154 



REVIEW OF REVIEWS. 



April 1, 1913. 



with unerring precision, bombs through 

 its Ceiss instrument upo'n their decks, 

 and down their unprotected funnels. 

 The full-rigged rhip Auslralia, sailing 

 gracefully up the Bay, was a relic of the 

 past, the Melbourne steaming past her 

 was the last word in small cruiser de- 

 sign, but the aeroplane may speedily 

 make the latest addition to the Austra- 

 lian navy as obsolete a fighting force 

 as are Nelson's famous three-deckers to- 

 day. 



At the present moment Britain is 

 paramount at sea. She is determined 

 to maintain that supremacy with or 

 without help from her oversea 

 Dominions. But in the air she is 

 lamentably behind the other Powers. 

 Here surely is where the younger Bri- 

 tains can help her, and at once. Un- 

 like the building of warships, the con- 

 struction of' aeroplanes and dirigibles 

 is an entirel)' new industry. It does 

 not require a costly plant nor decades 

 of experience, whilst the price of the 

 largest aircraft yet made is infinitesi- 

 mal compared to that of a Dread- 

 nought. Factories for airships could 

 be erected in the Dominions, shops 

 which could easily be the superiors of 

 those in Great Britain, and the equals 

 of any in France or Germany. V\e can 

 never hope to equal the shipyards at 

 home, but we can, if we like, show the 

 way in aeroplane and airship construc- 

 tion. It is a significant fact to remem- 

 ber — for those who have to foot the bill 

 — that if the Brisbane, now building 

 here, had been built at home like the 

 Melbourne, we should have been able to 

 add three submarines of the latest type 

 to our navy without paying any more 

 than we are doing. That the mere dif- 

 ference in cost between the cruiser built 

 at home and the sister ship built here 

 would have paid for no less than six 

 Giant Zeppelins or a fleet of seventy 

 aeroplanes. 



AN IMPERIAL CABINET. 



Whether we give battleships, build 

 navies, or manufacture air squadrons, 

 wise statesmanship will be required to 

 avoid rocks ahead. We are intending 

 to cement the Empire, but we may be 

 laying a train of gunpowder which will 

 perhaps blow it into pieces. If a 

 nation has a navy and an army, the 

 temptation to " gang its ain gait " in in- 

 ternational affairs grows in exact pro- 

 portion to their increasing strength. It 

 is quite conceivable that Canada — or we 

 ourselves — might become embroiled 

 with some power against England's ad- 

 vice and wishes, or that England might 

 be dragged into a war in Europe of 

 which we strongly disapprove, with 

 the result that action might be taken 

 that would weaken the ties that bind 

 the Empire together. If, however, the 

 Dominion representatives really do take 

 an active share in the deliberations of 

 the C.I.D., such contretemps would be 

 avoided, for a veritable Imperial Cabi- 

 net would have been created which 

 would soon have real charge of all mat- 

 ters relating to defence and offence 

 throughout the Empire. The British 

 representatives on that Committee are 

 the greatest men in public life ; those of 

 the dominions should be of equal 

 calibre; if they are, the C.I.D. will be 

 but the forerunner of a body, on which 

 will sit representatives of all the 

 Dominions, which will be consulted on 

 all matters vitally effecting the Empire, 

 It will no doubt mean a slight curtailing 

 of the present absolute freedom of 

 action in foreign relations enjoyed by 

 the Dominions, but will in no way 

 affect their internal arrangements. Un- 

 less some such body does come into 

 being, the latest development of the 

 Defence policies of the Dominions is 

 likely to lead to grave complications, 

 not to say trouble and disruption. 



