H.M.S. PHILOMEL.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 253, 28 November 1914, Page 8

H.M.S. PHILOMEL.

To the Editor of THE SUK. Sir, —Whatever may be said in favour of the naval- policy formulated by Mr Massey and his friends, it is certain that his party cannot be congratulated on its acquisition and use of the "Philomel.", According to Mr G. W. Eussell, who is a qualified statistician, this boat, which is capable of training Only sixty men at a time, annually costs "the people £50,000. That means, of course, that each man costs £833 6/8 per year, and £2500 for the full term of training, which covers three years. The electors : cannot surely be happy in the knowledge that, so long as the present system ;of training is maintained, it will cost £150,000 to train that number of men.—-I am, etc., M. GARATTI. [Our correspondent seems to be totally .oblivious of the fact that the Philomel does not cost any more.:because she is ia training ship. If she were manned in the ordinary way she would still cost £50,000 a year, which could, of course, be .saved by dispensing with warships in these waters altogether. Quite a lot of monev could also be "saved" by abolishing the British Navy, but if it were done, the first persons to escape to safer quarters would be those with exotic names, who come here and live in security, thanks to the protection of the men who are risking their lives in his Majesty's ships at the present moment.—Ed. The Sun.]