THE NAVY ESTIMATES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14786, 19 March 1910, Page 14

THE NAVY ESTIMATES.

; Sin,—lii view 'of the pronounced increaso in the total of '-ttiis year s navy estimate,, your leader on the suojeet, whieh appeared in your issue of yesterday, will jio tloubt h.ivo been looked for ami cad with inteiest by 11 very large section o[ ll\e community. Your reiorence therein lo Sir William White's article, in., the Nineteenth Century is my excuses for asking Hie'" indulgence of your columns. You claim-as '' reassuring " the statement made ill' that article to tlio cil'ect that, at the beginning of April, 1912, Great Britain should, it is anticipated, be possessed of 20 Dreadnought and 75 per-Dreadnouglit battleships and armoured cruisers iir'commission, and at. that date less than 20 years of ago, as against Germany's 13 Dreadnoughts and 28 prc-Dreadnoughte, the British pro-Dread;, noughts being greatly superior lo those of Germany of. corresponding age. . Presumably it is our "brutal" preponderance in pro-Dreadnoughts that has led you' to accept the above statement with such satisfaction. Magnificent, ships though they are, it is just those pre-Dreaduoughts which are at present, so to sptak," proving a source of weakness to the ]->nire. -The "-man in, the street" is constantly being rcniincl.cd'i' of their existence anil of our, admitted liresent, unassailable superiority. The fact that owing to the multiplication of foreign ships of thn new typo all .prc-Droadncughfs.(bo(;h'. British and'other, with a few ncssible'exceptions) mlist of necessity. cease in thn near future to be reckoned 'its '"capital" ships has not. been made sufficiently clear to him.' During-'thc past 12 mo.'lis,' wlien comparisons of naval strength have become, as you say, " bevvilderin-gly frequent and complicated." lie has had the German pro--gramme dinned into his ears to the ex-' elusion of. all others. He is apt to ignore, the progressive steps, taken by Italy** •• Austria, the United States,' Japan. Russia, France, and certain South American Hepublics to augment their several fleets 'inbuilding ships of the latest design. Ho possibly cherishes the idea t.hat, provided Great Britain can show a superiority in Dreadnought strength in the North Sea, a'l thnt is needed will have been nlishtd. He comforts himself with IV ihowriit that. Great- Britain will, it is. paid. 1'? the ' possessor in : Anvil, 1912, r °~ nreadnouolits. whereas German-- will V : l.hot date have only'. 13 in commission. Fa has not trailed himself to think or look further ahead. Ho lias not. as vet .crravod the fact t.hit we must, within the mt fewyears. r-nkien o»r units ill *l>o Mi'i'itorrmienn. the Pacific. a»d wif'i a'i adenxnte m'->v>"vtio'i of vee.«pls of (!'--> latest, creation. Maybe ho is content !o- exaggerate ill his own mind the importance and strength of the recently authorised colonial navies. II does not strike him that for many years these latter must tend to weakness rather than, to increase the strength of the royal navy. He is patriotic without a tloubt, and would shudder at the thought of a disruption of the Empire; lie has been let] to his conclusions by the dazzling picture of our present security. It is to be hoped' that he will bo converted before it he tco late, and that lie will then tlemar<l and fee that he gets a national naval nolicy .worthy of the great Empire to which ho has the honour to belong.—l am. elc.. Kcslvn, March 18. •• .• A. Ticci.Es,