The Dominion. TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 1909. IMPERIAL DEFENCE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 546, 29 June 1909, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 1909. IMPERIAL DEFENCE.

Although they have heard many, prominent men speak during the past six weeks tho delegates to the Imperial .Press Conference will probably profit most from the speeches delivered by Lord Charles BEBESFOHD.aW Lokd EsHjfß at the closing session—not because these were the last speeches, and therefore , the. most likely to be remembered, bub because in them they were brought down from the rosy clouds of rhetorical, sentiment to the solid earth of facts. Many.—it is perhaps safe to say practically all—-of the Australasian delegates arc connected with papers'whichjin their exqitcd admiration of the Dreadnought, offers forgot that to offer Dread : . noughts was not to help the work of Imperial defence in any material degree. A very large section of the Australasian 'public was driven into thinking that it was even navally correct to offer Dreadnoughts, and, almost, that the line of, duty did not He in any other direction. We aro glad to remember, in view of the opinions-given by Lord Beresford and Lord Esher, that we ourselves from the chorus ■ of '■ unmeasured eulogy of New Zealand's offer, preferring to consider the "situation revealed by the. Navy debate as awaming of future liabilities and the necessity; of making pre- ! parations based on -"calm ; reasoning and cool-headed judgment instead of hasty impulse." "Don't let us be too long," said Lobd Beresford, but he gavo this advice second place to the infinitely more important l maxim: /'Don't let us be in 'too. great a hurry." And .a ;fo'w.weeks ago he stated quite definitely' that the Dominions would be affording no real assistance in, offering ships for service, in Home waters.- "The. weakest part of the present system," he says, "is the defence 'of trade routes. *Tbe colonies, might dertake those overseas repairing stations .which, owing j.to some ,'mad infatuation, had been abandoned after lai'ge sums had been spent,on! them:" .The exact character of the; work :'••' upon which' : colonial money shall be expended, is a subject for the'experts,' and wo may'expect that the; coming Defence" Conference will; sketch the broad lines of the general system that is necessary in order that tho Empire may become a strategical whole. Lord Crewe assured us the other day that whatever is decided upon the wishes of each Dominion will be considered final so' far as that Dominion is concerned. The task of the British Government's representatives at the Conference will be to work the Dominions' separate wishes into an efficient general system. A cardinal principle which may be agreed upon at once, as being essential to any scheme, is standardisation, -upon which Lord Beresford and Lord Esher had both a good deal to say. ~

The-goal to be worked, for, as Lord EsnER points' out, .is an Iniperial .Nayy.' That cannot be accomplished l all at once;, •fpr this,, reason,: if .for. no. ;other, ,'|that a. quite, new.naval: theory, has to be built up.. .The strategical doctrine of to-day is based on.'the; assumption .of; certain .conditions,; to. bo met out.;;.of/:,certain : re--sources. , 'Change the conditions and the resources in any fundamental way, and the' whole,'nayal theory must bo; placed in 'tho melting ; pot. ■ The more impatient of pur;lmperialists—those who think navies can be built' by:'a : cablo : : mesßage-i-niay Esher a "stickin the mud," as';Mii. HooG. would-.Bay,- for his .'advice that' the delegates should limit their con-. sidera'tioris'.' "to" that : which' was practic-' able within 'ten, years, and .thus.' clear 'the' ground to enable- tho Empire's statesmen to, achieve'practical measures.",'-But' the day-'of;the Imperialist'"rusher",'is'passing. : Men ara more- inclined tb> realiso that groat foundations /take a long-time in theJay.ingV.The magnitude of the task before the statesmen of the Empire could ..not;better be stated than by the■ observe-, tipn that, it will,'take ten;years .toV'clear the' ground/-..Twenty-two years have passed since, the.first Colonial Conference' was held, but only twelve years iince the Conference, that of' 1897, at which tho real direction of :su'ch Conferences first became visible. :; That so much has been done i towards unifying tho Empire in . theso short yeareis'very! wonderful when tho di- } verse character of the Empire, geographic-' 1 ■ally,and cthn6logically, ! is taken into'account. Already we 'are within striking distance of the Imperial Council that will, ultimately, have supreme direction in some regions of the Empire's affairsi It is. quite possible that the'(coming. Dβfonce Conference will'result in the formation of such a Council, although.it would of course be concerned mainly, with questions relating to. Imperial defence. In time it would , widen its scope. : It ie notimprobable .that in'.-thevevent of such , ' a body being brought into being the New Zealand ; representative ;would, be tho Prime'Minisier.'",-■' Should Sir/ Joseph Ward find himself faced with the possibility of acting in London as our represeritative on an Imperial Council, :he would hot, we think, be likely, to strongly resist any suggestion that he should take the position. In that gase a natural corollary would be the disappearance of the High Commissioner's office. .Sir. Joseph strikes us as being wanting in the imagination netessary in the holder of such a post, but no other objection would bo likely to be urged against him, provided his. powers to commit -the' country were closely restricted. ..:■:..'.:; .',... .-