"ALL RED" ROUTE. A TRUMPET BLAST.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 30, 5 February 1908, Page 11

"ALL RED" ROUTE. A TRUMPET BLAST.

INTERESTING COMMENTS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, 27th December, 1907. Monday's 'Morning Post lias another excellent leading articlo upop ths "AH Red" route, its position, prospects, and political perils. After reviewing the most recent developments and the political party that aeem to threaten the Echome, the Morning Post aays : — "Th«re has beeu no more vigorous champion of fiscal autonomy for iho Dominions, or of the view that such autonomy ia not an obstacle to Imperial co-operation, than. Sir Wilfrid Lanrier himself. We cro reluctant, therefore, to believo that his Government are responsible for tho suggestion that they should refuse to subsidise the Canada-Australasia trade route. It may well bo that they are unwilling to renow their present subsidy to ths line of slow steamers running between Vancouver and Sydney, because ths Pacific section of the pi<opo3ed 'All Bed' sohome would no doubt replace the existing service by one far more efficient. ""It is truo that the Commonwealth 1' .s not the 3amo direct interest as Otui-r-da and New Zo.-vland in an accelerated trnns-Parific service, which would net ciiortun tho passage of tLo European mail to and from the greater part of Australia. At tho conference, however, Mr. Deakin pbdgsd the Commonwealth to consider the proposal sympathetically, » nd there is no reason to suppose that Jij.3, influence would .not bo equal to the ocoi.sio*.. Nor could Canada lay down the principle that protective tariffs forbid subsidies to the 'All Red' scheme • without? giving tho Government of this country aa amplo excuse for declining to ( contribute to tho Atlantic section ?'a which bir vv ilfiid Laurier has set hn heart. "On the tha Canadian tiriff is not less protective than t!io .Aiijti 'liati. Xo Government of this touatr/ could justly be blamed for refvsim; to pioceed with the scheme, ex-■c-pt, ia its .larger form of a through tuml routo- -Eiom -tKe Uruted Kingdom to New ZeaLmd. "Hit- failure of tho present proposals world bo a disastor, but not an. irreP'uvJjL" diLttter, in th& present phase of Cie .fiscal controversy here. With«.'ii. th-j assumption of reciprocal pre-I'ji-j.iiott in tho near future between this country and tha self-governing Dominions Impevi.il Union 13 a loat cause, : nd the case for* the "All P^cd' scheme falls to the ground. Wo support the pionosul only in the conviction that the sps-cdy \ictory of ' tariff reform is assured. But when Imparial reciprocity eh ill have bocome tho established tarilf policy of oil tho '.partner States, the fi.bsidiary tariff moans 'of preference v ill iixrn. bo eatrblishsd as a matter of course." ' ADMIRAL C'JLOMB'S VIEWS. . On Ciiristmas Day The Time^ published ft veutible inimpeb-bbbt from Admunl Co.i.mb, who remarks : "It is evidently L'sp-aecad th-it all 'true Britons' should thtsr for tbo so-called 'All Red Routo' diid agree off-hand that its cost ought to be shared by the Mother Country, Can4il«, ami Australia. On what basi3 the •relative iisfauikjin-eiits are 10 be made, or whu,D ia to bo the total cost of the undert.'iing, no ono knows. Tbat ia tho prefceat po3itvou of iho project, though the cheering lias b»on already staited. When its volume teaLintd to tlic sullicieucv ' of popular onj.hubM.bm the plure will" be hn.ded to die 31other];,nd. wliile Colomai clcqueuos? will pio.id for her geneious contxiJiurtiuh -tci¥7yrd- •this- great" bortd T of Impeiif.l unity.' " Hut, tho Admiral asks, "What do?s tlii> 'Ail Rod Itouto'. rfcilh; mean, and what is the origin of the phrase?" In his opinion it is "a mischievous — because a cU-'libera&e — misnomer"' becLiuse "all the esibiiag routes of tho Empire by sea huvo i'"qtit\l dhiuia to bo de.'»ig»ated aa "All Rod iluiites.' The spcuial cUiin far geii<2«iua tind special 'treaimomr by the Unit?d Kingdom diE.ip2)ears when based upon ueni;niental _ but iictikoua noinenclaiuie. The is, uv&ry . one o| the lines of co'^uniriikation connecting pans of our Empire with, each other are "Ail B.uo 1 — t tho bluest of blue water. All cross theworld's (Joinraonage, and all are naturally open to tho frea use of all nations in l>ejice, while in -vnir they vail ba in the jrip ol prfcdominant power at sea. Subsidising British ships to run' over any particular line cannot prevent other nations from subsidising tiunrs to do precisely the samß thing. In peaeo, no nation can nationalise any route on high Eeae, while in war the stronger war fleet can and will deny its use to whom it plca&es. Calling 3 route which ia mainly maritime by a falso nariio "rill neither prevent comtnerciar.coinpetitlon in p&ace rior frighten 'victorious admirals in war lroni shutting it 'up like a telescope." INCREASING OBLIGATIONS. Discoursing upon the business aspects of tho contention that the 'Mother Country ought to give financial aid to tho the Adiniial Sitys : "As the sole 'trustee of tho Lmpirfc in its entirety, the Mother Country is bound to have regiud lo tii-e lnja and means available for the uiseiiarae of the obligations of the Enipiie as a whole. _ Th©9e ohligdtiona aro enormous and increasing every hour ; the ways and means avaiUblo for their fulfilJnont aro vety limitod indued, and showbut little, if any, sign oi probable augm&ntatlon. • Ilie obligations are spread over the world, while tho only provision for tiwir diafcLarge is wkat it is possible Lo extract irom the pockets of peoulo domiolled in Groat Bntkir. and' Ii eland. Tlio uttrdmonnt duty of the sole trustee of theEmpke ig prtaeivfctiou mtaot. Tho Jilmpixe boing maritime, an essrftntial condition of its eocutenoo, the pnnwry obligation to be fulfilled, ia the proriajon and nuio*.«ntmoo of a neot strong enough to keep for tho Empire a frea sea. Accoptinjj the two-Power standard, as illustrating a Wavy only strong enough to do this, what do we find? We 'find this — an authoritative intimation of a possible shortage of money required 10 keep up a Fkst on the two-Power standard basis. . . Air. Ilnldane, at Blair Atliol, on the loth inst., proclaimed 'that it would be hitrd for us with a population of 44,000,000 to maintain a twoPower standard two nations with a combined population of 100,000, 0D0.' F.roin. this he drew an inference stated in the following words : 'We might not be able, in dayu to come, to depend' wholly and absolutely upon our Na?y with tho completeness of to-day, and should that time arrive it would be upon the home defence force that we should have to rest our trust.' Mr. Haldane might, and indeed ought, to have added that, if iuA when that time comes, the Empire, having lost control of its internal communication, will be at an end. Tho detire to at least po&lpone as long as possible r,o terrifuc a catastropho as the abanaonment of the two-Power otand&rd certainly involves is the true justification for the refusal of the sole truhtee and guardian of the Linpire to lI3ICII to appeals from colonies for money to multiply their sea routes to facilitate tho operations of their commerce. That attitude should continue 80 long as they do not s!ia,ro the responsibility and cost of tho maintenance of that fleet by which alone thoir individual and collective safety can be secured. To permit th« diversion of funds from tLe lf»vy to hoip to (Tei'te .idditional st\i Wtfpcnsibihtics would indeed be a pn;c.ffctti example of a spurious patriotism."