Britain’s Navy

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 31 January 1939, Page 9

Britain’s Navy

Notes on the News

Lord Stanhope, First Lord of the Admiralty, says Britain’s suiieriority in battleships will be materially increased within three years. Hector Bywater, one of the greatest naval authorities in Great Britain, said recently: "Amid all the preoccupations of A.R.P. and the obvious need for safeguarding the heart of the British Common wealth against a knock-out Mow. the authorities responsible for the defence of the Empire as a whole have never lost sight of the predominating factor of sea-power. “Command of the sea, or of such areas of it as arc traversed by the trade routes which form tlie vital arteries of the Commonwealth, is as indispensable today as it ever was. “Any who may question this proposition should follow the advice of Lord Salisbury and ‘study large maps.* Lei them survey the vast expanses of the Atlantic and the Pacific, furrowed by the innumerable tracks of shipping which link up the homeland with the Dominions, colonies, protectorates, and foreign countries, whence we draw the foodstuffs and materials essential to our daily life, and then consider how these arteries, the severance of wh’eh would infallibly lead to Britain’s destruction as a nation—could he preserved by any other means than seapower. . . . “It is a demonstrable fact that the security of Great Britain and the Em--1 pire ns a whole still depends on tae possession of adequate sea power.. . . “At the present time neither the J fighting navy nor its complementary sea service measures up to the requisite standard of strength, but in the former case the deficiencies are beimr rapidly made good. It has been officially stated that the current naval programme, by far the largest ever undertaken in time of peace, is designed ito produce n ‘Two hemisphere* licet. . . Germany And The Czechs Germany is said to be making farreaching demands 011 Czechoslovakia thereby indicating the tightening of the Nazi grip on the country. | Said. G. E. It. Gcdye last November 111 the “New York Times”: “If Hitler should wish any evening to hold his court in Prague it would take him from the nearest frontier just an hour to arrive there with a motorized bodyguard j corps. No single fort, 110 line of j trenches —and, of course, no single ally—could be there to delay his pro- | “Thus, if Hitler expects an authori- ; tariun government to be set up at ! Prague—and lie lias so intimated—the j pjjesent Czech leaders are going to establish it. "If he wishes a corridor through their country, which even .Mr. Chamberlain did not wish publicly to give him, the Fuehrer has but to intimate his wish —as lie has done —and it is complied with. "When In* demands anti-Semitic action—it is believed he will do so early in 3989—he will certainly get it. This notwithstanding the fact that the Czechs.

“If Germany demands that the voices of Dr. Benes’s enemies should be heard in the Press and that of his friends silenced, it is so. . . . “Encouraged by powerful allies from the day of the creation of their country to stand fast against any revival arm to the hilt for this purpose and then to stand as a bulwark of democracy against the rising tide of Nazism, they feel they were led on I by the democratic States to the very ! last, then not merely deserted but j threatened and bullied into submission to the common enemy. In a people ! where bitterness has reached such a j pitch any revulsion of feeling is pos-

Poland And Germany The Warsaw corespondent of “The Times” refers to the intentions of Poland and Germany to continue as good neighbours. There is little doubt that Poland is engaged in the dangerous game of playing off Gvrniauy and Russia. Last November there were accounts of a definite turn by Poland away from Germany and toward .Soviet Russia. It was then announced that the Warsaw and Moscow Governments had renewed their determination to adhere to the non-aggression pact of 1982 and had reached other agreements. The move was considered by observers in Warsaw to be the retort of Colonel Beck, the Polish Foreign Minister, to German opposition to the desire of Poland and Hungary to obtain a common frontier by taking part of Eastern , Czechoslovakia. 1 A further source of Polish-German j friction, perhaps the one that has furI nished the reason for an attempt to j bring about Polish-Soviet solidarity, lies in the fear in Poland of German proI puganda for an independent Ukraine. Poland, however, has no wish to oe an op. n enemy of Germany because of the comparative ease with which the country could he invaded. The fact Hint her frontier marches with Germany’s lends itself to the exercise of great diplomatic caution. Co-ordination Of Defence Sir Thomas inskip lias been moved lrom lhe portfolio of Minister for the Co-ordination of Defence to be Secre--1 tary Tor llt 0 Dominions, and Lord Chatfield lias taken hits place. Sir Thomas Insklp was appointed to 1 he newly created office of Minister for the Co-ordination of Defence on March 33, 3930. The duties of the office were outlined by Mr. Stanley Baldwin, then Prime Minister, on February 27, 1930. He said that while the Prime Minister must retain the chairmanship of the Committee of Imperial Defence and of the Defence Policy and Requirements Committee, the new Minister would be appointed as deputychairman of these committees, to whom the Prime Minister would delegate the following duties:— The general day-to-day supervision and control on the Prime Minister’s behalf of the whole organization and ; activity of the Committee of Imperial ! Defence; the co-ordination of execti--1 live action and of monthly progress j reports to the Cabinet, or any commit* I tee appointed by them, on the exeetj- | tion of tire reconditioning plans; disI comment of any (toints which either 1 have not been taken up or are lieing | pursued too slowly, and (in consultation with the Prime Minister or other j Ministers or committees ns required) jof appropriate measures for their I rectification. To lake the chair at committee meetings when the Prime Minister is away and t«> consult personalty with the Chiefs of Staff Committee, and to make any recommendations for Improving the organization of the Committee of imperial Defence.