THE COLONIAL ARMOURED CRUISERS.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 14327, 12 April 1912, Page 7

THE COLONIAL ARMOURED CRUISERS.

| ALLEGED UNSUITABILITY.

! United Press Associate-—Br .Electric ' . l>:e-r^ph—Copyright. j LONDON,' April 10. ; Tho "Morning Post's" naval correspondent says:—"lt will be interesting Ito see whether tho cruisers Australia i and New Zealand will sail for Australi asia at the end of the year. Tho best i opinion has long been that the only I justification for such ships is the ability jto mc them as the fast whig of a battle fleet. During the Navy debato i3l r Winston Churchill referred to the J necessity of a certain proportion of vessels of the greatest speed and tho j highest power being used to turn the ! enemy's lino or firing a hostile fleet i iuto action, or. compel a retreating | fleet to abandon a portion of its force, in preference to taking part in a general engagement. Mr Churchill's description of thc duties of battle cruisers makes it obvious that the service which battle cruisers would render was misunderstood when the Admiralty sanctioned [the Australia and New Zealand joining j the fleet units with only threo j second-class cruisers. Even if tho I I words which the Admiralty put into Mr • Churchill's mouth wvro not the whole case, there is no immediate prospect of a battle fleet being required in tho Far , East. Hence it appears that the Aus- • tralia and New Zealand are unsuitable ■ for the station to which they aro pro- ' posed to be sent."