.his donTowWo rTi : « irritation. rJris RT>iTit of and vfw-ttire tmrardg -x. jrrcafc and friendly Power?