BRITAIN’S SEA POWER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16513, 25 August 1921, Page 6

BRITAIN’S SEA POWER.

THE EMPIRE'S FOUNDATION LORD JELLICOE’S ADDRESS. (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, August 24. Speaking as the guest of honour of the New Zealand Club, Lord Jellicoe made a stirring utterance on the importance of sea-power to the Empire. Taking as his text the words, “ The sea is our life,” his Excellency began bv quoting from a recent sneech by the British Prime Minister, delivered at the opening of the recent conference of prime ministers of the Empire. Mr Llo3’d George had said, “ We cannot forget that the very life of the United Kingdom, also Australia and New Zealand, has been built up on sea power, and that sea power is the necessary basis of the whole of the Empire s existence.” Those words were spoken when Mr Lloyd George was referring more particularly to the defence or our sea communications in war. t My purpose,” said his Excellency, ‘is to draw more attention to tho use of the sea than to sea communications and their defence, though defence necessarily follows after they are to be used. I want to draw attention to the vital importance to the British Empire of the British mercantile marine. Those communications within the Empire are carried out by the mercantile marine. In order that you may appreciate the importance of our sea transport I will quote a few figures.” His Excellency declared that in prewar days the United Kingdom was dependent on sea-borne commerce for the importation of two-thirds of her food consumption, and the greater portion of her raw material for industries came •from overseas. The whole of her cotton, of her wool, and nearly half her iron ore came by sea transport In regard to Australia and New Zealand, Viscount Jellicoe said that New Zealand was dependent for the whole of her exports and imports on sea transport, and of her imports 80 per cent came from the United Kingdom and 92 of her exports went to that destination. (Applause.) The total value in 1913 was about £22,000,000 each. Taking the case of Australia, the Commonwealth also imported 80 per cent of her total imports from th© United Kingdom and sent there 60 per cent of her produce. The values were about £79,000,000 each. The other dominions were in much the same position, practically dependent on sea transport, therefore sea transport was essential for the prosperity of the United Kingdom and for that of the remainder of the British Empire. Sea transport could be carried out ir. two ways, continued his Excellency, firstly by ships flying the Empire flag, secondly by ships flying a foreign flag. There were great disadvantages in being dependent in peace or in war on a mercantile marine flying a foreign flag. He would mention a few. First of all freights would have to be paid to people not belonging to the Empire, to foreigners, and goods would have to be produced of the value of the freight to pay for it, because in order to balance trade they would have to export up to that value. The second point was that the freight which had been earned by British ships trading between different portions of the Empire, which would enable goods to be carried between foreign countries also, would be lost to the British citizen. The third point was loss of shipping profits to the Empire. The fourth was the effect on the shipbuilding and engineering trades and the consequent reaction on other industries in the Empire. The fifth was that in war (which they hoped would never come again) British shipping would not be available for the purposes for which it was so much needed in war, transport of troops maintenance of overseas communication and provision of additional ships for use in the Navy. To explain this last point his Excellency stated that m September, 1915, over 1300 overseas British ships were engaged in the service of th© navy and army. Th© final point was that without the British mercantile marine the Navy would lose its most valuable reserve of officers and men in war. To show this he might quote the fact that at the armistice some 3800 officers and some 16,000 other ratings of the mercantile marine were working under the White Ensign, assisting the Navy. (Applause.) This was additional to the work of the British ftiM-catttit© marine during the war. “Think,” said Lord Jellicoe. “Everyone Who considers those figures will be forced to the conclusion that if Great Britain had not possessed a mercantile marine to the extent of which it was composed at the time of the war, the war would have been lost almost before it began.” His Excellency then discussed the question of trading in wartime under a neutral flag, and pointed out its disadvantages. The conclusion, said his Excellenc3 r , was that we should have a mercantile marine belonging to the British Empire. He quoted General Smuts to the effect that the most important lesson of the war was the importance of the sea communications of the British Empire. He quoted Mr Lloyd George again that they had to look to the measures which their security required. They aimed at nothing more and would not be content with anything less. There were some people who did not realise the importance to the British Empire of sea power. They did not know what it meant to the Empire. He could see no other reason to explain the opposition of such people before the war to an adequate navy. It had taken scares of war, first in 1877, then in 1885, to make the people realise. There was the scare of 1889 which brought about the Naval Defence Act, and in 1909 tho scare without which they would not have been in a position to hold the sea against Germany in August. 1914. He recalled to his hearers th© days of the German raiders. People who had opposed the Navy would be sorry then for having taken that line and considered the Navy adequate. That was not the opinion of those responsible for conducting naval operations. One of the most important things* that lay before the Empire in th© fu* wure was to inculcate in the rising generation a knowledge of the facts about ’he dependence of the Empire upon the sea, both as to prosperity and as to the foundations of their security It must be maintained as an axiom that the sea was our life.

In conclusion, his Excellency said it veas no use having ships and not having the right sort of spirit to man those ships. This was sea sense, the foundation of our Empire. Without that sea sense the Empire could not continue to endure.