THE STRONGEST NAVY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 195, 12 May 1908, Page 11

THE STRONGEST NAVY.

THE TWO-POWER STANDARD. • A NEW DEFINITION. Lord' Twoedmouth, tho First Lord of the Admiralty. made an important pronouncement in tho.Houso of Lords oh March 18, with to-' gard to ■ tho two-Power standard. Ho tkolarccl that tho. Admiralty dffino tho : two-Power standard as a combination of tho' > two ■ strongest .Powers abroad with a 10 per cont'.. niargin.;' -He added, that tho definition ho; himself preferred was ."any reasonably probable combination of other ' foreign Powers.'-' .• <■■■■■ f J/>rd Cawdor, m reply, dissented entirely from" this , definition of the two-Power stand; ard,i and declared that wo. should bo supremo against;. tlit>; two ."next.strongest Powers irrespective of any other-considerations;" v Those, 'it is interesting to note, aro tho United States and Germany. In all its " statements of policy tho- Government, never . : takesany' n-ote of ■ the rapid, 'growth in tho . naval 'strength : of tho. former. Power. , The 'debato was optaiecl by a superb specch from Lord Cawdor, First Lord of the Admiralty m tlio Unionist Administration, who raked the naval- policy Government . foro • and aft. .He asked Lord Twocdmouth , but - chief .-among,themall;'was tho demand to know what the' Liberal Gov- . ernment meant and undorstood by tho phraso-"two-Power standard.-" • ' . • "What do we ; mean by -the - two-Power / standard.''" said Lord Cawdor. "AVo mean an unassailable superiority—and unassajl-able-'.superiority always— (Unionist cheers) —an/, unassailablfl superiority against tho -;two.,most .powerful -navies to whatevercountries thoy belong." i "There has been a .regular'pushing back of the shipbuilding to future years," declared Lord Cawdor. Thoii. by careful examination of tho figures , ho that'by.keeping back this, year's shipbiijlding , expenditure on the lines laid down: in tho Naval. Estimates, ..tho G-overn-morit would throw .on the two years, 1911-12, a; shipbuilding .burden of twenty millions. : ; ; i BURDENS. FOR -POSTERITY.;. -- - • . "These," ho declared, "aro polioical economies'; by'which .flio -'Government' is' piling up. . burdens for" posterity. I '. - Lord Cawdor referred with pleasure to Mr. -Asquith's reSent I declaration' of' building, up to standard,- but pointed out ' that.- tlip ,Government wore .acting in such a '.way; that; if. they carried out Mr. Asquith's , reassuring promise, they would havo to find fourteen;-and a half millions for shipbuilding . in *the.noxt two, years. ! v. 'Lord Ellenborougli, a peer who saw active sorvioo 'in- tho .Navy niore-than half; a con,tury_iago,; said 'the Governmenthad only to continue vtlioir.present policy for a year or ' two l-onger. for tjie'command of tho North Sea ' : to Genmany without a strugglo on our part * t ■lln- ;of war,'.'./he': said,; '.'this ; country ; be reduced.- to' the position of ; :a}dog standing oil its hin'(l.legs-begging for such .crumb's as .other countries , woultl permit .us Vto.' receive.• Lord Twcedmouth 'began his roplv by declarihff jthat Lord Cawdor .had-put t-li-o worst ' 1 posdibfa construction on tho statements mado DytMinisters' 1 . regarding' the naval' policy of tho Government. . i '.'Tho definition of the two-Power stand-.' --.;ard;should not bo made a question for tho -.'Admiralty," said-Lorr] Twocdmouth, "but both tho Prime-Minister and tho Clian- . cellor of ;tho Exchequer accepted the ; tjvp-Power,.-stanclard ,as #it .is regarded a-t - the 'Admiralty and by; my "predecessors. , AVo havo takcij the two-Power standard as ' meaning a.; cflmhination of tho two' ■ strongest naval .Powers abroad, phis 40 per cent.. • ' "Personally the formula .'.I prefer •-is any - reasonably, probable combinationif'' - otheV. • foreign Powers. 1 do not point at'- aiiy .; , Powers, but the .Government, must 00-nsidor JhcSr who]p rporiditioils' of our: position towards . ; foreign ;i»unfcjries,-; : iuid ,if is by/'thai, that' -tho ■■ standard, ivo, have-;to koep up should -.bo main--taincd arid regulated. '■■■'; .; DREADNOUGHT OUTDONE . "Our' system of'oimstruption'as totally different to that of other countries.' There has ' been. an\ extraordinary , development in - tho ? building of battleships; and all classes of ohips are 4 :-very. much a'matter of: experiment. ''Wo havej; for instance, found that 1 tho Temerajres • aro infinitely. ..better, than tho; Dreadnoughts, and that St.' Vincents; aro a ' , , great advance- on Dreadnoughts. "Thereforo .it is. essential hot to introduco too, big-a._programme.' Tho. construction .for-, tho year iiiclurldv three St.. Vincents-and a . -third/orjiiser, battle6hip.'., ; .-The, regult /will'bo ■ that in the spring-of 1911 .wo shall have'three , squadrons ■of • four of- theso. shins.- - . - "No .Power in-the world'--will' havo siich 1 a flootypf' first-class>: battleships as Iwe -. shall havji.m, 1911, and lam almost inclined t-o go as;far ;as,' to say. that no .combination'-' of the Powers; would be ablo to put an' equal squad- ; ron on the faco of tho world; : "We prorxßOlo lay down sis cniisers of.'a new, character. Oho will bo .;ui ozact repro-d-uction of the Boadice-a, but as to the other fire,: their design has not yet bc-en fixed, l w ' hoy/Gve-r, bo corisiderably larger thaij Boadiceas, and will be capable of ;.i speed -of-23. or. 25-knots. • ' .'••-J'Aa-te dosLroyerS) wo havo a total of 12D, ©scluding : thirteen- under repair o-r due- for repair. Gorminy' and Franco/ at' this' mo-' n'nf>ty-fchreo;without al(owing for : those under repair, but taking the same pro- ■ portion as,oUr own in this respect, they havo eighty-five ready as arainst .129, of ours. . - As to new destroyers, we are going to lay down sixteen,;capable of 33 knots.- ' With ■ ..regard to;submarineG, we aro doing the saiao ; T«w», ;a.nd devoting half. a. mil- 1 lion .to the-ir. .construction." ' • ; "ALREADY VERY STRONG." Then Lord Tweedmouth turuoel to'tho dis-. position of, tho fleets; and coined a new name, . <? r ,/ , instantly ready." It is now the' ' already, very strong." ; . -Home Fleet," ho said,"is .the last , -now:^ilosfc,.'and'a-now-fleet cannot spring, -as Minerva' .did from tho brajn of Jove, fully ' equipped and fomplotely armed. It is, howovor already. very , strong. It - comprises ' a. total ot forty-two vessels, and can he dc--ponded on to do'its dutv well," Lord; Cawdor dissociated himself from" Lord iwrodmputh s definition- -of the two-Power sand " lie thought reistcd on a quicklyiSaf ° I™*'" he saic V "is to base it on bedrock, and to ensure that our Navy shall bo supremeagainst tho' two ■ nest strongest - lowers irrespective of any other considerations." . ,