THE GREAT NAVY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17335, 25 November 1916, Page 14

THE GREAT NAVY.

WHAT IT MEANS TO THTS COUNTRY. SPEECH BY ACTING-PREMIER. Tho vital importance of the Imperial Navy to New Zealand and other important subjects wore interestingly touched on by the Acting-Prime Minister (the Hon James Allen) in an address delivered at the conference of the Chambers of Commerce on Wednesday. In the, course of his address, states (lie " Dominion," Mr Allen said that the chambers of commerce were very valuable institutions, especially now when we had to look to the future beyond the war. Past experience would not bo of great value as a guide for the future, and the programme for tho i.hno to como must differ from tho programme of the past. Practical experience had taught us what it meant to have command of the sea, and that command was of greater importance to the commercial people- than to other sections of the community. New Zealand's position would be indeed deplorable hut for Britain's command of the sea. Ho would ask the conference to consider what would be the position after the war in regard to naval defence. He had had the subjects of militarv and naval defence before him for years, and in London had discussed witli the Admiralty and Imperial authorities New relation to those subjects. Some delegates might net agree with the policy (then initiated) of founding a scheme which would eventually enable us to provide her a means o£ training for Imperial Navy purposes. Also, some mi-lit nol agree with the policy of local turns of an Imperial Navy. However, the fact remained that men formerly opposed to the policy had become converted into believers in it through what they had seen in the last tew vears. "If we are really to lake a deep interest in naval concerns they must concern us directly and locally. Unless wo can produce local .interests, we will never get out of our people their be-it support. I believe that the Navy of the future must be an Imperial Navy under one control." Whether that control would be the British Admiralty, or a Commission or a board with Dominion representation was a question which might be left to the future. He felt confident that the dominions would have representation, and thought that if the Navy was to be worthv of the. Empire every part of the Empire must provide its share in inon aiid ultimately in ships. New Zealand had made a small beginning;, but the effort was checked by the outbreak of war. Ail were proud of having given ihe battleship New Zeaalnd, of what the ship had done, and of what had been done by a little ship which had come out here for training purposes. The men on that little ship, operating in a dangerous snhere, had done their duty, and ho hoped they would reap a reward. When we heard their whole story wo would be very proud of them. Mr Allen urged the delegates as business men to consider the policy of the future, and to bear in mind that the Imperial Navy of tho future must oomrcand the seaways of the world}! or we would go under" For instance, if wo could not ship our pioduce to England. England would starve and we would collapse. Our sea routes were more to ib than Germany's great railways wero to" Germany. Touching on the subject of the future of commerce, Mr Allen said that in tho past Britain had been too easy with opponents. She had allowed others to get their hands on her trade, and to forestall her in invention. We conld not afford to go to sleep again, nor allow Gorman scientists to supersede our own. Tf wo were to maintain n position at tho head of the world's affairs, the brains of the Empire must be used, and ho hoped scientific .investigation would be encouraged in every wav and applied to our industries. He hoped we would not allow our.enemies and those who might become- enemies to get hold of our industries and productions. The great danger of the morrow might not be military " kultur,'" but a combination of military and commercial " kultur. 5 ; We must take every care to hold acid preserve what we havo for those who succeed us: we must not allow others to collar our : ndnstries. While he held the idea that all commercial relations with the enemy must bo now at a standstill, he did not think that feasible for the future. He did not suppose any commercial man would say that we could entirely shut outdoors to German products, nor that it was wise that Germany's door should be closed to us. Wo must give, and take, but. nou as in the past, when we dad all the giving and Germany all the taking. There was the great point. We must hold on to our own industries, but it would be to our interest to do a certain amount of trade with all the world.