FLEET & FORCES.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2111, 31 March 1914, Page 6

FLEET & FORCES.

s f J :i [ ! [ L 1 The Ships We did not Get. 1 Speaking of naval defence, Mr. Mas--1 Eey stated that the tost was %oug% ■iIL'oU.OtXJ per annum. Aβ regards ilii ■ battlo-ofiitscr New Zealand, site was to ■ pass'iuickff this control of the Imperial Knval authorities. Tlrej had no exception to take to that, btit Umlmpemf ' authorities Were to place jit Kew Zealand waters a certain number of shifts, 't'wo Jiglrt cruisers, tlitee destfoyerg, alid tffu BvibmarJues hnd beeii 'iirainised in 1809, but that agreement had not been complied ■ with, and it appeared that there was uo likelihood oi : it being ratified when tile Government took office in im, When.Mr. Alien ivelit Home lie got. very little satisfaction in c©nnectiw with this matter, and when fta enrno back and reported tho position they felt very stwmgly that part of tbe iyi)d agreement shoiud be compiled with —that they eteißtd imve at least. tw<> Kglit cT»iso«.. ' They had absolutely . so protestimi to-day so far as . tbeir coiHffiarce w»s -co>3o?fflod. The {lovernmcmfc felt so sfamigly abemt it that, in addition to the tIiJQJXSO subsidy, it was decided to oplitriliute £50,000 towards tlto upkeep oi' the two criiisr cfs. 't'hey could, liow&vct H get no satisJaction, and otie <rf the last cables rcteived b.y tfie Government (on Octcfcr 2 last year) stated,.in effect, tijat ft had been bemtetttly ant'icinated in 1909 tiuit tho staiinniiig of vessels of the Bristol type in N-3(v Zealand waters ■ eould be arranged a-ithout mtorfci'i.iig with the general stvsk'jjie positioii, Jwit tfe evailj able Bristols were rCQinrejl elseivJiorc!— in t'he East India and .Cltiiw stations— ami that, at present, it would be superfluo.ue to staiioM them in New Zealand waters, a.; there wore, no yiieiiiies , ships : of equal speed to deal with thtre. Then; was iio indication in tnat telegram that the agreement of lffO9 ints to'k kept

THE PEEMIIR ON DEFENCE

OUTLOOK AT SEA,'

THE AIM'S OF THS GOVERNMENT,

Ifl? Teleerash.-pMse Association.)

DuriedliJ, Mareh 30,

Referring to tlte defence questioa ot his meeting at Mosgiel to-night, the Prime- Minister (the . Eight Hon. W. F. Jlassoy) said that the ptineipfe of land defence was now on tho Statute Book, ami was sceeirted by the- gfeat majority of people. ■ Or course there were a number ot people who did not approve of siich a system* but the "felded-iKjwd policy" did net appeal to him. The Goveniffient had n duty to see that the ittotwy "voted for.laud defeec was propwly expended, and it iistimded to do its best to fulfil that duty.

A Groat Point—winning,. However, the people of Now Zealand ,aiid IVliaittGiit were of qpi.Hiwi that s&moUuiig should be done'la tie way of training young men, and tho Ciciverrb lueirt had now arranged with the Imperial authorities to take evw the PMkh ji-rel far a training ship. This siiij) would I net cas-t iiibia a cojjp's: , mote than they I were paying »t the jweseiit ti'mw. CoiiI timsuig, iiiy Msu.se? asked what had I they got ? TJis Australasian sattadron 3'iid been withdrawn from th& Paci-fie, with ti.ito eueetrtian of the l'sjcho and tlift Pyramus, which, were old snips, and ill the case of the. Empire lieiug involved in a, war, these two ships vpiild haveto get out of the way. (laughter.) Build! Shifts of Our Own* 'ttey had been told that they w.gio qilito safe- so Icing as ilio Japanese Alliance lasted. No man, however, coukl tell hots* longA was- going to last, aiwt ho should' not lie. doing his duty as first Minister of tho eatrotryif ho allowed that it was fight aiitl proper to rely' on a. Japanese alliance". There wag only one thing left for'them to do,' mid' that was to butld, a ship, «r ships,, of their own. Australia liad done it, but it was not lifccauss JLustr#(i» had cbne it t3iat tiio Eomjnjpn should do it, but beeauss' it- was.a. proper thteg for New Zealand to. , tlo. important Conference earning. Thfil-e Was a desire on tho part of tho Daminioiis cpneeftied to arrange- a; coiifefence to' discuss the quc?ti<rii of iiftyal pqliby in tljo Paaifio, aJid Ira be' JiOvcd that a conference would ho jjtTiUnged for in the jieaf future, He' did Jiot thtttkiliat anything, definite should : bo doiio until lliat-confefenco had bee» held, and some. Bafefaetej' .position arrived at. fife cost <jf ryihiiijig a Brsstoi cruiser in England tfaS £(!2,,0'9.0 per annitm, which jiHjluded everything, iii this country it iiotiM. cost .perhaps ,£l8,lli)0 par annum into. mokiiiß £90,000 per ajimi-iiu The £50,'G0Q wvied o.ii the subsidy ■ coii'ld go t-owarcls the cost of a. Bristol cruiser- if Us w€ro fouiid flecessar yto build it. In tto -.=ev<mt; of war Sfeff ships passed automatically under the the eo.iitte.l of tho BriUsli .authority. What fey proposed was really & form cf partaetshfp—something which would β-ivo them a feeling cef etrc;cxs-his and Pfido of possession, but, at the sa.nie time, would enable them to feet that they wej-B part of the British Kavy.' Tiio British possessions in the Pacific I were growing in injportaMoe, und, I though there was scarcely p, oloud on I the Irorizon, they had to bolt foi-ward I satisfied- that tho time ivoiiltl. eoine whpii I the I'aoifo Ocean would be a storm j cen'tfe,' and where they would hate to J fifth*' for supremacy, as did tfi-tor fore-ifttlie-rs in th.o past, and lacs trusted with the same result. (Applause.) They ought to make up their Btvnsls liow feueh they ceuld aford to nay for a naval defence wilieli, lie* believed, ' was nwi'o impwtawt than, land dofcuce. if they could afford to pay 15s. por head DB-γ awium, then M them .provide tho means to find it. A lot of the expense «f land defence would not recur after the next year or -tw-o. He was quite certain that the peapfe of New Xeal-aml would , .be pre'riiirec! to do their duty in naval defenai, and lie liopod the naval jwlfcj: wmtl-d never bo cdnsiderccl a party mnttcf. It Ir-ad liov-er beHi so owisiderefl, so far as ho was concerficcl, WlieM.li-c. liatl been in G-pjso'sifckm, lie had always -been prepared to do his best as reir,afckd naval defence. Bfe hoped that tfe coii.fcrfiiipe which he haul tticti* tfewed would be lield early limco yeav. and tfent it.would solve the difficult}- of defeiico in the South Pacific. ' :