The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 1920. THE GOSPEL OF EMPIRE.

Gisborne Times, Volume LII, Issue 5464, 27 April 1920, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 1920. THE GOSPEL OF EMPIRE.

Thorn is much rejoicing locally on account of the strong probability that H M.S. Renown will now pay ioveity Bay a call. The line vessel on which the Prince of Wales is <-' al b> J "k out his visits to the Overseas Bom - nions is one of the latest hattOcruisers in the most lornnuable na\j ever established. If it does happen —and we trust that it will be so—that this magnificent war vessel comes into Poverty Bay her presence will do more than the vsw even of H.M.S. New Zealand to m press the residents of this distiic with the might of Britain s Oiantl Navy—the navy without the aul which the Allies could not havcti - umphed in the Great M ai. t Renown, as is well known, is a great deal larger than the famous vessel which was presented to the Binpii^ by this Dominion and _ she 1 the distinction of being the hist warship mounting loin, guns to v ■ the Southern Hemisphere \\ hds all will feel sorry that the Guest is unable to accompany Renown to this port her wsil janim , fail to give very great pleasuie »«> to serve the useful purpose of cmphasising that tlie Ilo>ai - > , one of the strongest ties binding together the Motherland and the seas Dominions. Despite the that more is heard nowadays on the subject of international disaimament the need unhappily exists foi making of even greater -' t o impress upon the people of the O' - seas Dominions— and particulaillj U voung folk—the dependence of these distant British lands upon for their security and developmentIt is certain that Viscount Jellicoe will in his new position of Goten General of New Zealand, do much to promote, amongst the people f Dominion, a stronger belief m the doctrine of unity of Empire. In var eu ■ speeches which he made online hi," tour of this country last year, the tlisti.icinsl.ed it was open to scr.ous it whether or not Germany would have precipitated the Great Mar f ■ had realised that the British Empuo was bo firmlv wo! tied. I can no help thinking/ 5 ho tola a meeting ox citizens in Christchurch, that the British League of Nations is tue strongest instrument for peace in the world: but, of course, even such a league will not continue to be Ox ! much use unless it still lias force behind it. and. therefore, I trust that force will always be present m tne British League of Nations and. that the force will still include the supremacy of the seas ” .There can be no question but that if the- Loya Navy had not triumphed, the Allies would have lost the war. In If H > it may be- recalled. Viscount Jellicoe made the sensational statement that Britain was carrying on the war as if she hadl command of the seas. “Yve had not got the supremacy of the seas at that moment,” he told h; 3 Christchurch audience, “for the German submarines were iy command; and yet we were sending troops overseas by hundreds of thousands and sending supplies after them in entire disregard or the fact that we had not command of the seas. Viscount .Jellicoe then went on to stress how important- it was that on the seas the British Empire should remain paramount-. It- would, he said, mean starvation to the Homeland if the navy ever failed, and the Overseas Dominions would, in such circumstances, be certain to he blockaded, if not invaded. He pointed out that it was only because the Channel had been so well guarded that London had : managed to secure enough food supplies from overseas during the struggle. Even if the ports on the Vest Coast- of England had beeu developed the railway communication was incapable of dealing with sufficient supplies to feed London. Will the people of th e Empire agree to continue to put- their hands in their pockets- to find the funds required to maintain the supremacy of the seas? That is a matter which Viscount Jellicoe feels may be viewed with anxiety. The reins of power in some of the countries which form portions of the British Empire l may, he fears, be held at times by governments which may consider that expenditure in the direction of assisting to maintain a supreme British navy may not be a wise step in the matter of keeping themselves in power. But Viscount Jellicoe is rightly of the opinion that New Zealand is not likely ever to lag behind in doing its fair share in this regard:. As a result of his tour of this Dominion, he expressed the belief that New Zealand was destined to carry a very large population and that the people of this country would in time become a groat maritime nation. “In this Dr minion,” he remarked, in the [ course ol' an address at Auckland, "the people, I am certain, realise ; that they are dependent, if not for security, at auy rate for prosperity, on sea power; security, of course. If such a thing were to happen as an attempted invasion; prosperity, certainly, because the trade of the country would not- be able to leave or enter your ports unless the British navy remained supreme and could keep the ocean roads open.” We expect to find, soon after Viscount Jellicoe’s advent to office as Gover-nor-General of this Dominion, much greater interest taken in this country in the work pf the Navy League, the Royal Colonial Institute, the Overseas’ Club and kindred' institutions. The great majority 0 f the people of this Dominion are under not illusion as to what would happen if the supremacy of the seas was lost to Britain. They realise not only the dependence of this Dominion on the British navy, but also their obligation to hear a proper share of the financial responsibilities entailed in the support of the Empire’s sea forces. Viscount Jellicoe will assuredly be able, during his residence in New Zealand, to do much in the wav of developing the splendid ideals of 'nation-hood and of Empire unity which already ar e so strongly held in this Dominion.