The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-06-10
MAKING PLANS FOR
AUSTRALIAN navy
Wal Establish Complete Nav
al Service UpbuiEding
!, to Be Gradual.

on the naval defense OF Australia by
Admiral Sir Reginel Henderson has
been received in this country, and the
admiral himself has returned to En-
gland and has been interviewed upon
the matter. Considerable interest in
the recommendations he has made to
the commonwealth government had
been aroused by the telegraphed ex.
tracts from the report, but II is only
by studying the latter in It's entirety
and taking into account all the details
that an adequate conception OF it's far.
reaching character and the enormous
amount OF work that has been put in
to II can be obtained
The navies OF the world are nearly
oil the outcome OF the very many
years of development, and they rest
upon traditions that are time honored,
sometimes even ancient. Some ma
vies have gone into the depths and
have been rehabilitated, but all have
been built up slowly. Even II one con-
siders the Japanese navy. the young
est of the fleets of the great power, 1t
will be found that no fewer than forty
or fifty years have elapsed before 1t
reached maturity.
Yet in Sir Reginald Henderson's re.
port It Ia proposed to establish com.
plAte naval service. from the neces-
sary steel manufactures and cadets
training colleges up to the first-class
battleships and fullblown admirals,
within a period OF twenty-five years.
or about half the time taken to evolve
the Japanese fleet. which was success
full in the late war. There Is this to
be said, however. that Australia. un-
like the youthful United States, has
not to build her navy under the stress
Of battle.
So far as material is concerned. Ad-
miral Henderson has taken the unit
which had already been ordered as
the nucleus OF the fleet to be created
by 1888. That unit. consisting OF one
armored cruiser. three protected cruis-
ers, six destroyers and three subma-
Tines. was. by the arrangement OF the
imperial defense conference of 1909.
TO become part OF the imperial east
ern fleet.
But II IL by no means clear that the
commonwealth. when It's fleet has
passed the initial stage Of develop
ment, contemplates that It shall be-
come part of division OF the imperial
fleet. The Australians have made 1t
very clear that they Themselves. not
the British admiralty, are going to
control their fleet.
Colonies to Control Fleets
Sir Wilfred Laurier has said that,
while Il 10 true that when Great Brit
ain IL at war Canada is at war, yet 1t
did not necessarily follow that Can.
ada would take part In the naval wars
in which Great Britain might engage.
particularly on the outposts Of the
empire. In the same way. when Aus
tralia 10 in possession Of fleet of her
own. she may differ from the mother
country as to the way in which 1t
might be used. and a peculiar situa.
ton would then he presented.
Admiral Henderson has taken the
administrative machinery Of the mo.
Their navy as his model and has made
very few innovations. In some re.
spects. 1t Is evident that he Is a de-
sciple of Lord Fisher. which Is more
than can be said OF all the officers
concerned in the beginning of the
Canadian navy. Thus he has kept to
the system of common entry and
training for officers which was in
troduced in the imperial navy by Lord
Fisher in 1908, and he recommends
short service for noncombatant Off
GERS and unskilled ratings among the
men. or those grades which have beer
termed sea lAborers."
In addition, there will be no mar
Ines In the Australian navy II Sir Reg
maids view that they are unnecessar.
in the initiation Of a new navy Is shar
cd by the commonwealth government
From q speech CT the defense minis
ter II would seem that such ia the
case. since he said that the fedora
government was prepared. provided
that the people gave II power. to carr,
out fully the naval defense scheme
recommended by Admiral Henderson
a. 1t has already followed the advice
Of Lord Kitchener with eminently sat
isfactory results.
At the end OF the period Of twenty
two years Admiral Henderson con
templates an annual expenditure o
423.750.00 for the upkeep of tn,
fleet, which Ia to be composed O
eight armored cruisers. ten protected
cruisers. destroyer and submarine flo
tillas and four repair and depot ships
Whether this sum will be sufficien
to insure the maintenance of a fore,
adequate for the protection OF Aus
tralian ports and shipping from hos
tile raids. while al the same time full
filling the primary object OF the Aus
tralian navy In supporting the EN-
pire's command of the sea. is at leas
doubtful when the progressive ad
vance In the nava, expenditure Of tn,
powers during the last TWENTY-FIVE,
years 10 considered.
England spends $22o.ooo,ooo
The sum 10 calculated on the basi
Of population. and works out at ap
proximately the same ratio as the ma
val expenditure of Great Britain. tn,
population OF the United Kingdom be
Ing about ten times that OF Australia