MARITIME SUPREMACY

Evening Star, Issue 16263, 4 November 1916, Page 12

MARITIME SUPREMACY

-'SIR JAMES MILLS'S WARNING. Sir Jamie Mills, in his presidential address ~- ' at.'the Institute of Marino Engineers, Tower , Hill, London, said many members or the ~, . 'Australasian Institute of Marino Engineers . had changed their address to " Somewhere in the North Sea'," and in their new sphere of action they were upholding l.ho best t-ndi-tions of their profession. It was difficult to forecast the position of British shipping after t,ho war, but it was clear that we must be • prepared for entirely new conditions. "The practical control. by British shipping of, the seaborne commerce of the world," continued Sir James, "will no longer remain unchallenged. The war lesses, in addition to ordinary marine casualties, during the last two years, have so seriously depleted our mercantile tonnage, while the output of fresh lonnago has been on so limited a scale, that it ■will be years before wo can hops to enjoy the samo relative advantage in regard to the toiinnge of the world, that we possesied before the outbreak of the war; and wo inust recogniso that, side by side with our depletion of tonnage, there has been great acti- . vity in tho shipbuilding yards of neutral countries, so that we shall find ourselves challenged at every turn by well-equipped competitors. To meet the new situation we shall require not only ships equal if not superior to those of our rivals, but we must also be' in a position to employ our tonnage to the very best advantage and with the greatest possible economy. It is obvious that the continuance of our supremacy as a maritime Power will depend in no small degree upon the character and efforts cf our engineer's, whether they bo designers, manufacturers, superintendents, or that fine body of sea-going engineers whom I havo nio-o particularly in mind to-night." It must bo recognised, he continued, that developments were taking place almost daily in .marine engineering which called for the highest qualifications in those responsible for the care and direction of machinery. There were some who thought that the State might well offer more encouragament in con-

nection with the advancement «if technical knowledge, while tho fact that our engineers were at a disadvantage in tlus respect compared with the engineers of other countries should servo as an additional stimulus to individual effort. There was a wide field open for both original work and the improvement and perfecting of, present machinery. All marine engineers would wish earnestly for conditions involving the widor employment of fuel oil, with corresponding improvement in the conditions of stokehold work at sea. Perhaps the most remarkable development of modern times was that of the internalcombustion engine. We had seen in the' submarine, for example, the high utility of this motor. This type of marine engine for commercial purposes had already been fairlv well tested in ships of moderate capacitv", and we looked to the larger vessels now being built to provide a convincing test. It seemed fair to expect within a few years to see steam-driven vessels take a secondary place among the mercantile navies of the world. Whatever revolutionary changes might be. made in the future, he was satisfied that in competition for the most efficient and economical forms of machinery, for both naval and mercantile ships, British engineers would lead the way. (Cheers.) The hon. secretary (Mr James Adamson) having read a letter from the Australian Institute of Marino Engineers, expressing their sense of the honor done to the Dominion by the election of a distinguished N"w Zealander to the presidency of tho British Institute, • a vote of thanks was accorded, on the motion of Mr Ruck Keen (chairman of the council), seconded by Mr George Adams, and supported by Sir James Carroll sentative of the New Zealand Parliament).