NAVAL NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 14494, 20 February 1911, Page 1

NAVAL NOTES

[Contributed by the Navy League, Otago Branch.] REMINDERS. Lord God of those sires who foiled the “invincible" galleons, Who rolled back tho tide of the Core loan’s vaunted battalions, Bestir us anew for the fray, lest, dallying longer, Doomsday shall dawn, and our Heritage pass to a stronger. —Major W. P. Drury in ‘ The Sign of tho Clustered Crosses.’ “What would bo tho use of advanced legislation—such legislation as prevented men from employing weak women and girls till midnight at sweating wages and competing against employers who paid decent wages—if the British Navy were not hero to protect us?”—Sir J. G. Ward, at Pukokohe, January 31. “ For Great Britain, the sea is tho only road. For her it is the strongest rampart of defence. For her it is the only battlefield of offence. The trident is her sole weapon. Preserved and used it is mightier than the sword. Broken or blunted it leaves her but a rich and defenceless prey."—From ‘ Sea Law and Sea Power,’ by T. Gibson Bowles. ETERNAL VIGILANCE. Each of our texts, gathered from widely separated and independent sources, tells and retells tho same story. By eternal vigilance, ceaseless preparation, and everpresent readiness alone can tho Empire maintain and retain her own. Sir Joseph Ward’s words are especially timely to the people of this Dominion. How many of ns trouble to think, or how few of us realise that our peace, safety, and permanency as a self-governing community are not dependent on anything that can be done by ourselves or our Parliament, but upon the continued supremacy of a Navy aoout which many of ns take no th night? This is the truth above all others that should be brought home to tho minds of tho coming generation now being educated to fit them for the battle of life. Not on your own efforts, not on what we are doing, but on that Old Grey Land across the seas—humanly speaking—we rest. Our fate is wrapped up in hers, both as a nation and as individuals, therefore—the conclusion is inevitable—it is for us to do what lies in our power to strengthen her hands and to rally to her aid morally and materially. No British statesman to-day ventures to suggest a decrease in naval preparations; he may deplore their need and be humiliated at their cost, but he cannot and durst not advise the Empire cither at Home ot abroad to do anything but prepare! THE YEAR’S RECORD. We are insistently hearing of the vast sums that are being spent on ships of war. The totals thus paraded constitute a grimly humorous commentary upon our professions of peace. But the fact remains that they must go on. This being so, the burden bearers can only watch and see that they are getting value for their money. Is Britain holding her own? The answer continues to be "Yes." In ships, guns, tonnage, and men the British Navy is unrivalled. There is .nothing like unto it in the history of tho race. Take (ho present year of grace, for example, and ponder the statement: No fewer than thirty-six Dreadnoughts are confidently expected to bo launched during 1911. In other words, one ship every ton days. THE LION’S SHARE. At the present moment thirty-eight ships of tho Dreadnought typo are in the water, completing and completed, representing the result of more than five years’ work. In one year alone, between now and December 31 next, this number will be almost doubled. Of this total eleven, nr nearly one-third, will be British. On the 17lh of January the 22.500-ton battle:hip Thunderer was launched at Blaekwall. tins ship being more than half as large again as any other warship ever constructed on the I hamos. The Conqueror and Monarch, two sister ships of the Thunderer (which is aleo a sister ship of the Orion, completing at Portsmouth) will be launched during the next two months, as will also the battle cruiser Princess Royal. All these ships will be armed with the now 13.5-inch gun. The battleships will have ten such guns, and will steam 21 knots, and the cruiser have eight guns and steam 23 knots, hollowing closely upon these will come the launch of the Australia .and New Zealand, the two 1.8,800-tou armored cruisers which are being built for colonial service at the. expense of the Dominions after wbiih tlu-y are named. There ships will have eight 12-ineh guns each, and steam 2o knots. Early tins year the live armored ships provided for hi the 191011 Estimates will ba laid down, and as British ships arc now never lunger than ten months on the stocks, all there will bo launched well before tho end of tho year, thus malting the British total 11. Including these, the number of ships to be completed for the British Navy during 1911 will bo :

