Review of Reviews, lUlu 



CANADA'S NAVY. 



39 



attack the fleets of the enemy, and by 

 defeating them, to afford protection to 

 British Dominions, shipping, and com- 

 merce." 



Mr. Churchill, in a speech on naval 

 matters in Parliament on March i8 last, 

 declared that " it is necessary for us to 

 have a sufficient (battleship) margin to 

 be able to meet, at our average moment, 

 the naval force of any attacking power 

 at its selected moment " ; and, aided, 

 doubtless, by the experts of the Ad- 

 miralty, calculated that to arrive at 

 Britain's strength at the average 

 moment, 25 to 30 per cent, should be 

 subtracted from her available fighting 

 force ; and as Britain has some fifty- 

 nine battleships and battleship-cruisers, 

 25 per cent, subtracted from that, or, say 

 fifteen ships, would leave her strength 

 at the average moment at forty-four 

 such ships against Germany's thirty- 

 five ; but in order to secure this margin 

 of nine, the Mediterranean had to be 

 robbed of the whole fleet formerly 

 located there, so that if these nine war 

 craft had been left in the Mediter- 

 ranean, Britain would have only the 

 same number of fighting shii^s m the 

 North Sea as Germany has. 



Accepting, then, the principle em- 

 bodied in these quotations, it is obvious 

 that an " emergency " does exist which 

 warrants special action by Canada, to 

 increase Britain's naval strength and en- 

 large her margin of security. Facts 

 l^roving the gravity of the " menace " 

 that besets Britain, are the imminence of 

 war all the time of the Agadir affair in 

 191 1, the public warning to Germany 

 bv Llovd-George at a Mansion House 

 luncheon in London then, the pledge, 

 bv Bonar Law for the LTnionists, ard 

 Ramsav Macdonald for the Labourites, 

 of their unequivocal support in^ any 

 measures necessary in the Emigre's m- 

 terests; the presentation to the British 

 Parliament of two sets of naval esti- 

 mates in the past year, the second 

 avowedly to offset the latest German 

 naval programme and frankly stated 

 by Winston Churchill to be so; and, 

 finally, the withdrawal of the British 

 battleships from the Mediterranean and 

 the leaving of the policing of the route to 

 the East to France as a friend and allv. 



the: horden naval policy. 

 These facts put it beyond questior> 

 that Premier Borden's proposals for an 

 emergency contribution will be accepted 

 by the Canadian Parliament, probably 

 without much objection by the Liberals 

 under Sir Wilfrid Laurier, because al- 

 ready resolutions have been adopted 111 

 some Canadian cities advocating a 

 Round Table Conference between the 

 parties and for taking the navy issue 

 out of politics. Sir Wilfrid Laurier has 

 recently reaffirmed his attitude and that 

 of his party thus : — 



In the meantime, and while we continue to wait 

 and wait, and wait, we stand where we have 

 stood right along. Our policy is a Canadian navy, 

 built in Canada, equipped in Canada, manned 

 in Canada, under the control of the Canadian 

 Pairliament, and the Canadian people, and ready, 

 if Britain should ever be in danger— I will not 

 say that— if Britain should ever be on trial— to 

 do its part, a worthy part, as a loyal daughter 

 of the Old Motherland. 



The Borden navy policy as sum- 

 marised from the address of the Cana- 

 dian Premier, made to the Ottawa 

 House of Commons, on December 5, 

 is as follows : — 



Canada is to make a contribution of three 

 Dreadtioucihts to cost seven million pounds, and 

 to be the most powerful warships in the world. 



The ships are to be built in the United King- 

 dom under the supervision of the Admiralty, and 

 will become part of the battle lines of the 

 British navy. 



They will bear distinctive Canadian names. 



These ships are to be under the control and 

 upkeep of the British Admiralty, but may be 

 returned to Canada at some future time if the 

 nucleus of a Canadian navy is decided upon. 



The ships are not to be built in Canada for 

 lack of facilities, and in view of an extra cost 

 of probably £1,250,000. 



The Admiralty is ready, however, to order for 

 construction in Canada a number of smaller 

 ships, and in this way the Canadian shipbuilding- 

 industry will be fostered, the Canadian Govern- 

 ment giving a measure of assistance. _^ - ^ 



Mr. Borden announced that the British 

 Government was willing to welcome a 

 Canadian Minister to the deliberations 

 of the Imperial Defence Committee. 



How these propositions are to be re- 

 conciled it will be for the Canadian 

 Parliament, and perhaps for the Cana- 

 dian iieople, to determine in the near 



future. 



Apart, altogether, though, from the 



