The Dominion. SATURDAY OCTOBER 26, 1907. AUSTRALIA AND THE NAVY

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 27, 26 October 1907, Page 4

The Dominion. SATURDAY OCTOBER 26, 1907. AUSTRALIA AND THE NAVY

Although the embers of controversy over the Australian navy project still smoulder in some quarters, the question has.passed beyond the control of those A'ho have protested against any fracture of the unity and homogeneity of the maritime force of Great- Britain. It is, apparently, no longer a question of 'the propriety of tliej project; the only subject for controversy now ap'pears to be whether the fleet shall be wholly or only. partially built iri the dockyards of the Commonwealth. There is, .in this country, a large body of sympathy with the Australian ambition to possess a navy of 1 its very own, manned and paid for by Australians,, and ready for .the. protection .of the Australian coast. Few of these people, however, would hold out sympathy for any project meant the departure of the. Australian Squadron from these waters, and' the setting-up 'of a wholly ■independent local navy; fewer still are prepared to suggest that we, of New Zealand should emulate the example of the Commonwealth. At first the. proposal 1 of' a- local navy for Australia encountered ' serious opposition every-i where 1 outside the limited circle of enthusiasts who proposed it. It was imagined that the movement' was an antiimperialistic one, set on foot by separatists anxious to " cut the painter." Gradually, however,; the movement: won the support of prominent .Australians whose Imperialism is above suspicion, and it is, favoured not only .by the leading journals of the Commonwealth but by, nearly all sections-of the British Press. '; " There has, been no desire on the part of Australians," said the " Sydney Morning ..Heralds" last week; "to separate themselves from the Imperial Navy. jWhat .was wanted—and. what is still; ' panted—is a sufficient' coast defence'.which shallprotect the'port's of Australia, and thus give, His Majesty's ;men : 6f-war better facilities .for aggressive .operations, on the high seas." We believe.that that, ■and nothing more thari-that,; is desired or' intended by those w)io are nurturing. the movement. Hasty,, and .-inaccurate interpreters like I .Mr; Bamsay 'Macdonald may say as loudly as'they please that Australia ,is , anxjous to get into fighting trim to,: fry. conclusions with Japan, but ■ such. foolish statements will receive little; credence. Our objection to tlie.«prpjecf is a''fear lest the proposals of the ; Commonwealth Government may go to. the end of their tendency to make"Australia feel independent before she'is , able to take an independent hand in the struggle of. the nations. ..... . .

In '.'the meantime, the immediate question concerns the fleet-building resources of the Commonwealth. A cable message on Thursday reported the Professor of Naval Architecture at Glasgow University, as saying; that torpedo boats, the, .most difficult of all vessels to construct/ cannot be built in Australia. Some articles printed by the " Sydney Morning Herald " a few days ago appear to contradict. this opinion. There• is already ;in existence in Mort's' Dock ample resources for the work (if building the four torpedo boats and eight torpedo destroyers which' Mr. Deakin, in September, 190' i, put down as the first three-years' programme. The works were established in the 'fifties, and have so grown that they now occupy tliirtv-seven acres at;Balihain and. seventeen' acres at Woolwich, and find employment for 1000 hands. The dock at Woolwich is largo enough to accommodate any warship. The "Herald" finds that at Woolwich there will be room to lay down a dozen torpedo boats, if necessary:l " Especially when the development of the iron industry behind the mountains is taken into account, all authorities are agreed that here we have the fnost suitable place on the continent for the of ships for either defence or commercial purposes, and, in the circumstances, it seems cer-

tain that Sydney Harbour is destined to become the cradle of Australia's navy, with her dockyards turning out vessels fashioned by Australian workmen, out of purely Australian material." It fortunately happens that these great works liave a natural supplement in the Lithgow ironworks. The Lithgow proprietary are not quite certain whether they can make all the parts of the torpedo boat, but they do not foresee any difficulties. The chief essential is nickel steel, and this is only a question of plant, since nickel is found in abundance in New Caledonia—at Australia's doors, so to speak. "It has been demonstrated," says Mr. "WV Sandford, the ironmaster of Lithgow, "that the ore and limestone. are here,, and the development from pig into steel has been proved to .be possible. It is far better, too,»for the country that .this is done inland instead of on the sea-coast, where an enemy's fleets could speedily destroy the works. I don't suppose there is any city- in the world where so much iron can be delivered (quality and price considered) as at Lithgow. Our present blast furnace is capable of turning out 50,000 tons of pig-iron a year, but our plans for prospective,profitable development have arranged for four blast furnaces, with steel furnaces and mills, which will enable us to meet demands for Australian steel and iron for many years to come." There thus appear to be few practical obstacles in the way of a homemade Australian navy. The impetus which, the building of the vessels will give to the iron and iron-construction industries should be. very large, and this; as it means independence of outsidp sources for defence materials of all kinds, is, upon the highest national grounds, an end worth striving for. So far as New Zealand is concerned, we shall look with friendly interest upon, the development of a .scheme which caution forbids us joining. We shall hope, however, that Australia will not discontinue > the naval sub.sidy\ IJpon: that point. Mr. Deakin has indicated that nothing of the sort is intended for the present. A very great many years must elapse before the people of New Zealand will feel unconcerned at the .withdrawal of the' Australian Squadron through the overconfident reliance of the Common-, •wealth upon'a coast defence system that will be utterly useless io these islands in time of need. The Commonwealth 1 Government, as a partner with 3S T ew Zealand iri a vitally, important arrangement, owes this country a definite assurance of allegiance to the existing agreement.