Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 1913. AN AUSTRALIAN NAVY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 13093, 5 June 1913, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 1913. AN AUSTRALIAN NAVY.

Colonel Allen gave no indication in his address at Auckland last night of what his military and naval policy is going to be, but stated that' his proposals would tliat evening be handed to th© Prime Minister for the consideration of the Cabinet. Mr Allen in the course of an interview at Vancouver a few days ago, discussing naval matters, expressed the opinion that a system of coastal nnd land defence on tho part of each section of the Overseas Dominions was a bounden duty, and that a scheme which would enable the different fleets to operate together ns oho unit, was one of the best solutions of the problem : of Imperial defence. "Concentration of the whole is, in my opinion, tlie best way to solve the question," he conW mented. 'I would suggest an organisation ' composed .of representatives of Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, that would make a study of the situation and advise the different colonies what ships Mould be required effectually to patrol the Pacific. Tli* efforts of tho three Overseas Dominions would then be diverted to the best advantage ; peace manoeuvres could be arranged so as to get tho units working together and then they would be easily mobilised in case of emergency." He was asked whether the New Zealand Government intended to make another gift of a Dreadnought to the British .navy. In renlv he stated tliat if Great Britain

need it the Now Zealand Government would cheerfully make such a contribution, but thai it was not intended to do .so unless the necessity became clearly apparent. Colonel Allen thinks that small boats, sueh as submarines, torpedo boats, and gunboats should be provided by each of the overseas Dominions and j tlfat an efficient system of land defence ; should be formulated. "I have plans I in my pocket now for an expeditionary force for New Zoalmd of 80CO men, ready to be sent to any part of the Empire," ha remarked. "If C.'.ri::: 1 .?. needs these men she can have them at any time to help her. The only thing that will hold us back, will be that the paths to Canada are closed. We ar? bound together by the sea and the. sea must be kept open for our men fo come to you or your men to us. We must have the sea pathways of the Pacific as open to Britishers as the Atlantic. We can not even trade with- each other unless our pathways aiv protected. It is our duty to see that these pathways are kept open and that the burden of keeping them open is taken from the mother country. We will have to create local units of a ; great Imperial fleet so constructed that one will dovetail into the 1 other in time of strife and all fight as one man. The control of this fleet must in time p'f war be vested in the British Admiralty." ...•■-■■ In view of these expressions of opinion it "would appear that the Minister for Defence does not quite adopt the scheme of Admiral Henderson, who recently ' reported upon the naval defence" of Australasia. Speaking to a press representative in London last month, Admiral Henderson said : "An Australasian havy is what is required in the Southern Pacific, and what f would earnestly advocate were .1 in a position to exert any influence, on the Commonwealth and the Dominion of New. Zealand." It is no secret in London, the Sun's (Correspondent states, "that neither Admiral Henderson nor Lord Kitchener received any thanks from the Admiralty or tlie War Office for th? schemes of . local defence which they . devised for Australia. They broke away from the most; cherished traditions of their departments.- Tlie Lords of the Admiralty have never taken kindly to the lo6al fleet unit. Even since the Henderson, scheme was adopted by the Federal Parliament the Admiralty persistently attempted to thwart if not to vitiate it, > by inducing those in authority in Australia to break do^vn the scheme by consenting to a compromise which would be tantamount to a resuscitation of the Admiralty's concept of one navy for the Empire;; Colonel Allen completed his negotiations" for New Zealand, the correspondent adds, by agreeing to a proposal, which is neither a local navy nor ja navy which is an integral part of the British Fleet. Consequently the Admiralty is not likely to • welcome with any warmth Admiral Henderson's latest suggestion that the Commonwealth and the Dominion should unite in the formation, of an Australasian! Fleet. Admiral Henderson would have each of th_ Dominions subscribe toward the cost of the common fleet in proportion to its means, Australia manning the Aus-tralian'-built ships, and New Zealand manning the New. Zealand-built ships, the senior officer of either division to take -supreme command. By mapping out a naval policy in conjunction the New Zealand ships cpuld remain in New Zealand waters in deference to that local feeling which- is, sailing theni into being, and the Australian ships would remain in Federal waters. When the occasion arrived for them to . move into the South Pacific as a united fleet, junctioning with the British Fleet in the China seas, they would be able, thanks to their prior planning, to gather at the nearest possible sailing point in the quickest , possible time, without having to wait for that govorn mental red tape and circumlocution which under present conditions must precede any combination. Colonel Allen's inclination seems to be to concentrate in an organisation including New Zealand, Australia and Canada, but Ad- 7 miral Henderson, looking- : at the. isolation, of Australia and New Zealand, from the'reßt'of the world> and seeingtheir compaaative nearmess; to oach other, urges them to ■ act in concert. Natural laws- — geographical position— eoonomfic lawa— lack l of pence — it .is contended, will force New Zea'.ay . once her new fleet is in her waters, to turn to the Australian dockyards and, naval bases fpr the thousand and bne alterations and repairs whioh a.oi continually required^ >by every -warship, afloat, though why 'Calliope ' Dock should not v be made adequate for this work is notexplained. The Federal Labor* Party frightened "the Barton Ministry into limiting tho total defence vote for naval and, military purposes „to £800,---000. The: Labor Ministry ,js to-day spending about £5,000,000 on: defence. The Australian Labor Party banned immigration. To-day it is promotingman settlement from overseas. The Labor Party denounced loans. To-day it is i borrowing .whenever it require? the money. It lias shed its baby clothe? and grown to riianhdod, with clearer, vision and the experience ta.ught

natural laws.; "With some confidence," adds the correspondent, "on_ may predict that an Australasian fleet on the lines laid down by Admiral Henderson will just as surely arrive in the not very distant future. It is, in .Admiral Henderson's opinion, a necessary corollary of local navies and an absolute necessity of their future integrity. America, upon whom Australia had depended after seeing her great white fleet, for a union of white ambitions in thp Pacific, ha3 definitely decided not to keep pace with the naval construction of either the West- or the. East,, while Canada is at the best . an nn- r known quantity and a long way away. A confederation of t"ie three Englishspoaking dominions bordering the Pacific is too much up in the skies to count as a political or martial factor today-. Japan, from whom Asutralia has, most, if anything, to fear, constantly^ adds to the strength of her fleets, and China, emerging from a long hibernation, will doubtless .soon become mistress of a little-, fleet inferior to that of, hsr yellow neighbor: These are- the external influences which are wittingly or unwittingly shaping V the destiny of' the Commonwealth, and which will unerringly bring Australia and. New Zealand into closer comradeship. Why" shdfcld it not: be now, when it can ■ r be accomplished in thoughtful peace,- in-? stead of later, in the haste and amidst the feverishness Of a. war scare?"