tHE Dominion. FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 1908. THE BRITISH NAVY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 145, 13 March 1908, Page 6

tHE Dominion. FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 1908. THE BRITISH NAVY.

Whether or not tlie London "Standard " is correct in . interpreting the naval; awakening of tlie .'British Government as a result'of Mr. Asquith's ascendancy, and, his stiffening, of the Cabinet against; tlie- Socialists -who would like to.! see England a country of old-age pensioners and. State tenthe Acting-Premier's ; definite promise of 1 a vigilant and active naval policy will be hailed with satisfaction throughout the Empire.' During the pait three Lord Tweedmputh, Sir Edward Grey,:.'and; Mr; ..Churchill have all declared, that the' Government was determined to maintain; the imas-, sailable supremacy of the Navy, .but a general doubt as to what 'Ministers would consider an unassailable strength has implanted in the advocates of increased naval activity an . uneasiness which nothing short of a precise and explicit reassurance could dispel. ; That reassurance has now 'been given by Mr. Asquith. 1 How deep was the suspicion ,'of the Opposition may be measured by Miv Balfour's anxiety to get a definite statement,' by resolution by the House', of the necessity for the twoPower standard which both Mr. Asquith and Mr. Haldane had repeatedly and emphatically admitted to be the governing principle of the country's naval policy. Mr. Balfour declared that in 1911 Britain would'have twelve of the largest battleships, against Germany's thirteen, and he insisted that Germany might be able to build as fast as-Great Britain.

Instead of combating' Mr. Balfour's figures,' Mr. Asquith admitted that so far as the present programmes' were before the public, the conclusions of the leader of the Opposition were correct. At the same time, he pointed, out, 'the realisation of the German superiority depended; upon an- unusu-. ally rapid rate of construction, and upon, thfj carry-out of the German programme to the letter. Moreover, the calculation depended upon the assumption that nothing would be done in the way of new British construction in 1909, or that any ships laid down in that 1 year would, not be completed in 1911. Had Mr. Asquith stopped there, he would assuredly not have allayed the public uneasiness. He went much further, however, and lie delighted the Opposition by declaring'that " if there is a reasonable probability of the German programme being realised, we will feel it to be our duty to provide, and shall provide, a' sufficient number of ships at such a date of laying down that by November, 1911, the superiority which Mr. Balfour foreshadows will not be an actual fact." This is a really notable advance in the Government's attitude towards the Navy, and, having gained so much, the friends of British naval supremacy will be encouraged in their efforts to keep the Government well up to the marls..

The magnitude of the programme ahead of the Government in its new and pleasing zeal is made clear in the February issue of the "Navy League Journal." If Great Britain is to have two Dreadnought keels to every one of Germany's, 26 Dreadnoughts will be required by the end of 1911. By the end of 1910 there will only be thirteen Dreadnoughts, and exceptional activity is, therefore, plainly necessary. Statements made in the past by Sir William White, that England can always build faster than Germany, have been relied upon by the anti-expansionists, but as the "Navy League Journal" points out, Sir William White subsequently recanted his contentions, and Germany has entirely changed her policy, with the result that she now makes enormously heavier appropriations year by year. If tlie British Government intends to observe the spirit of Mr. Asquith's important statement, the requirements of the Navy will grow so enormously that little money will he left for the establishment of a large scheme of old-age pensions. All the maritime nations are pushing- ahead with their fleets, and the maintenance of the two-Power standard will soon grow into a.colossal obligation. In the meantime that'standard, must be maintained, deplorable as its costliness must, be, and jt is highly satisfactory that the British Government realises that there : must be no', half-heartedness' where Britain's naval supremacy is concerned. -