THE BRITISH NAVY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14817, 26 April 1910, Page 5

THE BRITISH NAVY.

TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE. THE FIRST ESSENTIALS. : AN ADMIRAL'S VIEWS. Press • Associalion-By Telegraph-Copyright ADELAIDE, April 25. {Received April 25, at 8.45 a.m.) Admiral flosanquc't, Governor of South Australia, presided at the .St. George Scciety',6 banquet. In the course of his address he gave Iris opinion jm naval training. In view of the work which lies before Australia, in this direction, he declared that training and discipline came before everything. . If, these were .inadequate, they might spend' their money by millions without any good result. In the navy a quickly-trained personnel was a terrible danger, and a danger that was the most difficult to discover. As a nilo it was only found when war had actually commenced. He was as much opposed-to war as any man could be, but they existed for war, for victory, and for no other purpose. If they were inefficiently trained, and inadequate in a knowledge of discipline, an enemy would sweep them all away, 'They must not, however, rely on discipline and training, unless they were 'of the very best, This was removed from the second best by only, a slight degree.of efficiency, but it meant just the difference between victory and defeat. Every admiral of a fleet on every.station in the world must be constantly thinking of war, and of nothing else. It was his business. In the building up of their navy the Commonwealth should pursue a. war policy steadily and thoroughly, especially in the matter of training. Ho considered that naval men were not thoroughly capable of. meeting all the exigencies they might have to meet till thev bad spent seven years in constant training.