479

A.—s

your statement, in allowing the volunteers in Cape Colony to know that on the passing of this Bill, this will come into effect I Lord TWEEDMOUTH : Quite so. Dr. SMARTT : I can assure you that that will be most satisfactory and will give a great fillip to the Naval Volunteer movement in the Cape. . Lord TWEEDMOI'TH : We think in the end that the vessel ought to be a Colonial one. Dr. SMARTT : Yes. Further, I take it that the proposition the Admiralty made is that they would encourage the spirit of local defence and local assistance for naval purposes, and that the best direction in which that could take effect would be either in the direction of submarines, or I suppose the Admiralty would also be prepared to consider the question of destroyers. Lord TWEEDMOUTH : Certainly. Dr. SMARTT : I should take it that the submarine is a ship that only employs a small number of the most highly trained experts '. Lord TWEEDMOUTH : That is so. Dr. SMARTT : She is not a vessel that will go far out to sea, whereas, in the establishment of the destroyer class, you would at once imbue your people with the spirit of seamanship and the idea that they were renderinggreater service, because they could go some little distance out to sea, a' that would be a great incentive to developing a naval spirit amongst our people. Lord TWEEDMOUTH : I think the development of submarines is going to be such in the future as almost to supersede the destroyer; that it will have a much larger sea range, and it will be not merely a defensive vessel, but a very distinctly offensive one. Dr. SMARTT : But, in the meantime, the Admiralty would be quite prepared to consider, if the Cape desires to accept further obligations, whether it should take the shape of submarines or destroyers ? Lord TWEEDMOUTH : Yes, either or both. Dr. SMARTT : Should that position be taken up, the grant which is now paid to the Navy, and any further amount that might be necessary, would be devoted to this purpose instead of being paid to the Admiralty as at the present moment. That is a point I want to be very clear upon. The Cape and Natal are giving 85,000/. A small portion of that will be used to provide a nucleus crew of the " Odin," so as always to be able to go to sea for the purpose of training our Naval Volunteers along the coast. Then, if we establish submarines or destroyers, I understand that it is the intention of

Thirteenth Day. 8 May 1907.

Naval Defence. (Dr. Smartt.)