NAVAL NOTES.

Evening Star, Issue 14626, 24 July 1911, Page 3

NAVAL NOTES.

tCONTKIBTTTID Bt TH« NAVV LEAGUE, Otago Branch. 1 "Arm yourselves and he valiant and «e that ye rise up in readiness- against I lie Dawn, that ye may do battle with th-te that are assembled against us, . . . For it is better to die in battle than J i»t• to behold the calamities of our own People. . . ." Quoted by K. W. Chambairs in ' Ailsa Paige.' "There is no peace south of tho line.— Franci6 Drake. THE WORLD'S NAVIES. There is more than a touch of irony m lie iact that simultaneously with the *' im proved relations" of the Naval Powers, the talk of peace, and the signing of treaties. there is neither stop nor pause in the pre parations that these solfsame Powers are making for war, and no sign that the vast nuns now being spent on ships and armaments are to be diverted to old ago pensions and social reform. One can hardly refrain from smiling; when one reads the ■wholly erroneous and aggressively cockmire "deductions that incompetent people are drawing from the new An'glo-Japtmeso Alliance and the proposed Anglo-Americaf. Arbiration Treaty. The thoughtful man wiD not be tempted to attach any value to these inconsequent and iniccurate conch'.pions. "War as a possibility must ever be kept to the fore "by responsible British statesmen. How, when, and vhere it tnay come Done can say : that it will com. 1 is the supreme, as it is the only, factor that is worth consideration. War in the pant has been th? one imperative essential of national being, and there is n.\ evidence, either in history or present-day human nature, to loud ua to assume that war is not a near or distant condition of continued existence. Hence it may be asserted thai a knowledge of what tho nations are doing in the way oi hattle*hip-b\ii!ding is -il< necessary and, perhaps, a little more practical and serviceable than dreaming vis'ons of what would be if only this or that, or the world and the people i;i it. were other than thev are.

BRITISH SUPREMACY DECLINING. In tie 'Naval Annual' tor 1511 Mr T. A. Brafiaey, the editor, says that year by year the predominant position once occupied bv the British Navy becomes less marker!. The German Navy is more nearly equal in power to the- British Navy to-day th.in was the French Navy 15 years ago. and it. is evident that t'be present superiority of the British over the German Navy wiii in fche immediate futpre diminish. The navy of Austria, Germany's close ally._ is becoming a factor in the naval situation, and Austria's recent action in the Balkan Peninsula, with the support of Germany, and in defiance of the Treaty of Berlin, is an indication of how the peace of the world

