NAVAL NOTES

Otago Witness, Issue 2914, 19 January 1910, Page 14

NAVAL NOTES

(Contributed by the Navy League—Otago Branch.) THE COLONIES AND THE NAVY. “ I have discussed the question of an Imperial navy with men of all classes in all parts of Canada. Canadians agree that the navy must be regarded as the common possession of all parts of the Empire, and that the immense cost of a supreme war fleet ought no longer to be borne by the Mother Country alone. For the first time in history representatives of the various self-governing colonies have agreed voluntarily to undertake a share of the burden of naval defence, and that action opens up a wonderful prospect for the future of the Empire and the maintenance of peace.”— Sir William White (late Director of Naval Construction), at the Society of Arts, London, November 17. Sir Wilfrid Laurier read a letter from the superior of the Canadian College at Rome, in which he answered, when asked if he were in danger during the Ferrer riot: *’ No; 1 will hoist the British flag if we are attacked. The British flag is our talisman.” Canadians, said the Premier, recognised it was their duty to defend the British flag, to which they owed eo much, especially the French Canadians. Wherever there are rights and privileges there are likewise duties and responsibilities; and so long as_ we enjoy the rights and privileges of British citizenship, so long wo must and will assume and accept all the responsibilities 1 artaininig' to- that position.”—House or Commons, Ottawa. ■ November 13. ‘■ We cannot take shelter under the Monroe Doctrine unless we are prepared to make a substantial return. Canada must take the privileges with the responsibilities If the Empire is attacked, we are attacked If the Empire tights, we must light.”—Hon. R. L. Borden, K.C., M.P. (Leader of the Opposition), at Toronto. THE ACT OF 1865, AMENDED 1909. It shall be lawful for his Majcsty-in-Council from time to time as occasion requires, and on such conditions as seem fit to authorise the Admiralty to accept any offer for the time being made or to be made by the Government of a colony to place at his Majesty’s disposal for general service in the Royal Navy the whole or any part of the body of men, with all or any of the officers, raised and appointed by that Government in accordance wit.i the provisions of this act, and, where any such offer is aoceptodf, the men and officers whose services are so aceope.d shall be deemed to ail intents men and officers of the Royal Navy, and shall accordingly bo subject to all enactments and regulations for the time being in force for the discipline of the Royal Navy. Section 7, Colonial Naval Defence Act, 1865: — • , All such seamen and others are ' bound to general service in the Royal Navy in emergency ” by the amended act, 1909. WHO WILL STAND BY ENGLAND? She’s quaking sore with fright, they say, Her day of strength’s gone by. O English blood that warms my heart, Tell them back they lie! For every British man at home, Abroad are twenty-seven, But who shall count the English hearts Under God’s wide heaven! Oh, lonely looks the little isle, But not to those who see; There’s half a world would fight for her Who taught them to be free. —John Erskine, “ For England in fea.r of War,” Century Magazine.

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE. Patriotic speeches and verse and promises have taken concrete form. The colonies have done something else, besides “killing Kruger with their mouths.” Each has assumed its own share of the financial burden and each has embodied or shortly will do so its determination in an Aot of Parliament. A oqpy of the correspondence and garters relating - to a conference with representatives of the self-governing Dominions is to hand. It contains nothing that has not already been made public, but a summary of its contents, on the naval side, will not be out of place. A writer in the Standard of Empire says:—“The general agreement arrived at by the various Governments of the Empire makes for a solid common navy and army, and creates a new situation—a new ora—in our history, and of a most fascinating character. The unity in common purpose against Imperial enemies is a thing that in itself must make for peace, and the spectacle of an Empire trained and organised as one instrument for decisive action against the heart of an enemy is the culminating point of Imperial growth.”

