THE SUBMERSIBLE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 125, 19 February 1908, Page 7

THE SUBMERSIBLE.

IS IT COMING? v: r TO REPLACE SUBMARINE MINES. MILITARY INQUIRY. ' For some time past it has boon evident. Ithat the military authorities have been concoritrating their very careful attention upon tho general aspect of our harbour defences, and the particular valuo of submarino mines, as a lino of defence. It is also known that a military board of inquiry, consisting of Colonel Tuson, Quarter- , master-General of the Defence Forces, Major Robinson; Director of Ordnance, Captain Richardson, Director of Artillery, and Hon.- . Captain O'Sullivan, of the Defence Stores department, has ,been sitting at Auckland, and has just concluded a sitting at Wellington, as a kind of committee of investigation into tho submarine mining establishments at these ports. What this exactly means is evidently not for tho public eye, but that thcro is somo conncction between what has already been told and tho following extract from tho proceedings' of the .Imperial Conference of 1907 no one will dony:— THE ADMtRALTY'S ATTITUDE^ , On May 8, 1907, Lord Twcedmouth, Firs! Lord of tho Admiralty, speaking to tho Con' feronco on the subject of Naval Defence, made tho following statementAs I understand, Australia puts forward a proposal that tho agreement of 1902 should bo ended, and that Australia should start something in the I .a local defpiicfl force. 1 do not. know how far New Zealand concurs in that suggestion. %ir Joseph Ward asked for somo. information on tho, subject, and ho had,somo talk .at tho Admiralty about it. Ho asked . ■ i ; , that some information might, bo given to.him with regard to tho cost of such a local defence, which; : in effect, was founded on tho establishment- of,'a forco ■of I .dp not know what is Sir Joseph's view,; but I think it is rathor important I should know tho exact position she takes up if he adopt? the idea, of tho possible establishment ■of s ■ ' submarino sorvico." Lord Twecdmouth went" on to say:— • ; .. . ."I think, shortly,. it may bo stated ' that each submarino would probably ■'<. ' , : cost about £5.0,000, capital expenditure for building, and probably each . . submarino. might .cost about £8000 , to keep going every year—l mean,, ' t° .pay, the men, keep it in . repair, ■ . maintain the necessary appliances, an so forth. Then comes the ques- :. . tion of, manning. the submarine,. because that is a\very important mat- , tcr. The I submarine men must be . ... . ; very highly trained. I think there ' ' would be two iways of meeting that. > Ono would ho by sending tho men l ■■■! .'over to this country • and getting . , [ them, trained hero; probably tho • <-• training might be.'dono.'iti a.year. It would certainly take a year before tho men would bo competent to do the duties required of thorn in a, , submarino. Or it might bo done in another way. - Provided tho flotilla '. wcro largo eiiougli, wo could send , ; ' a crew, or more tliari a crew, out. to the colony, which would bo ablo • ' to train men belonging to the particular colony in the work they iliad to do." ■ , ■'!V SIR JOSEPH WARD'S REPLY. In the course of his reply, Sir Joseph. Ward said;that ho adhered ,to tho position, ho 'had previously .takon Up, namoly, that' in a idevoloping;country.of the size, of Nev i Zealand, and a young country,.. they could not undertake t.ho possible futuro\ obligations entailed in-making, provision for ) 1 anything: in..ttie shape .of 'a local navy. Hg: v , roadily acquiesced" in ,tho suggestion, by tlioJ : . First Lord of the. Admiralty, that Now Zeal - .and,' in to the 'Mother Country, $ wouldj of necessity,; require to continue byj direct subsidy,, or increased subsidy, whicH'. <- thoy.J woro .'quite willing: to give,, for'a con-it tinued'attachment to tho Navy proper. Ho{ had been supplied,; by the First, Lord of tlipi ; Admiralty, with some,information rcgardintj.' ; , submarines,' and .whilo ho was not . , to commit the Dominion of: New Zealand tc»i : any'departure in^ 'the way of-a submarino service .without having had the"', opportunity of conferring with his colleagues,«. ■ >• and, in turn, submitting any, such great do-V parture to theirs Parliament, lie would be i only too: glad, however, to have tho aspect ■■ ■■■ of it placed before'him,-, and, when he had., . • had an opportunity of discussing it, placed* before his colleagues with a view to theii considering whether the suggestion of a submarine service, pure'and simple, without 1 the attendant surroundings of a local navy, . • as an alternative to an increased subsidy,. . could then be taken up. liy New Zealand as . a part of the great organisation of the de- ; . ;*• f .j. fence of tho Umpire'as a.whole. They ha<? fourteen towns on the sea coast, tho majority . . V: 'of them being , very important. Sir Joseph . ! . .Ward further stated: ■. /". ■ : ■ . i Lord Twecdmouth had not to liira personally, or at the conference, in- ■ O .'dicated wliat. tho Admiralty fav- ;. : •' oured—whether it .wa's the organisa-l . ■ ■. t'ion of a' local submarine service,; .. / •iand the' responsibility being' taken.-' v upon the shoulders ol Aiistralia ; ! andi, Now Zealand, i He added that ■ iti ,' . would be important for them to know ■■■...,■ the mind: of the ; Admiralty upon . ' ■ ' that point.' If the Admiralty woro ; ' . to say'to Now; Zealand that thoy >. believed, as a , matter of defence of, ' v v ,' ~; that. portion ; 'of t!ie' limpiro,. that, /,- tho system, we have .been party to. ■ . -. for so many, years has,- as a result of: changes in the scientific develop', : " ment of these submarines, become to some extent obsolete,, or not so -Jvaluable, and wc.ro to make tho sug-i i i ■ gestion of a: submarine, force, that would weigh-considerably with'tfye . Government and tho pcoplo in arriving at a decision as to the best ' course to follow, iii future. Ho- ' • . thought that .the opinion' of tho '.' ■ Admiralty,'-would:bo' valuable." ■'■/ : ' BEST BECINNINC FOR LOCAL , ■ DEFENCE. "'Replying later to Sir Joseph Ward's re- ■ quest'for an. 1 expression of opinion on the ■ matter,• Lord;Twecdmouth-saia that the question was ono upon which tho Admiralty could ' not protend'to adjudieate,'. He added: If tho colonics dccided on a svs/tem' of local defence,, ; submarines . 'Would..bo tho most useful way of • beginning it, and it would bo found' ■ r ■ a submarine flotilla would be .tho- 1 - .' i; best. wi\y froni:.ihcir point of view,- ' aiid from a strategical point : of. . : '' view, .of defending . tho coast', to ■ : : - begin with, at any rate. They . might, afterwards ; develop the do- . 1 stroyer, and so forth. ■-. . v : v : SUBMERSiBLES V. MINES. 'It'is': quite cloar,'from the foregoing, thai in'spite of tho fact that in tho Russo-Japan-ese war submarino mino defences proved their valuo. the British Admiralty has in- • j dicated't-hat in view of the, progress and development of J'siibmbrsiblds," submarine - mines aro becoming obsolete. Submarino mining corps in Now Zealand aro slowly giving placo to electric lighting corps, or, to bo strictly accurate, they are riot boing oncouragod to increase either in strength or in the number of company units. The Military Board has, presumably, been constituted for. the purpose, of collecting data for tho formulation of a schemo to 1)0 submitted, first to Cabinet, and then to Parliament..,:' ' It is understood that tho stores and apparatus for submarino mines will bo retained 1 1; >j for at least two years—after .which; :■ the - - submarino P • / ■ '. ?