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THE BRITISH PACIFIC FLEET.
(Daily Press, August 30th,) There may be at first sight some disposition among British residents in the Far East to view with disfavour the scheme announced by the Prime Minister for the reorganisation of the Pacific squadrons, since it involves a further reduction in the numerical strength of the Fleet in Chinese waters; but a careful study of a Pacific the scheme, which provides for a Fleet with bases in the East Indies, in the China Sea and in Australia, we think will lead to conclusions which To begin are eminently satisfactory. with, it has obviously been the purpose of the Conference convened to consider the question of the Empire's defences to strengthen rather than to weaken our naval position in the Pacific. Many things have happened during the last two or three years to force upon the attention of our naval authorities the fact that, notwithstanding our alliance with Japan, there is need to increase our naval strength in the Pacific if we are to maintain our political prestige in these parts when attention is being largely claimed by the naval develop ments of the younger Powers. British residents in the Far East have never been reconciled to the withdrawal of the battleship squadron, because they fact that the reduc- appreciate the tion of the Fleet involved in the eyes of unenlightened China a loss of political prestige. Following on this we have seen the squadrons of other Powers in the East strengthened; we have seen the "Great White Fleet" of American battleships touring the Pacific, impressing the people of our own Colonies as well as the people of Asia with its might and majesty. We have seen also the Navy Department of the United States embarking on schemes for heavily fortifying both Hawaii and the Philippines and for providing huge dry docks at each place. Nobody is bent on war; every nation solemnly protests that its aim is the maintenance of peace. Our Colonies-Australia, New Zealand and Canada-have been not a little con- cerned at the growing power of other nations in the Pacific, and at the seeming indifference of the British Admiralty to these developments. But the factor which gave to the scheme of reorganisation its lead-
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
[ September 4, 1909, navies which, in an emergency, say, in the Far interest in Korea, and seem to have neglect- East, may be left, if circumstances allow, ed from sheer carelessness the guarding of to guard their own coasts, thus enabling the Chientao. Still, according to old the Imperial units to concentrate wherever treaties, the Yalu and the Tumen rivers before, the northern boundaries they may be required. These Imperial remained, as units are each to consist of one cruiser of Korea on the west and east, respectively. of the "Indomitable" type, three second- The treaty of Portsmouth made little class cruisers, six destroyers and three reference to boundaries, as these had never submarines. The cruisers of the "Indomi-been in dispute; still it provided that Japan type-battleship-cruisers they are was not to erect fortifications along the table" sometimes called-have eight 12in guns and Tumen, which would certainly have been a are capable of travelling at 25 knots. The needless clause if Korea's actual boundary mentioned would had then, or at any period, extended fifty second-class cruisers probably be ships of the "County" class. If miles further to the northern fringe of the that is the case, the new China unit would be Chientao.: a much more effective force than the present. one, though not so strong numerically. When, however, we realise that, without | leaving the shores of our colonies in the South Pacific unprotected, it will be possible under the new scheme to concentrate in the Far East if necessary, in the space of less than twenty days, three such units giving
Indomitables a combination of three (twenty-four-
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It was then but natural that the claim,
the first
time put forward by for Japan, should have seemed to Russia to contravene what she considered as one of the important stipulations of the Agreement; it was also natural that England, whose commercial interests were concerned in linking up the railways between Chili and Mukden, should hesitate to endorse the 12 inch guns), nine prohibition by Japan of the construction by good cruisers, eighteen destrovers and nine China of the Hsinmintun-Fakumen line, We are not now, fortunately, concerned with the submarines, we shall have little to fear or to while existing con-
reasons which led Japan to press her claims complain about diions continue. It would be immensely in either direction. Still, there is no doubt superior to any combination we could get in that, considering the amount of explosive the time under present arrangements. What material that was lying about, caution we should try to secure, if the scheme would have been reasonable. England in does not already provide for this, is that the hands of socialistic amateurs, one of there should be an annual concentration whose fads was that Japan was benevolently of the three units for a tour in the Far East,guarding for us the Pacific, it is true, might where such demonstrations count for so much in the maintenance of political prestige. If this is not already arranged for, the matter might very well form the subject of representations by the Far Eastern branches of the Navy League, for we feel sure that in making this sugges
give expression to a desire which tion - we will be shared by all British residents in the East.
