The Daily News TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1926. . EMPIRE DEFENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 November 1926, Page 6

The Daily News TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1926. . EMPIRE DEFENCE.

Among the many subjects which the Imperial Conference has under serious consideration is that of the defence Empire. It is recognised as one of the most vital problems, for the reason that only upon a satisfactory solution being found can the safety of the whole Empire and its vast resources be assured. The key of this solution is the Navy, for the reason that both the head centre of this Commonwealth of Nations, as well as the widely flung, component units, are sea-girt and necessitate such protective services as can only be rendered by maintaining such an adequate and efficient naval force as will enable the Mother Country to retain her title of Mistress of the Seven Seas. To enable the members of the Imperial Conference to obtain first-hand information on the present position, and the outlook as regards the ability of the British Navy to perform the responsible task of Empire defence, the delegates to the conference spent a morning at the Admiralty, and were made acquainte I with the most secret views concerning the fleets and strategy of the Naval Powers of the world. Obviously such information partook of the nature of an object lesson, the deductions from which could not fail to be impressive as well as convincing. To some extent the Washington Naval Conference, by its limitation of nffval armaments, clarified the position, while the restrictions imposed upon Germany still further re-

duced the risk of naval hostilities, while the troubles which Japan has experienced in recent years must have the effect of reducing appreciably any possible menace from that quarter. Naturally the outlook has altered since the Great War, with the result that it has eome to be considered for some time past that the Pacific Ocean, and not the North Sea, is the most vita] area from the viewpoint of Imperial naval strategy. It is in consequence of this alteration that the Singapore base has become a ne-“ cessity if the chain of Empire defences is to be reliably complete and effective, henee it is obviously the duty of the Southern Dominions to contribute on a just basis to the establishment of that pivot of naval operations whereon their security depends. To arrange an acceptable scheme whereby the whole cost of the naval defence of the Empire can be. equitably distributed among the units is no easy undertaking, and it is equally difficult to decide the form the contributions should take. The matter is not one that should be settled in undue haste, so that it is satisfactory to learn that the delegates, after being primed with all the information at the disposal of the Admiralty, have taken time to thoroughly consider their obligations. No doubt, they will eventually arrive at a satisfactory solution, or at least agree upon a basis, though the final decision must rest with the Parliaments of the respective countries represented at the Conference. No more appropriate method of bringing home to the delegates what the Navy means to the Empire could have been conceived by the Home authorities than the exhibition of naval warfare operations which were witnessed by these visiting Premiers from the vantage ground of the main deck of the battleship Revenge off Portland Bill, as the closing event of a memorable day devoted to naval affairs. To be in a position where they could witness submarines and torpedoes in action and actually feel the concussion of these death-dealing and destructive implements of warfare, was an experience the memory of which will probably endure for the rest of their lives. To spend such a time with the Fleet was an education in itself. The information gained at the Admiralty, coupled with the unique experiences on the Revenge, cannot fail to produce a right estimate of the value of the Navy to the Empire, as well as the part the units should play in the matter of helping to maintain the service whereon they can depend for safety of their territory and commerce. '