THE AUSTRALASIAN SQUADRON.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXVI, Issue 5213, 1 March 1904, Page 6

THE AUSTRALASIAN SQUADRON.

TRAINING NEW ZEALANDERS FOR THE NAVY. : . In tueicourse of his speech at last night’s 1 . meeting at the Skating Eili'k, the Premiel said that the Government was to take over one of the vessels of the Australian squadron, the Sparrow, and make of it « I rainfng-ship for the youths of the colony. The other day his Excellency the Gov»rt . nor had received a despatch asking whether the Government still desired to take over That man-of-war? The answer, as his Excellency would know, was straight audio the point,‘ "Yes, let us have hoi fully equipped" (laughter) —and zhey: practxallyr said also. “As soon aa poa. siMe."’ This would fit in with the arrange, ments in respect of, the : reorganised Ana, tralasian squadron. Under the condi. lions of the new agreement, there wottH b? a cruiser manned entirely by New Zealanders and Australians. There were i* be three drill-ships, and 1 of these drillships, one was”to be manned entirely by New Zealanders. (Applause.) U < might altogether, between Australia and New Zealand, want three or four hundred officers and men, hut we could no! in on* colony to-dav find thirty. l Therefore, if this agreement were to be maintained, wa must train our youths on, the gunboat, and drafe them into the drill-ship and the cruiser. Ho believed the mothers and fathers would gizs their sons as cheerfully to the Napy as they had given them for the contingents in Sputh. Africa. (Applause.) Tfce changed conditions around us made it almost imperative, ere the ink was dry upon the new agreement, that wa must do more, and that the Australian squadron required' to be still further strengthened. At the conference of Prim* Ministers the, year before last in London, what the Lords of the Admiralty had considered necessary was set aside, as a matter of expediency, and for financial reasons, it was agreed simply to take a' new squadron of eleven ships. Now wo found America with her new possessions—. Samoa, Tutuila, the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines—and the President of the United States declaring that the Stars and Stripes would one long have 7 the supremacy in the Pacific. Again, Germany already had possession of a part of the Samoan Islands, and natural ly would incieas-e her ; naval power in the Pacific. Then thele was the object lessen in the struggle now going on between Russia and Japan, afltt Jet them not fopget this, that Australia and New Zealand wore deeply concerned in this. He could not go beyond what the people of this colony and the Parliament of the colony deiermineu, what had taken plaoa at Port Ar.hur and seeing what torp.dcuH and torpedo boats could accomplish, homaintained that the Australian squadron was weak in that respect, and that ti» sooner it was increased the safer feui every port in New Zealand.