CHINA AND JAPAN.
(Daily Press, August 31.)
It the announcement be correct that an agreement has been come to between China and Japan regarding the Chientao and the Fakumen Railway, and the other principal points in dispute in Manchuria, be correct, there is every reason to congratulate both China and Japan on the removal of a very dangerous complication. Throughout the
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he relied on not to go beyond the mildest of remonstrance; Russia was still too much occupied trying to suppress her own prole. tariat; and China-well, she need not be thought of. And so Japan thought the world wagged till a few months ago. France had made friends with England, and found the feeling reciprocated; but she had done more she was not content till she had got Russia to join the baby-house. Then the United States commenced to think that they had made a mistake in not cultivating China a little more there was evidently powerful nation who rated China at a higher level than did Japan-perhaps she had a mistake who knows? Finally made KING EDWARD had invited the TSAR NICOLAS II. to pay him a visit and they had talked long and confidentially. Now KING. EDWARD knows the political aspects of the world as well, or prob ably
a
igg idea must have been offers of "Dread- dispute, it is satisfactory to notice, China Euro etter, than any foreign minister in
noughts" which the Imperial Government recently received from the Colonies with the intention of helping the Imperial Government to maintain the supremacy of the British Navy which, none too soon, the Government perceived was menaced by the shipbuilding programmes of rival Powers. While the Imperial Government, by unhesitatingly accepting them, showed its appreciation of the spirit of kinship which prompted these offers, the further consideration of the pro- posals led to new schemes for the naval defence of the Colonies, and the Colonies readily responded to a suggestion that instead of Dreadnoughts they should build cruisers primarily for the defence of their own coasts, but under control of the Imperial authorities. So we are to have in the South Pacific, besides the Australian Squadron of the Imperial Navy, a Common wealth unit which will be attached to the Australian Squadron; we are to have also a New Zealand unit, which for some not very obvious reason will be under the direction of the Commander-in-Chief of the China Squadron. In the North Pacific the Admiralty is handing over to Canada the base at Esquimalt. The basis of the new scheme, therefore, is the embryo Colonial
had displayed an amount of good temper, which has been unfortunately not always present in her other negotiations, and she has been so far wise that she did not permit in this case the affair to fall into the hands of the professional agitators, who have done so much to make their country contemptible in the eyes of the other Powers. In September, 1907, we gave a sketch of the position in the Chientao, the "unoccupied circuit" between China and Korea, which for long had been closed to occupation by either Power in order r to prevent inter- communication between the two countries. The land itself actually belonged to China, who in those days maintained an effective frontier guard to prevent smuggling, as it was called, between the two countries, and this was one of her last efforts to maintain her elf in isolation from her neighbours. The principle is here not in question; the fact is notorious. Till, in fact, the defeat of the Chinese in the Japan war, the Chien- tao remained entirely unoccupied, except that in the latter days a few robbers, owning allegiance to neither China nor Korea, used to make it the scene of their operations, and plunder both indifferently. The Chinese, after the treaty of Shimonoseki, had little
and it was certain that amongst the things that entered into their confidential communications at Cowes was this little affair of the relations between China, Russia and Japan. Altogether, there was much to be said in favour of making a friend of China. America thought it worth while; Russia, evidently, thought it worth while; |aud Japan has evidently also now found it
worth while to join in the procession.
Indeed, the whole story, now that the solution has been found, reads not unlike the old nursery tale. The woman wanted to go over the style to pluck the "bonny- bunch of raspberries" at the other side, but needed a stick to help her to cross, and all' animated nature combined to prevent her. After the crowd had been vainly invoked one after the other, one more complaisant than the others consented if she would fetch a jugful of water in a sieve. It was the crow who suggested plastering the sieve with mud that finally got over the difficulty, with the result that each of the animal, who had before refused, ran in hot haste to fulfil the old lady's requests. Japan has evidently discovered how to carry the water in the sieve, and the result is instructive First, the Chientao belongs to China; secoul, the Hsinmintun-Fakumen Railway will be