THE Daily Telegraph WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE WAIHI MINER WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 1919, WARSHIPS FOR DOMINION.

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XVII, Issue 5605, 30 April 1919, Page 2

THE Daily Telegraph WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE WAIHI MINER

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 1919, WARSHIPS FOR DOMINION.

Hero shall the Press the People’s Right maintain Unawed by influence and unbribed by gain. Here Patriot Truth her glorious precepts draw. Pledged to Religion Liberty and Law.

The question of establishing sectional navies for the dominions as against one hujjJe navy has again assumed prominence by the report that the British delegation to the Peace Conference, stated that “the British would like New Zealand to accept at least two cruisers of the Sydney class, while Australia can have practically anything in the way of a new navy she thinks she can afford." It is doubtful whether the statement, savouring as it does of sectional! navies, was made with the consent of the Admiralty. In the past the Admiralty has stood firmly for the ideal of an Imperial navy, on© navy fo,- the whole of empire, and has firmly opposed the setting up of separate navies for each of the dominions; and it is not at all likely to forsake that .ideal, more especially as the experience gained by the working together of the British and the United States navies cannot but have emphasised the necessity of having standardised vessels, armament, munitions, and auxiliaries, and a uniform system of 1 training if the very best results are to be obtained. AA'ith tbe c,no navy ideal, the New Zealand plan of presenting a vessel to the British Government and recruiting a. part of its personnel is consistent, The Admiralty could hardly forbid Australia .scoping up a, navy of her own if she desires to do so; but the Admiralty will doubtless encourage the New Zealand rather than the Australian system. The good service rendered by H.AI.&. 'Now Zealand, the fact that the Australian navy was drawn fa to e act as part of the British navy, and the fact that during the attempted raid on the Pacific it was A British squadron that was despatched to deal with the raiders and that it dealt with them very promptly and effectively, all go to support the one navy ideal. It was an Australian c ruiser, the Sydney, that disposed vri the German raider Kmdeii, but ttie advocates of sectional nav-k’s can gather hut small! comfort from that, Tbe facte ol I the ease are that the Sydney was acting as part of an escort to a. number of Australian and New Zealand tramp irts, and the task of bringing the Knulen to book might- just as easily as not have Imen allotted to any of the other escorting vessels not belonging to Austraba Timt- New Zealand is prepared to do her share, and even more than he" share towards upholding the British empire, the part she lues taken world war dearly demonstrates. That sue is willing to do all she- can to help maintain the supremacy of the British navy was shown years ago by her Bee gift of H.M.S. New Zealand to that navy. But New Zealand should hardly be called upon to maintain a navy o; her own. A real peace, nob an ''‘armed ; peace” little less oxpcnsiho and burden- j some than war, is what the Allies hnvcj been fighting for.