The Timaru Herald. SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 1930. NAVAL TREATY TERMS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18542, 12 April 1930, Page 8

The Timaru Herald. SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 1930. NAVAL TREATY TERMS.

Although critical comment would be somewhat premature pending a full and authoritative explanation of just what the Three Power Naval Agreement means to Great Britain, it may he said at once that the. United States has obviously succeeded in. concluding an agreement tyith Great Britain which inSplies naval parity between these two branches of the English-speaking race. In other words, Great Britain, as usual, has led the way by disarming in the real sense of the word and agreeing to the limitation of further naval armaments. Quite recently, the House of Commons was Informed that while the personnel of the British Navy has been greatly reduced since 1914, that that of the American Fleet has been nearly doubled, and is now reported to be larger than Britain’s naval strength in man power. Moreover, the coasts of the British Empire are 54,000 miles long as against 54,000 miles to be protected by the American fleet, and should imply stronger naval forces. These figures are timeiy in view of the reported terms of the Three Power Naval Agreement. But,"significantly enough, the United States coastguard force has been left out of the calculaI tion, although this branch of the i naval service was never more [ efficiently organised. The explanation of the existence of such a powerful force is readily available. Whatever its defects as a legal measure, prohibition has provided the American Navy with the finest reserve that it ever possessed, thus supplying a deficiency that has long crippled its efficiency. The United States Coastguard Force has been in existence almost as long as the Republic, but it has been enlarged out of recognition to cope with the rum-runners, and is now a most efficient force which automatically passes under the control of the Navy the day that the United States goes to war. It includes some 10,000 officers and men, all accustomed to discipline, seasoned seamen and trained to the use of arms. The Americans have never contrived to raise a big naval reserve from their Merchant Service in peace time, which might be compared with the British Royal Naval Reserve, so that the Coastguard Force is invaluable to them. In addition to the men, it is also exceedingly valuable as a material reserve. At present there are in commission twenty-five destroyers of the normal United States naval pattern, some of which were only built during the War. These would give the American Navy two complete flotillas organised, manned and fitted out to the very last detail. Then there are eighteen ships which are known as first-class cutters, ranging from cruisers of over 2000 tons j displacement, with a speed of 10 knots, and an armament of two 5-inch guns and several quickfirers, down to 739 tons and 14 knots, with a battery of two small quick-firers only. The sixteen second-class cutters range from 1130 tons and 13 knots, down to 400 tons and 11 knots. As a third line, now used for coastal service only, there are nearly 300 third-class cutters, some of which are over 200 tons. The first and second-class cutters would save the United States Navy the necessity of building a fleet of sloops and mine-sweepers as the British had to do in the early days of the War. The third-class boats are practically all sufficiently seaworthy to undertake all the duties that were tackled by the motor launches, and many more in addition. Added to this, there is the fact that the smaller boats employ a proportionately very large number of officers, so that the naval authorities would not have to face the difficulty of training junior officers in a hurry. Both material and personnel are kept in the highest state of efficiency and have to tackle other jobs beside the prevention of rum running. The lifeboat organisation, which in Britain is in the hands of a private institution, is maintained by the United States Coastguard Force, while some of their cutters keep a constant patrol for the protection of shipping against icebergs, and others are always ready to tow disabled vessels into port. In this: Coastguard Service, the United States Naval Department has a powerful auxiliary composed of a magnificent seagoing fleet; kept in excellent condition, ranging from up-to-date destroyers and big 1200-ton steam cutters to hundreds of fast motor,boats. That ample funds are available to maintain this fleet is demonstrated by the fact, as reported in the cable mes- . sages this morning, that without I a word of debate the United

States Senate approved of a 36,000,000-dollar direct appropriation for the enforcement of prohibition next year. A: large contribution from this fund is annually applied to the maintenance of the coastguard fleet, which is really a wonderfully efficient potential arm of the American Navy, ready for any emergency. It has yet to be explained, however, if this powerfully, armed sea-gpiug force was taken into account by Britain and Japan when the terms of the proposed Five Power Naval Agreement were under discus-

THE PARNELL CONTEST. Within the next few days the byelection campaign for possession of the Parnell seat will be in full swing. After cautions consideration, the contesting Parties have chosen their standard-bearers, and it is safe to say that to the outsider the rejection of Mr Dickson and Mr Fletcher and the choice of Mr Endean to represent the Reform Party, came as a big surprise. But it was hardly to be expected that Mr Fletcher would be accepted as the accredited candidate, nor does the refusal of the Reform Party supporters to cling to Mr Dickson carry any significance, since a more acceptable candidate was offering. It is by no means certain, however, that the contest will be confined to the official nominees of the three Parties. It is quite on the cards that an independent candidate inay yet come into the field. The Parnell electorate has witnessed many stirring contests. For many years, the seat was held by Mr Frank La wry who entered Parliament as an Independent, but as soon as the Ballance Government announced its policy, Mr Lawry proclaimed his adherence to the Liberal Party, in whose interests he held the seat until the dissolution of the Parliament elected in 1908, his margin of votes having shrunk to 219. Following Mr Lawry’s retirement, three candidates, representing three Parties, contested the seat, and it was at this election (in 1911) that Mr Dickson entered the House, by defeating Sir John Findlay who carried the Liberal banner, by 4264 votes to 3826. The Labour candidate (Mr M. J. Mack was eliminated in the first ballot. At the following elections, the Liberals made an attempt to recapture the seat, but without success. In 1919, the Labour Party assaulted the Parnell stronghold, and Mr Bloodworth, who is the official Labour candidate in the present by-election, was the standardbearer of Labour, but be was overwhelmingly defeated, the voting being 5700 to 2287 in favour of the Reform Party’s candidate. Mrs R. L. Baurne offered her services as an Independent Liberal candidate, but only 1026 electors supported her candidature. In 1922, four candidates contested the seat, and although the Reform vote was split by an unofficial candidate, who polled 2465 votes, Mr Dickson easily held the seat against the Liberal and Labour attacks. At the following election, there was a straight-out contest between the Labour candidate (Mr Way) and Mr Dickson (Reform), but the latter won in the easiest fashion by polling 8495 votes to his opponent’s 3610. In a triangular contest in 1928, Mr Jenkins, the official United Party candidate defeated Mr Dickson by 849 votes, the Labonr candidate attracting the support of only 16G1 electors. The political history of the seat, which up till 1908 was held by the Liberals, and from that date onward was represented by a Reform member until the upheaval in 1928, really shows how extremely sensitive the electorate has been to the trend of current political feeling. Doubtless the United Party will make a strenuous effort to retain the seat. The sharp rebuff suffered at the Hutt made appreciable inroads into the prestige of the Government, and it remains to be seen, since the three Parties have taken such pains in the selection of their candidates, if the Government has further receded from public favour, and is being rapidly superseded by one of the rival parties now in opposition.