THE New Zealand Herald AND.DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 1910. THE COLONIAL NAVY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14402, 22 June 1910, Page 6

THE New Zealand Herald AND.DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 1910. THE COLONIAL NAVY.

The formal laying, ■> in the Clyde yards,, of the keel of H.M.S,. ZeaNew Zealand's first contribution to the battleship strength of the Royal Navy, with" the closely following laying of the keel of Australia's great battleship-cruiser, y. marks the beginning of a new era - in Imperial affairs. For in friendly and loyal co-operation with the Australasian States, both Canada and South Africa are joining to insure that naval superiority which is so essential to the preservation ..of the Imperial Peace, and to the maintenance of"; our British freedom. ~ There are differences in method and system, but there is no difference in aim and purpose,- the common idea of every British dominion being that the time has arrived when the great self-governing States of the Empire should join with the Mother Country in sustaining 'a burden forced upon her by international rivalries and largely due to colonial conditions. For the present, the naval aid to be given to the United Kingdom by the entry of the British dominions into the navy-building competition is comparatively small, although it may already be estimated equal to that which might be obtained by an offensive and defensive alliance with any of the smaller naval Powers. But when we look back for a generation at the position then occupied by our British States among the nations of the world, and look forward for a generation at the position we may fairly estimate for them at,the end of that short period, it is not fantastical to assume that long before the middle of the century the navies of the colonies—however they may be formed and organisedwill constitute a powerful and invaluable support to the maritime strength of the United Kingdom. The little islands of the Atlantic will no longer have to rely upon themselves and upon themselves alone for the guarding of the immense and peaceful interests which have been created under the Imperial Flag. For with them will stand kindred countries whose popu-, lation, ' commerce, and wealth are already great, and are likely in a single generation to surpass that of* a . first-class ; European Power, The growth- of our. New Zealand population since 1880 has not been nearly as rapid as it should have been, but it has doubled, nevertheless, and can ! hardly fail to double again by 1940. i Australia; has similarly doubled ■ its population, in the generation in spite of \ severe ~ drawbacks, and•.' is now entering upon a more promising period, which with increased attention, to land settlement may be reasonably expected to at least sustain

the; rate of "increase. ; ? Canada,?; an older Dominion, which has only

recently realised 1 , the agricultural potentialities of r its vast ' Nor "Western provinces, has increased its s population by over,6o percent., and is now ; advancing at a rate which offers a sound :' guarantee for its future prospects, the more so as the filling up of the United ; States prairie lands is turning the main; stream of American agricultural : settlement over the Canadian South Africa offers a more doubtful .problem, ' but its area is so vast,! its possibilities .so enormous, and .its so sparse that with wise anof progressive government it may easily outpace for the immediate future any of the sister-dominions. All these considerations bear directly upon our colonial navies, for population in British lands means , commercial expansion, national wealth and naval . determination, t •• '

1 Upon the exceedingly modest assumption that the general growth of th«s British dominions during the past generation will be continued in the future, we a,rrive at some encouraging conclusions. Taking the respective British populations as they were in- 1880, as they are in 1910, and as they may be estimated for 1940, we have: ,',' 1880. '" 1910. 1940. * Canada 4,250,000 7,000,000 11,250,000 Aust. ... 2,250,000 4,500,000 9,000,000 N.Z. ... 500,000 1,000,000 2,000,000 S. Africa - 1,250,000 2,500,000 Total 7,000,000 13,750,000 24,750,000 This is encouraging from the point of view of population alone, but no mere numerical statement of British colonial populations gives any sound idea of their national strength. Production is carried on upbn a much higher plane than in any European State, and wealth counts for much in bearing , the burden of national and Imperial defence. The latest available returns. show the approximate trade of our British dominions to be: ,;' , ; ' ",' Exports. Imports. '". £. « £. Canada ... ... 70,000,000 : 80,000,000 Australia ... 80,000,000 60,000,000 New Zealand ... 21,500,000 15,350,000 South Africa ... 50,000,000 25,000,000 Total : ... 221,500,000 180,350,000 Thus we have for the ' British dominions the enormous external trade of over £400,000,000, the greater part of which is' with the United Kingdom. This does not include the immense internal trade carried on in each dominion, but represents the value.; of the commerce which has to be almost wholly protected by the Navy, being mainly ocean-borne. Within the next generation this commerce, already rivalling that, of great European nations, will become colossal, and its defence will become- more and more obligatory upon ■ us, even supposing that '■ we had not an instinctive desire to ; share Imperial duties J with our countrymen at . Home. When wo consider'"how absolutely our colonial prosperity depends upon the security of the ocean-roads, how the wheat of Canada, the butter of New Zealand, the wool of Australia, the gold, of South Africa, finds safe transit across the seas only because Itoperial warships police them for us, it is evident that our naval aspirations are based upon sound and practical reasons, and that 'wo are following no idle sentiment in building battleships to aid the United Kingdom. Naval supremacy is a necessity, to the British dominions, and the course we ■ are pursuing' is calculated to kee"p that supremacy in British hands, and as we grow in population and in wealth to frustrate inevitable attempts to wrest it away. ' '•'-.;■' ■