may be disturbed. ... Mr Brasses- | points out that Germany is displacing '-h-s I United States as. the second naval Power I in the world, and tliat if the present naval j activity in Austria continues the navy if j that country will ere long take the p!a— • of the Russian or Italian Navy in table? of j comparison. —Battleship Comparisons.— After revising the battleship table by adding new vessels and striking out those which have been taken off tho active li-ts. Mr Brrfssey finds that tfw present position of the Powers as regards battleships of all c!ae*es is ss fellows : Built. Building. Total. Great Britain 52 15 67 Germanv 25 16 41 j United "States 29 6 -o I France 1§ 8 Ta I Japan lo ■'' 16 : Rnseia 1 ~ v * \ Italy 6 4 12 In completed battleships, he adds, the Empire is inferior bv two to Germany and the United States combined ; and our relative position, whether compared with these two navies combined, or with that of Germany alone, must steadily crow worse, as during 1911 and 1912 we shall complete only "the same number of battleships as Germany alone, and the older battleships in be struck off the list will be more numerous in the case of Great Britain than in that of Germany. Taking modern battleships, we have 33 ships completed to 39 for Germany and the United States. The comment of one paper on the above ; wa~- "Although there is talk of peace and j goodwill on every hand between the nations, publications like this bring us to earth asain, and reveal the long road there | is to travel before we can attain our ileal | The same critic, bv the wav. proceed- to j whittle down all that Mr Braes-v makes j clear, and assures his renders that they j can continue to sleep soundly m their her.- . j —How Expats D ; ffer.— _ ; The advantage of these tables is that , both little navy and big navy men can j quote fror-i ihwn in s-.ippoi-L •>! tncu- own ] particular case. .Ml depends <m wh?t j flllDS are pnt in arr! what 1 tt .-.lit. In'-'i Admiralty issued a about we same time as the "Naval Annual' was! published. T-'-s list, tho.vd, differing but | little from that of Mr Brassey's, i- sum- j cient to cause a libeial paper to refer ex- i ultinsrbv to tho overwhelming superiority of j ihe Bri 'sh Navy, both in ships built and [ shin* huildinj. and armored cruisers over 20 years old, are omitted from tho return, . which may be summarised as follows: — , —Battleships.— Built. Building. ] Groat Britain 53 'lO | France 17 8 Russia J 7 Germany ... 32 9 Italy .* 9 4 Austria-Hungary 11 • 1 United States 29 6 Japan 15 2 , —Armored Cruisers— j Great Britain 38 b j France 20 1 j Russia 4 2 j Germany 10 3 j Italy -"• 10 - j Austria-Hungary o j United States ... 15 Japan 13 1 THE WORLD'S DREADNOUGHTS. A list of the world's Dreadnoughts down to June 1 hae been compiled by Mr Alan Burgoyne, Conservative MP. for North Kensington, editor of the ' Naw League Annual.' The list shows the British Empire to have : Twelve such vessels now in commission. Four others to be commissioned this year. Fotm more launched and to be commisfcioned neat year. Five more to be launched this year. Four to.be launched next year, and Three to be laid down next year. Giving a total of 32 Dreadnoughts to be in commission in 1914. Germany has five Dreadnoughts in, commission, tour more to be commissioned this year (three during this month), and four each to be coramissioßed in the- three succeeding years, making a total of 21 Dreadnoughts to be in commitssion in 1914. ! The United States now have four Dread- j noughts in commission, and two coining into commission this year and in each of the three following years, making a total of 12 to be in commission in 1914, Japan has two in commission, two coining into commission nest year, one in the following year, and three in 1914, wheal the will have eight in all. France has sis Dreadnoughts of the 1906 programme coming into commission th's year, and two each in 1913 and 1914, bringing her total up to eight m 1914. —Other Powers.— For other Powers the returns are t T£u£i»a —Four laid down in 1909. fawfcria.—Two coming into commission *i US** ana in 1914, and one in 1915Italy.—One coming into commission next year, two in the following year, . d one in 1914, all of which are likely to be delayed. Brazil.—Two in commission, and one coming into commission nex+ year. Spam. —One com-ng into cammiseiounert year, one in too following vear, and one In 1915. Argentine.—Two laid down last year, which axe iifcely to be delayed in coming into commission next year. Chili and Turkey are each credited with tbo isteßtion of laying down two this -pM

In a note Mr Burgoyne points out that sprcd in construction is still in favor of the British Empire. The average period from laying down to launching in our case i.-. 9.64 months, against 13.93 months in tho United States, 14 months in Germany, 20.6 months in France, and 22.5 months in Japan. The average- period from laying d v.ii to completion is in our case 26 months, against 31.2 months in Germany, 32.7 mon'hs in the United States, 42 lcontlis iir France, and 65 montlis in Japan. GERMAN NAVY LEAGUE. During the last week in May the German Navy League held their annual meeting at Nuremberg, and those present were in the moot patriotic of moods. They unanimously passed a resolution, without debate, that- after 1912 the fleet should be increased by one large armoied cruiser, iu addition to the two annual battleships provided in the amended Navy Act of 1908. This resolution drew forth many piotosts, and was assert-;d to have little or no support- in the country, even- Conservative journals fighting shy of a proposal wnich might be regarded in England us a renewed challenge. All class-re, said tho 'Daily Chronicle's' Berlin correspondent, are u lanimous in the belief that relations with England have vastly improved, and are quite certain that the German Government and those directly responsible for the Navy will not listen "for a moment to the irresponsible mischief-maker:-, of tho Navy League. Itmay be safelv taken for granted that Germany will not exceed her programme. No conceivable 1 Bcichs'ag would sanction the additional £2.500,000 which tho new cruiser would cost.

The wish, possibly, is father to the thi.uv.dit. This at least, it. certain : that the German Sociali-'ts do not believe in the sincerity of their own Government's prof-.-sion-s. 'The Times's ' 1> rlin correspond'.nt wrote on June 4 that "the Socialist- I'rcss. which lias declared again and again rhnt an extension of the German naval pivgramnio is only a matter of time, and that, all denials are as wo.tbless as were the official denials which .preceded (lie pn-duetien of the Navy Law and the later laws-, insists that the app.nent repudiation of tho Lea cue is only mi electioneering rnunrruvre. Without expressing ,-i.p.y opinion about that, adds the coirespnndent. it may be said that the main interest at present of the Conservative ard Centre parties, and in a sense also of the Government, is to stave off apprehensions of fiesh taxation.