AROUND THE WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20316, 26 January 1928, Page 7

AROUND THE WORLD.

GOSSIP OF THE PORTS. Men who go down to the sea in ships have often sought for the correct definition of the term “ sea power,” and it has been left to the late Governor-General of New Zealand, Admiral of the Fleet Lord Jellicoe, to supply the correct interpretation of this much-discussed term (says the Auckland Star). At the annual Royal Naval Reserve dinner, held in London last month, the distinguished admiral made the following remark: —“ People are apt, in thinking of sea power, to think only of the Royal Navy. Sea power really means the ability to use the sea, and the Royal Navy would be useless in that respect if it were not for the Mercantile Marine. The principal duty of the Royal Navy is to see that the British Mercantile Marine gets complete freedom to use the sea.” Every great writer on the sea has emphasised the fact that sea power means warships, men, and guns. Even the great Mahan, in his great book, “ The Influence of Sea Power on History,” uses the term solely in the sense of a “ naval power,” though the definition provided by Lord Jellicoe forms the general subject of his writings. We may, in fact, regard Mahan as the virtual inventor of the term in its most diffused and more generally accepted meaning, yet he failed to give us an exact definition. Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge found himself in the same difficulty when he wrote: “It is, however, impossible to give a definition which would be at the same time succinct and satisfactory. To say that sea power means the sum total of the various elements that go to make up the naval strength of nations would be in reality begging the question. Mahan lays down the principal conditions affecting the sea power of States, but he does not attempt to give a concise definition of it. Yet no one who has studied his works will find it difficult to understand what it indicates.” And yet one could go on quoting from one distinguished author to another, similar high-sounding passages, which lead one nowhere, and similar exhortations to read, learn, and inwardly digest their writings preparatory to arriving at one’s own conclusions.

We are warned by most writers on the sea against confusing sea power with “ naval power,” “ power of the sea,” “ command of the sea,” “ dominion of the sea,” “ control of the sea,” “ sovereignty of the sea,” and “ empire of the sea.” We are told exactly what all these expressions mean, in so many words, but we are left to provide for ourselves a definition of sea power. Even the dictionary fails us, and we are so completely bewildered that, by the time we have come to the end of the last learned essay, we are incapable of being as brief as our learned preceptors. And now, like a breath of fresh sea air, the crisp words of Lord Jellicoe brush away the cobwebs. Unobsessed by the admonitions of the historians, he tackles the subject in a practical common-sense manner, and he tells us that ‘ sea power means the ability to use the sea.” Nothing more and nothing less. There is, however, food for reflection in these very simple words, particularly when they are read with their context, as they have been quoted. We cannot have sea power unless we can use the sea; we cannot use the sea unless we Lave a mercantile marine; our mercantile marine cannot go about Its lawful businesswithout a navy to protect it. That is the Nice things are frequently said about the merchant service at festive gatherings. Pious "platitudes are breathed by the politicians who are invited to take wine with the brass-bounders, and the guest of the evening is carried away by the flow of his own sentimental eloquence. “ Our debt to those gallant seamen,” “ the Empire’s gratitude,” “Britain will never forget,” are stock phrases. Unfortunately it all ends with platitudes. New Zealand is the only partner of the Empire that ha- shown its appreciation of what the mercantile marine did for it during the dark clays of the Great War. The Flock House training scheme for children of the men of the mercantile marine who fell under the Red Duster is, as Lord Jellicoe has said, the only practical appreciation for what was done by .the men of the merchant service. The personnel of the merchant service will be deeply grateful to Lord Jellicoe for including them in the sea power of the Empire, and that he. has placed on record the fact that “ the navy would be useless if it were not for the mercantile marine ” will give cause for many chuckles on the bridges of our steamers during the change of watches. It will certainly bo great satisfaction to the hard-worked mates of the New Ze.nland coasters to know that their ships arc providing good billets for their brethren of the New Zealand Navy, and the toast of the evening at the next Merchant Service Guild meeting will surely be: “ Sen power, which is the merchant service, and with which is coupled the name of ] the Royal Navy.”