The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, NOV. 23, 1912.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 3687, 23 November 1912, Page 6

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, NOV. 23, 1912.

It is onee again emphasised that there is no likeli-

The Defence of England’s Shores.

hood of the various great

nations doing anything tangible in the way of limiting armaments in the immediate future. Germany, it will now be seen, proposes to build next year two battleships, one armoured cruiser, two small cruisers and a torpedo flotilla, whilst in addition the air service of that conntry is to be greatly strengthened. As may bo remembered this aggregate is-approximately about as large as the new building programme that has been planned in connection with the I’oyal Navy for next year. Under the circumstances it is not surprising therefore to find that the Navy League for instance, is now demanding that the British programme for 1913 should bo augmented by the addition of four large armoured units. What England has most to fear at the present juncture is clearly an attack by the naval forces of Germany. If such were not the case there would, of course, be much less occasion for alarm seeing that Canada, South Africa and Aust-ra- j lia will within the next- few rears have |

very considerable naval forces which they will be able to utilise in such a manner as to allow the Royal Navy to be concentrated, if necessary, at one or more likely storm centres. The Home Government are. of course, be-

coming more and more alive to the necessity for amply guarding the coasts of England. Only a few months, ago there was an official announcement to the effect that under the new scheme of defence a fleet of destroyers had j commenced to make a continual patrol jof the north-east coasts at Home. It : was also intimated at the same time that the destroyers engaged in this duty included the most modern and most powerful vessels. What is more, the available .forces in this direction j have been organised into eight flotilla*, j four of which are being kept in full i command, the remaining four being j kept as a reserve of the active fleet, j So great a menace lies the Germany I Navy come to be considered that it J has just been deemed advisable by the i Home authorities to station .'iti desj trovers at the naval headquarters at j Rossyth. directly opposite Germany, where they will guard the north-west exit from the Atlantic. It is also of interest to note that experts estimate that the new scheme will double the effective strength of the advance guard along the eastern seaboard of the United Kingdom. As a matter of course this great advance in strength which Germany proposes to make should doubtless he met if not by a counter-move by Great Britain in the shape of further new vessels, then by the further concentration of vessels from other Divisions into Home waters. The further reply which will I now he made to Germany will he awaited with great interest.