YOUNGER ADMIRALS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 143, 16 June 1917, Page 6

YOUNGER ADMIRALS.

A "THROTTLED NAVY." The public every now and then lifts up its voice and asks why \-igorous young officers of captain's rank -who have, rendered brilliant service in the war are etill only captains, and what kind of red tape it is at the Admiralty that prevents their promotion (says the naval cor respondent of the London "Daily Mail"). The public little, knowß our British system. Only a few weeks back I was discuseing this burning question with an officor on leave from the Grand Fleet. "You will find it," he said cheerily, 'rather easier to prise the earth off its orbit than to do what you suggest," which was to secure, the promotion ot such men. And with that he departed north for his dreary vigil at some unknown base. The great difficulty is created not by the. Admiralty, but by the Treasury- It hae put the Navy into a etrait waistcoat by ordaining that there must be , no more admirals in time of war than there were in time of peace- So to-day the number of admirals on the active list ia one fewer than it was in 1914 before the war. To save some hundreds of pound 6 in admirals' salaries, miserly ollicialiam refuses to promote young, energetic, active officers swiftly, and thus prolongs the. war at the cost of £6,000,000 a day. It sounds incomprehensible, but it is true.

The army is a living, expanding force. Promotion in its ranks is not choked by red tape and Treasury formulas. Its list of generals grows—indeed, grows co fast that strange tales are told of such a plethora of generals in certain minor fields of the war that they have no one to command. The navy ha;; almost trebled its number of men and enormously increased its total of ships. But it may not have more than tho magic establishment of admirals which was considered sufficient for the days ot peace. This is a blight on it. Some people may ask -why an officer cannot do his work just as well with captain'e rank, and why it should be necessary to promote him. The fact is, however, that the mere ca>ptain'e opinion will almost invariably be overborne by some old gentleman with white whiskers not by argument but by mere seniority. Nelson, when a senior captain, once tried the experiment of telling an admiral, one llotham, what ought to he done. lie was right, and naval history agrece that he was right. But he was dismissed—practically lucked ot) the flagship with a enub—and the old gentleman whom he strove to instruct wont on muddling. If Treasury opposition to the promotion of additional admirals can be overcome, the present regulations for promotion will need to be altered. For a century or moro it has been the rule ot the service to promote by seniority, though the right to select men is specially retained by the Admiralty. But in this case a captain must have done a certain term of service (four years in war), ■which effectually prevents the swift advance of young men. such a≤ is taking place in tile army. Supposing a certain number of extra promotions are sanctioned—as they ought to be—those promotions should be made by unlimited selection. Everyone agrees that this is a young man's "war. The changes at eea have been so tremendous that we want alert, fresh minds in control. It has been said by Sir Cyprian Bridge that it is doubtful whether" any male human being over 40 ■was ever converted to a new faith of any kind. The neglect of the air services before the war and the failure to use them elliciently in the first months of the war are standing examples of excessive conservatism.