The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 1912. MAX-POWER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 315, 3 July 1912, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 1912. MAX-POWER.

Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, exsailor, is a merciless critic of the Navy. He belongs to the old Conservative school, and because he is out of the navy he believes, like many other antiquated salts, tliat the senior service "is going to the dogs." "Fighting Beresford" was, in his day and generation, a power to be reckoned with. He is still a power, but he. is not modern, and he has- fought no Trafalgars or Niles. Sometimes, however, the gallant old gentleman who has quarrelled with the modern navy and all belonging to it, plants a thought shoot. For instance, he has just said that the Navy is 5000 men short o.f its' immediate needs and 20,000 men 3hort of its future requirements. The average man who fights naval battles before . a good fire in a comfortable arm-chair and with the other requisites for criticism, will gauge the British Navy on its weight in steel, the size of its guns, and the number of its units. He is frequently unable to see that ironmongery and guns and ammunition are of no earthly consequence in comparison to men, and men, and more men. If Germany should ever meet Britain it is not to be a war between chunks of steel and armor plate, but a war of men, a war of brains, coolness, training, experience, enterprise and tradition. The basic fact is that a warship without men is as useless as a clock without hands, a boat in the middle of the Sahara, or a Governor's speech at the North Pole. Germany is supposed to have recently remarked tliat Britain is about at the end of her tether in regard to navy expansion, and must be content to take a minor place in the counsels of the nations. This, by the way, is not German public opinion. No German newspaper voices public opinion, because it dare not, and journalists in the German Empire are mere dogs, to be kicked to heel by bureaucrats. The real truth about Britain and her naral ability is that she could double the ironmongery and the men any time she desjred to do so. Britain has incalculable wealth 'and incalculable skill, energy and resource. She is so far ahead in shipbuilding ability that to compare her to other nations is mere foolishness. She has three times as many time-expired navy men as any other country on earth. A national crisis would call every one of these men to the flag. The time-ex-pired navy men in the Britisb Empire in three weeks would be more efficient seafighters than the active navy men of any other nations. It is merely necessary to bring them into collision to prove this bold contention. The navy man who has served with the flag at all will always serve with it again. It does not matter even if lie has deserted the flag. He will be on deck when trouble begins. The British Navy is so proud of its tradiJ tions that no waster, shirker or slacker has a hope. There is no ship's company ' in the Navy that would not cheerfully go to its death by way of duty. There

is no British naval officer who is not competent to fill the rank he holds. Every ! rating in the Navy is perfection of its ] kind. It does not fill up the ranks of j its gunners from the cabstand for show, and in the bowels of the ships are the most devoted men who ever pulled on a singlet—the engineers. There is but one spirit animating the Navy—to win. That is all the Navy is for—to win. That is exactly what it is going to do—win. It does not matter what one bilious man on a funny little subsidised German rag says about Britain and her Navy. The facts arc that navy work nowadays is highly specialised, and that there are more navy specialists out of the Navy than in it—but still available for service. That the British Navy is the darling of the British people, who will pawn their clothes to keep it effectively manned and efficient; that a present shortage of 5000 men does not matter twopence, simply because 50,000 would be available tomorrow if the "Assemble" blew; that Germany has a new navy with no traditions, army training, no reserve to speak of, and no great leaders; that the odd opinions carefully cabled to this country are the opinions of bureaucrats .who drive the journalists who drive the pens, and that Germany is not really asking that her navy should he blown out of the North Sea by Britain. In the meantime Lord Charles Beresford is simply riding a hobby to death. The poor old gentleman has nothing to do nowadays but run down the service ho used to belong 'to, and to show it that it was a much better service in his days. As a matter of fact, it was> a much worse service, and navy men know it. But they are too polite to call Lord Charles an old bore.