Published every evening. GISB<#tNE, SATURDAY, MAY 4, 1912. OIL AND SEA POWER,

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12754, 4 May 1912, Page 4

Published every evening. GISB<#tNE, SATURDAY, MAY 4, 1912. OIL AND SEA POWER,

Mr J. D. Henry', who has been flitting backwards and forwards between New Zealand and tlie Homeland the last two years, appears to have wo difficulty m securing a hearing from the London papers, and if his opinions carry anj weight with the investing public his continual "booming" of petroleum ventures should result m increased supplies of capital being found for prospecting ventures m this part of the world. Mr Henry took advantage, immediately after his return to London last month, to direct attention to the importance of Mr Churchill's statement about the advantages of oil and its increased use m the Navy. "Oil fuel," stated Mr Henry to a Standard interviewer, "is a department of naval mechanics m which our authorities liave beaten all foreign rivals, and if the Government can be induced to take a still greater interest m the oilfields o^the Empire they will find that these sources of supply will multiply, and m a few years provide the fuel which they may be one day unable to get from \foreign fields. Our naval authorities have a splendid grip of the subject, and hi a large way this fact goes to the-' credit of . Sir Boverton Redwood, Bart., who advises them.pnehemij cai and other important branches of this j business. For self-evident reasons,' the important secrets connected with the mechanics of naval oil burning and the results which are being obtained are not nfade public; they are a naval asset of immense value, although I am aware there are those who contend that independent systems ought to be placed m competition with the Admiralty-owned installations. These secrets are covered by the Admiralty's instructions that no one connected with tho NaVy shall publish information without official permission, and no officer or man is permitted to read a\paper or deliver a lecture unless a copy has 'been submitted to the Admiralty and permission for its publication obtained. .The policy of the naval authorities on oil fuel subjects is most satisfactory and sound, and Mr Churchill's statement must prove to those interested 'm the oil fieldis of Empire that oil will now be used independently of coal m all types of warships, but only, of course, m the ratio of " absolutely guaranteed -production." Mr Henry went on to point out the importance of securing supplies of petrol m the Empire. Our present sources of supply are foreign. What, then, is going to happen m war times? We need petrol for our navies— submarine, surface-sjteam-ing, and aerial— ahd a fair question is, if these strikes spell famine m the case of our most efficient and important power- creating agency, what is going to happen m war times? If foreign supplies of petrol and liquid fuel are cut off, many of our swiftest and most deadly instruments of w&r, the vessels of our fleet, the military aeroplanes, and thousand's of motor-cars, and heavy (vehicles (a presumably useful, if untried, jmeans of land defence) will be hampered ■and. possibly crippled to a point of usejlesness. Besides, we require petrol for the new internal combustion engines, about which so much has been written during the past few weeks. In the near future, when some of the British possessions will support and control their own navies, each one should be able to supply its own warships with liquid fuel and petrol, and, if necessary, contribute 5 to the general needs of' the Emipre. Canada and New Zealand, Mr Henry declares, will be .amongst the first to do this. The fuel supply of a Greater British Navy is a problem Which must be solved before long. Not only must there be plentiful supplies' of oil and ample storage at tidewater, but there must be a naval system of quick transport which shall work, effectively m a time of crisis and respond readily td the high-pressure demands of actual warfare. "The problems of Colonial- naval organisation, and particularly the one of our unassailable supremacy m sea-power," he went on to say, "cannot be settled without the assistance of liquidvfuel. There are two reasons why this is so. Manoeuvre tests m home watdfe hatfe proved that a battleship is lv} per cent, faster- witb liquid fuel than she is with coal, and, m the second place, it is only too obvious that British coal cannot compete successfully with Colonial oil when it is a •case of supplying warships m remote parts' of the Empire. To coal go all the risks /of difficult transport . capture, and loss of time, resulting probably m a breakdown of the entire system ; to the newer and more scientifically successful fuel go the advantages of safe tr&hsport and greater speed. W"e must also hasten the time when we shall have our supplies of oil guaranteed by our Colonies and Dependencies, ahd a Home system of ordinary and reserve storage, ample m capacity and protected against attack by an enemy. Every obsolete battleship which is sold to the shipbreaker means the loss of a protected floating oil tank. Converted into floating oil tanks, our old batleships should be of immense service to the Navy. The Dreadnoughts of to-day, when tne time comes for them to be sold out of the Navy, will make splendid, oil fuel and /petrol tanks, and I hope we have now sold our last battleship to the shipbreaker." Asked what he thought about tne prospects of our getting new oil sources ih distant parts of the Empire, Mr Henry replied that this was a subject which professional secrecy prevented hirii from discussing m detail. "In a general way,". he said, "I have no objection to saying that oil men will make a fatal, mistake if, m the face of Mr Churchill's encouraging statement, they fail to appreciate the immense scope there is for oil-field expansion, or if, m the hugh refinery section,- 'they do ; rioh make the most of the facilities which exist, for tlie rapid multiplication of the uses to which the numerous products of petroleum can be devoted. After all, there are few countries which are barren of oil. The geography of the petroleum world, is no longer confined to r the two first great centres of production — Baku and the northern fields of America. Few people appreciate the importance of the latest petroleum developments at numerous jpoints along- the Ail-Red route. Starting ; west and going round the world, we have, m North-West Canada, from 200 to 500 miles above Athabasca Landing, considerable tracts of territory surveyed for the drilling work which is to be started this spring. Hundreds of drillers have been engaged to leave for tliese remote parts directly the spring clears the roads. of the snow. If oil -is struck the drilling crews will be kqjpjt on the properties next winter. The railway companies are taking a practical interest m the opening up of this. new field 1 . Quite a lively search for oil. is being conducted .at, different points along the coast of British Columbia, and production ha& been bbtained on more than one island m the Pacific. We may safely anticipate the early opening up of new oil-fields m British Columbia." Mr Henry added that the developments of the last. few weeks m New Zealand were most encouraging. One well m the drilling of which he had- been interested had produced oil at the Tate of seventy-bar-rels a day, and was the largest producer m those '•parts. Ih many part^ of Australasia, a great; ' dißai of intefresbiHvas being t^ksh m thb- business of .opening up tne Old .fields., . DiwKryeriefc of oil had' also'^beeii njade pn ; several df- the small islands m. the southern s&ts.7sJearhome, m the protectorate of Somaliland, a Wild -place to pft-tsp'ect in', there were good' oil prospects, and, of course, no one any., longer doubted the possibility pf our getting large supplies froni extensive areas within easy reach of the Suez .Canal. "All the way round the AllRed route," Mr Henry concluded, "tliere are important oil developments, and there are more reasons than can be discussed m this brief statement which go

to show that it will M possible ere long to maintain ample oil supplies along the British Empire lines , of ocean traffic." This statement, if according to fact, a,s we believe it to be, must be regarded as highly encouraging to the New Zealand industry and it may be that before. long wo shall see very considerable developments m the industry of. this Dominion.