Battleships 4 Battle, cruisers 2 Small cruisers 5 Destroyers 40 Submarines 10 Total 61 GERMANY AND OTHERS. Get many conics next, with seven launches in 1911; "but this number includes three ships which should, according to the original programme, have been launched in 1910. One of those, the armored cruiser H, has been building since December. 1108—Dial is, for a longer time than it takes to complete a British Dreadnought from laying down to commissioning for active service. Four of tho eight British ships of tho 1909-10 programme are already launched—two took the water last spring; whereas of tiie four German ships provided for in 1909 only one is launched. The other throe will take the water this year, and it is expected -also that the four 1910 ships will bo launched before next January. It in clear, however, that if the rate of building is not, accelerated these ships will not leave the stocks until 1912, in which ease Great Britain will have launched in 1911 eleven ships to Germany’s three. The United States will launch two 26.000- ships, the Wyoming and Arkansas; and it is just possible that the 27.000- New York and Texas, which were sanctioned last autumn, will be launched before tho close of the year. The latter ships will each carry ten 14-inch guns. In June, 1909, four Dreadnoughts—the Gangut, Petropavlovsk, Sevastopol, and Poltava—were laid down in Russian yards, where they are building under the direction of Messrs John Brown and Co., of Clydebank. It Is expected that these will be launched next summer. MONEY AND TONNAGE. The ‘ Glasgow Herald ’ summarises the position as follows; —Seventy battleships and armored cruisers, with a total tonnage of a million and a-half, and valued at £140,000,000, are now being built by the nations of the world. Great Britain has

on the builders’ stocks 250,000 tons, and 128.000 tonnage finishing; Germany has 153.000 tons in building, and 125,000 fitting out; France is building 46,000 tons, and fitting out 110,000; whilst America is building 80,000, and fitting out 70,000 tons. THE TWO-POWER STANDARD. Apart from mere numbers of ships, Great Britain has secured a good lead over Continental rivals by the design of eleven, the commencement of six, and the launch of two ships armed with the new 13.5 in gun, which is regarded as at least 50 per cent, more powerful than any 12in gun now in use. The following statement summarises the additions of armored ships made to the four Jeadini navies of the world since 1890: - 1891-1910. No. Tonnage. Groat Britain, including the Triumph and Swiftsure (purchased), and # excluding the Montagu and Bedford (lost at sea) 101 1,452,890 United States, including feur coast-defence monitors 52 638,536 Germany, including six coast-defence vessels of 25,714 ions 49 599,885 France, excluding the armored cruisers Sully and Chanzy (lost at sea) ... 49 554,770 1901-1910. Groat Britain, notes as above 67 956,540 United States 35 519,070 Germany 31 450,919 France, excluding the Sully 24 330,603 YET ANOTHER TABLE. Further figures bearing upon the same point are furnished by “ Excubitor ’’ in reply to an article in the ‘ Fortnightly Review.’ Like every competent, unbiased, and intelligent critic, he pays a high tribute to the genius of Admiral Fisher: “By astute administration, forethought, and enterprise the British Admiralty has so far won in the international contest of tons and guns. The Navy to-dajq judged by its materiel and personnel—for it has more officers and men than any two Powers —occupies a position of unassailable supremacy, and its predominance is assured onward to the spring of 1913—which was to have been the time of ‘crisis.’” Answering the accusation that the Liberals have starved the Navy, “Excubitor" points out that “ during the last five years the aggregate expenditure upon the Fleet has amounted to £171,340,052; whereas in the preceding five years of Unionist administration tho total outlay amounted to £167,706,201." In construction, the standard of two keels to one has been maintained. Translated into terms of tons and pounds, in the past fifteen years the British and German expenditure on new construction, and the displacement of new ships launched, have been as follows: Cost of New New Construction. Cons; ruction Gt. Brin. Grmny. Gt. Brtn. Grainy. £ £ Tons. Tons. 1893 to 1900.. 4;,819,037 12,506 007 556,335 143,189 1001 to 1010.. 110,942,057 03,144,33.1 900,430 5:2,220 153 755,944 75,061,827 1,516,771 605,409 “Excubitor” .incidentally remarks: "By adopting the Dreadnought principle, Germany was forced to rebuild the Kiel Canal at a cost of £11,500.030, deepem her harbors,- and enlarge her docks, at tuf immense outlay, which, but for the Dreadnought, might have been spent on naval power—ships, guns, and nun.’’ Tho adoption of the 13tin gun, “Excubitor” thinks, has also enabled Great Britain to gain on her rivals. Not one of these critics, be it remembered, attempts to draw the inference that all is well, and that the Empiie may rest content, fin the contrary, their moral and motto is “ Ceaseless vigilance and unceasing p repa rat ion. ”