The Dominion FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1917. A BAD WEEK

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3064, 27 April 1917, Page 4

The Dominion FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1917. A BAD WEEK

! -Che summary which .reaches us ! this mqrning of losses of British mercantile ships from attacks "by !. submarines is the worst yet recorcl- | ed. Forty vessels each. over 1600 ■ have been sunk, and a.lso fifteen vessels under 1600 gross tonnage. The number of vessels lost during the week is thus double the average numbor for each of tho past .five weeks. The total tonnsgo lost is not disclosed, but it is clear that" it has been a ba-1 week with our i mercantile -fleet; and serves to emphasise the urgency of the demand tor food economies in Great' Britain and France and the necessity for accelerating by every possible means tho ship-building programme which is already being pushed forward with unprecedented energy. About the middle of February last the position of our mercantile shipping and the submarine" metiMe were very fully discusseijinlhe House of Lords, and the. 'representatives of t(ie_ t*overi; lffl6 rit and the Admiralty the situation with remarkable, candour. Lord Beresford, Wio was responsible for the debate, stated that from tho beginning of the war to the end of January, , 1917, British, Allied, and: neutral ships to the number of 2300, and of, a total tonnage of over 4,000,000 tons, had been lost. It was true that this loss had been more or less adequately made up, and there was not the least necessity for panic. We had done remarkably well considering, Lord Beresford added, and we should do a great deal better in the future. But the people should know the facts, so that they might, realise that the sacrifices they, were being called on to make were, necessary. Of tho final result he had no doubt, for the .present Board of Admiralty was capable of successfully combating tho submarines, and would "deI stroy those ferocious barbarians, those assassins of tho sea." Needless to say, Lord Bereskord's plain speaking caused something of a sensation. Such criticism as he indulged in was directed mainly at the past methods of meeting the submarine danger, but he expressed the opinion that before matters improved Britain would have 'to face "a bad time." The Earl of Lytton, who speaks in the House of Lords for the Government on naval questions, was almost equally candid in supplying the information sought by Lord Bebesford. While frankly admitting the gravity of tho submarine danger and the difficulties which confronted the Navy in coping with it, lie spoke both hopefully and confidently of Britain's ability to defeat tho objects of the undersea pirates.

The German Government, he said, had I deluded its own people and were trying to delude neutral nations into the belief that by these means they could win the war, which they could liot win by means sanctioned by the laws and customs of civilised peoples. It was entirely due to the indomitable pluck and spirit of our mercantile marine that we were able to carry.on our purpose on the sea in spite of this menace. Uufortunately,' the British Admiralty could not prevent losses, but they were confident that we could continue in the future as in the past, not only to supply our armies at the front with munitions and supplies, to carry out our obligations to our Allies, but also to keep open certain sea routes to neutral -"commerce. In any contest, whether of war or peace, where one party suddenly throws over and disregards nil-the rules and precepts which" have to bo carried out by the other, when one deliberately broke all the rules, it' was obvious that some initial advantage was obtained by doing it. ... The noble lord has- asked me whether the measures /we have tfiken against submarines have been attended with any success. lam hanoy to be able to tell him that although this new phase of the submarine enmpaign is but a fortnight old' tho countermeasures which have been provided have already achieved very considerable success. I cannot say move than that whether in the destruction of hostile submarines or in escape from attack by oni' own ships the success is sufficient to justify ii very largo measure of confidence in the effectiveness of the steps which are now being taken.

Lord Lytton's survey of the situation was supplemented by a speech from Loud Cuiizon, who is a member of the Board of Admiralty. The outstanding,feature'of his remarks was the, reassuring reference he made to Lord Bekesfoud's • figures regarding our shipping losses. It is true that heavy inroads havo been made on our shipping, but there havo been counteracting influences to bo taken into account which reduce tho net'loss to quite modest dimensions. .In July, 1914, according to tho figures quoted, the British mercantile marine, consisting of vessels of over 1600 gross tonnage numbered 3890, with a total tonnago of 16,850,000. On. January 31 of this year bbo total number was 3540, and the total tonnage jusfc 16,000,000. Thus in thirty months of the war

[the net loss from all causes in the British mercantile marine amount l ed to only from 5 to 6 per of tho gross tonnage. Lord (Jurzon like Lord Lytton, did not undorrate the gravity of the submarine menace, "but," to quote his wu words, "serious as situation is, anxious as I aoj not to minimise it) there is pq -cause for panic. If we keen oobl, and if wo trust the Navy ajrd not bother and pester them, and if'each of us in_ his own ephere plays his part without murmuring or complaining, 1 believe wo shall reach a point at which the enemy will bo disapp'c&rted in his design and at whtfcli wo shall defeat the groatesb peril that has confronted this UOuntay since the Napo" snic Witts.", There is this to be av.dod. Wo know what the submarine attacks on our mercantile shipping fira costing us. We do not know %hafc they are costing the enemy in submarines and men. Tho Admiralty does know'both our losses and the enemy's. And tho Admiralty is confident of the final outcome.