The Wanganui Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1906. GERMANY IN THE PACIFIC.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 12053, 21 December 1906, Page 4

The Wanganui Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1906. GERMANY IN THE PACIFIC.

Of late, utterances by the Premier have awakened us to a sense of the danger not merely of avowing Asiatics to gain a footing as a recognised quantity in" our population, but also of the- possibility in the future of an invasion by the most powerful of the Eastern ra.ces, viz., Japan. It is also not beyond the bounds of probability that China, slowly awakening from the lethargy of centuries, may, like a giant refreshed, cause us more than a little anxiety on this head. These possibilities are,, however, more remote than immediate, as it must be a considerable lapse of time before either of the named countries is in a position to undertake an invasion of the countries of the South Pacific. The recent sensational story from Australia with regard to intrigues by a certain Power in the New Hebrides, clearly shows us that we have another enemy to fear who may begin operations against us a good deal sooner than the East Asiatic races, and which is, moreover, in a position to undertake a raid upon our shores. We refer of course to Germany, whose recently announced attempt to gain a footing in the New ITeDrides, with a view to getting a snare in the political control of tlie group, inuat have been a '• startler" to .Australasians. Our

readers will doubtless remember 1 the hurried signing of tho New Hebrides Convention by Britain and France, a precipitancy which drew forth fcOYcro strictures from Australians and New Zcalanders on the ground that important, matters* had been decided upon without reference to their respective Goverumnts. But it would appear now that such precipitancy was not merely justifiable, but necessary. There is no need to remind our readers of the ambition oi Germany, under the tutelage of Kaiser Wilhclm, to become the dictator of tho world, and thin latest evidence of her designs in those parts should convince us that, here in the South Pacific, we have the same necessity, though the consequcnecs involved are less, to keep an eye on our Teutonic cousins aa exists in the other hemisphere. Germany's action in the Marshall group in excluding Australian vessels and Australian trade, and in establishing a coaling base, ostensibly for mercantile marine purposes, will be fresh in the recollection of our readers. Neither will they need to be reminded that Germany has already made gooC her footing in Samoa, which group wae, lost to New Zealand through the fatuous obstinacy of the Downing Street clique, which ignored the chance of securing it to the British flag. It generally happens that the average New Zealander speaks about the three groups we have mentioned in a very "fine and large" way, and has little idea of their distancesfrom, and relative positions to, his own country. If our readers will take a map of Oceania, they will find that the New Hebrides and Samoa are each about 1500 miles distant from this colony, lying respectively a little west and east of north. That means between four and five days' steaming. The Marshalls are about twice that distance, lying slightly west of north. It would of course be the height of absurdity to suggest the possibility of an armed invasion in force by a German expedition against New Zealand, but the dullest imagination may see the. ease with which a naval raid may be accomplished under certain conditions. Granted that tho ships detailed for our protection are, for the time be« ing, on a quest elsewhere than here, an opening immediately occurs, and with bases of operations, and safe harbours for retreat in the groups mentioned, an enemy's ships may do us a damage that would cause us to regret having given them the opportunity. The four big centres, fairly well fortified a# they are, would scarcely be attacked, Dut such tons as New Plymouth, Napier, Timaru and others that will readily occur to the reader, would be practically at the mercy of the enemy's ships. It may of course be said that consideration of such an eventuality is nothing but the raising oi a silly scare. But it can assuredly not be said that it is outside the range of possibility", more especially if circumstances—which no one can foretell— should favour the enemy. It would, therefore, be indulging in an unwise sense of fancied security to consider such a 1 raid as outside the region of the practical. This leads us to a consideration of the fact that to fully secure ourselves -from attack, it id imperative that we should have a strong naval force in our waters, a matter which we emphasised a few -ays ago when considering the position of Japan in regard Jx> Australasia. At present, if we mistake not. the disposition of the Australasian Squadron provides for two ships being stationed in New Zealand waters, which, in face of the great extent of our coastline—which is vulnerable in many paces —is ludicrously inadequate. The on.y way therefore to secure proper protection by means of a sufficient naval force is to pay such a subsidy to the navy as will ensure us the presence of more warships along our coasts. This has already been touched upon by the Premier in recent speeches, and lest there be those who object to it on the ground of expense, it need only be said that, while it may happen that a strong naval force will not need to be called on to do much fighting, a weak squadron may, on the other hand, have to do more work than either it or ourselves will relish. Another question is raised by the recent action of Germany, or German agents, in the New Hebrides. We have said that the hurried signing of the New Hebrides Convention without reference to the colonies was justified. Under the circumstances, which we believe were promptly made known to the Commonwealth and New Zealand Governments, it no doubt was. But had the Imperial Government previously shown a proper regard for colonial interests, tho provisions of the Convention might have been so drawn up that the hasty action necessitated would not have imperilled our rights. The matter puts in a strong light the urgent necessity for the colonies insisting that, in questions affecting themselves, the Home Government should remember that its own dependencies come first and the interests of foreign Governments after. It is all very well to say that such matters must be looked upon from an Imperial standpoint, but that will be a "poor thought to console ourselves with it we find ourselves ousted from our heritage by foreign rivals.