FUTURE COLONIAL NAVIES. The Admiralty memorandum on the naval sido seta forth the need for united action, in the building- of fleets. It recognise* the special circumstances under which a, dominion might want to build a fleet, and in Admiraltv opinion these small navies should bo complete units on a common basis as follows : • ~ . , One armed cruiser (new Indomitable Tn roe unarmed cruisers (Bristol class). Six destroyersThree submarines. , cost would be £3.700,000, and the* annual cost £600,000. The decisions arrived at were as follows N e w f ound 1 a n cl—Co n t ri but ion. South Africa —Contribution.* Canada—A fleet unit. Australia —A fleet unit. New Zealand—Part of a unit. * Temporary, pending unification of States. Tho naval details in brief were outlined by Mr Asquith in the House of Commons on August 26. The New Pacific Fleet is to be made uo in units as follows: Pacific Fleet.

* The gift ships. The contribution of the New Zealand Government of £IOO,OOO goes to the pay of the fleet. Australia, will maintain he.* fleet and receive a contribution of £250,000, from the Admiralty, which maintains the East Indies Squadron. Canada proposes to have a fleet unit divided between the Atlantic and Pacific. THE TWO-KEELS-TO-ONE POLICY. The two-power standard called for themaintenance of the navy at a strength of 10 per cent, over the combined strength of the two next strongest Powers. The Government, by eliminating the United! States from its calculations!, has practically set this standard aside. Mr W. T. Stead calls for a two-keels-to-one policy against the next greatest naval Power to Great Britain, i.e., Germany, while yet others insist that the best formula and the simplest is “two to one in ships', officers, and men against the next strongest. Power.” Great Britain to-day is able to comply with this demand. It is the provision that has been made or not made to meet the future over which the critical are exorcised—-some to the point of-extreme pessimism. Says a writer in the Quarterly, Review: —“A two-keels-to-one formula, must apply not only to battleships, but to cruise-re and torpedo craft, - if it is to meet the necessities of the situation; and', in addition to such provision, steps must be taken from year to year to nmvkfe the necessary force of cruisers, additional to those attached to the battle fleets, which arc required for the protection of British interests in far-distant seas. Such a standard represents the minimum compatible with Imperial safety Eight more. Dreadnoughts in the coming Estimates will bo the lowest number compatible with our vital interests. This and this only will render our position in 1913 reasonably, secure. Thenceforward, unless there is a, now German Navy Act, Germany will, add! to her navy only two large armoured ships each year down to 1919, at which date she will possess 34- of those units; and it will be essential at that date, in accordance®with a two-keel-to-one policy, that the British fleet should possess not fewer than 68 vessels. In other words, in the years 1911-1917 (inclusive) we should have to make provision for 40 Dreadnought ships.” THE COST OF INSURANCE. The same writer says: —According to thelatest figures issued by Lloyd’s Register, the British Empire owns 12,017 merchant ships, of a total tonnage of 10,829,202 —in other words, over 45 per cent, of the whole tonnage of the world, —while Germany possesses 1932 ships, with a tonnage of I. The population of the British Empire amounts to 394,250,000, while that of the German Empire numbers 72,250,000; in other woids, the British Empire has five and a-half times the population of the German Empire. A comparison of the area* of the two Empires shows that that of Germany comprises 123.685 square miles, while that of the British Empire is 11. ; in other words, the British Empire is nine times as large as the German. The lowest proportion in these calculations is represented by the mercantile marine, and the British navy exist® mainly for th© defence of our floating trade. If the British people, on this basis, adopted a standard of expenditure similar to that of Germany, the Navy Estimates this year would amount, not to £35,500,000 sterling, but to £87,500,000. British taxpayers would then be paying exactly th© same premiums of insurance upon the mercantile marine that Germany is paying. They would be subject to about half the quota per head that Germany is subject to, and in far smaller proportion on any calculation based upon area and national revenue. _ The two-keels-to-one standard is the minimum of safety.” The above estimates of population include the millions of India. ' The actual number of British-born citizens throughout the Empire—that is, of those who alone can be estimated for purposes of taxation —- is less than the population of Germany, all of whom are taxpayers. Comparisons of this nature- are valueless. The relative taxpaying ability of the British and German peoples must bo estimated on- the basis of their ability to pay, not of numbers. “ Th© weary Titan staggering under the too vast; orn of his fate ” will have to bear vet a little more if the international competition, in big navies continues.

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