The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1909. GERMANY & THE WESTERN PACIFIC. THE SIMPSONHAFEN STATEMENTS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIII, Issue XLIII, 6 February 1909, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1909. GERMANY & THE WESTERN PACIFIC. THE SIMPSONHAFEN STATEMENTS.

A KECENT cablegram gave the details of a warning conveyed by Major Daniells, of the United States, that Germany was strengthening her power in the Western Pacific by military and naval preparations at Simpsonhafen (not Simon3havon, as the ttelegram first had it), in the Bismarck Archipelago. He said that a strong naval base was being- established there and that much money was being spent, more or less recently, to make of the place a convenient rendezvous and naval base. According to the 'official representatives of Germany in Australasia, however. Major Paniells' statements are so wide of the mark as to be absolutely absurd. .»••♦* s Count Doym, who is acting as Con-snl-General in Australia, stated to a newspaper representative at Sydney that the transfer of the headquarters of the German Government in the Western Pacific from Herbortshohe to Simpsonhafen had been decided upon. The two places are only a few miles — a comfortablo carriage drive — apart, however, and the change was deemed necessary in view of the fact ■that while Herbertshoho has no bar^ bour, although picturesquely situated on the shores of an open roadstead. Simpsonhafpn ds a fine landlocked port. • • • • • "I was there about a year ago," continued Count Deym, "and spent six weeks in the Bismarck Archipelago, principally at Hcrbertshoho and Simpsonhafeu, aa the giicst of the Governor, Dr. Hahl. Dr Hahl is a personal friend of mine, and in addition to 'tlio official correspondence from him wh,ich passes through my hands, I receive privato letters from him by practically every mail. I am, therefore, in a position to know what is going on in the colony which he governs, and I say that is not in tho^whole colony, which is a vast territory, one piece of cannon, or one fortification. Neither is there anything which suggests a fortification. The block-houses are of the lightest type for the .tropics. There is not one solid building, and certainly none that couia possibjy be ssod as, or convorted into, a fortification. It is not intended, and I believe there is not even a suggestion, that a naval base should be established at Simpsonhafen. It is correct that some years ago the Norddcutscher Lloyd Co., at a_heavy expense, ereoted a pier at Simpsjjnhafon; but it serves only commercial uses, and accommodates the monthly mail boats and a few tiny coastal trading vessels. There are a copra shed and some water tanks upon it, but nothing more. No naval depot of any description exists, but coal supplies are provided by a private firm at Matupi, which is about a mil© from Simpsonhafen." •*•• ♦ • • Count Deym, continuing, pointed out that in view of German interests in the Archipelago,- the naval force was remarkably small . There was only one cruiser, the .Condor, of 16001 tons, built in 1892, and. quite obsolete, while ithe surveying ship Planet had not even a gun to salute the port on her frequent visits to Sydney. The |Condor visited Simpsonhafen from time to time, just as she went to ■other places in the Western Pacific; but Sydney was more her hcad-quar-iters than any other place. Count Deym added: — There is no military force da the German Pacific colony. In that jt differs from our African colonies, where they have a small standIng army, called protection troops. Neither is there a white eoldier, much less an officer,. in the whole colony of KJerman" New, Guinea. The men on the two ships already mentioned are excepted, of course. Dr Hahl has. a force of black police, perhaps 200 strong, but probably less. They ire trained by quite a few white officials known as police masters — men who wore' formerly, in all probability, petty officers in the German army. The Governor is quite opposed to creating any sort of militarism in tho colony, and the success of his administration supports 'him in thls t because he has boonablo to quell any disturbance witlr-ihis native police' force." "Lloyd's" Guide to Australasia, issued last year by the Norddoutscher Lloyd Company, has something different to say about Simpsonhafen, as the newly established station of the company in the Bismarck Archipelago. It says: — "Hero a wharf 870 ft. ' in length, and capable of accommodating ressels of any size, has recently been jonstructed by the company, and )thor preparations are in progress for lhe .establishment" of permanent headquarters at this -point. The. wharf, tough considerably exceeded in ength by one built by the natives of iVaMis .Island in Polynesia, is unique is being., probably the largest wh\rf JuUtSfffiFTpraotica.l purposes in the Pacific] boean. The fact that SimponhafenJa Within, the active volcanic leltlha^b^en^rg^

quarters Micro should be curtailed. Vulcan, Inscl, an island in Simpsonhafen, did not exist until it was thrown up by a severe earthquake in tho year 1878. On the other hand, there is a somcwliat common belief that Simpsonhafon is so surrounded by hills that it is naturally well fortified, and that it couia be protectea by the placing of guns around those hiU9li " - Tho Australian Commonwealth Government, in spite of its Minister of Defence, who pocli-pooh3 Major Daniells' statements, is fully alive to the presence of Germany in the Western Pacific. But Ministers decline to recogniso Simpsonhafen as any menace to the Commonwealth for at least many years to come. There are two reasons for this measure of confidence. One is that not only is the place not fortified, but it ha 9 not at present such facilities for fortification as wouia mako it an effective naval base*. In the second place, it i? fplt that, tho German naval power in tho Pacific ia so infinitesimal that It would require an entiro reversal of German naval policy, with a contingent enormous increase in German navaf strength, to require a naval base in these waters. Allowing, however, that Germany 'should -in the future meet theso conditions, ana establish a naval base at Simpsonhafen, the Australian defence policy would immediately become an offensive-ae-fenaive one, as was recommendea, by Sir lSdwara Hutton in his Minute of Defcnee of April, 1902. Under such a policy, immediately upon the creation of a diplomaic strain in Europe in which England ana Germany were opposea, the first auty of the Australian Government, acting in conjunction with the Imperial navy, in these waters would be to prepare, and hold in reaainees for immoaiate 3espatch an extraordinary military force adequate for whatever requirements were determined upon, to co-operate with tho navy in seizing Simpsonhafen, thus closing the only German base in Australasia that could be utilised for the purpose of aggression toward Australia in tho event of Britain's naval power being defeated. Finally, as some proof that so far at least nothing very great has been done at Simpsonhafen, it may bo said that a grant by the Reichstag in connection with the transfer of headquarters^ — in itself by no means large for naval base purposes at- least (160,000 marks, or £8000)— has drawi adverse comments from leading German newspapers as extravagant beyond need. Writing on December 12 in defence of the expenditure, the Berlin correspondent of the "Cologne Zeitung" said: — "Thero were set aside fer Simpsonhafen 160,000 marks for buildings. This appears to us, at the flwt glance, not out-of-the-way expenditure, considering" the revenue that has been derived. Hitherto the Government has had '"little linterest (in German Now Guinea), and any budgets in which large expenditure has been proposed for this purpow have aroused energetic expressions ( of disapproval. Theste buiiaings are of great importance, ana will serve a .civilising purpose. They will concentrate at one spot the government of these islands where sooner or later there must be a "strong union. However, from the 160,000 marks for this year there have been struck off 60,000 marks, which are to be devotea to the erection and furnishing of a mission station on" one of the Admiral 'y Islands."