Sept. 26.
Great Britain's defence plans, which are being developed on a more efficient basis of ce-ordina~ tion of effort than formerly existed, assume greater imparlance in view of the new position in the Govern~ ment foreshadowed for Sir Samuel Hoare, First Lord of the Admiralty. Politically, the announcement of the impending change caused a surprise because the appointment of Sir 'Thomas Inskip as Minister for the Ca-Ordination of Defence is of re~ ent creation, but there need be no} apprehension' felt at any suspected misdirection of purpose in the news that Sir Samuel Hoare and not Sir Thorhas Inskip will be the speaker, fon defence problems at next week's conference of the Conservative Party to be held at Margate. When the enow ministerial appointment was announced, it was indicated. that the duties would not bring into, existence a sort of super com~ mander-in-chief of cabinet rank but would provide the office of minister who could work with all three services in the dle of organizer and ce-ordinator of their different functions, with particular' application to the' organization of supplies, resources and national production so intimately related to} the national defence scheme. In.
Some respects, a similar office was that of the Minister of Munitions: during the Great War, although the scope of Sir Thomas Inskip's powers was considerably broadened and an amplification of his duties has been adequately described in the lines of progress made since that time, As the telegram makes clear, It does not follow that Sir Samtiel will replace Sir Thomas but he is destined for a very important post in the Government, when, as it is expected, Mr. Neville Chamberlain, Chancellor of the Exchequer, succeeds Mr. Stanley Baldwin as Prime Minister.
It is obvious that Sir Samuel is eminently fitted for the task of exercising control of all defence services without overlapping or terfering with the oMflce of Sir Thomas Inskip. Having acted as Air Minister and Foreign Secretary and returning to the present Government as First Lord of the Admiralty, he possesses the ex~ perience, knowledge and ability to apply himself energetically and with confidence to defence needs which the circumstances of armament by the leading European Powers have compelled to be modified and enlarged. The pos sibility of some stich Cabinet decision in regard to Sir Samuel became evident months ago when: he vigorously crusaded for the: cause of re-armament and em=, phasized the necessity of a speedy realization of the essentials of the problem in the light of so. much inflammable material in Europe. The necessity for the decision of the Britisn Government to embark: fon a rearmament programme has never before appeared so im= perative as it does rt the present juncture which continues to provide Adequate justification for the step already taken. Speaking to the Royal Empire Society, Sir Samuel, after defending the acceleration of the naval programme, said tha! "We were rearming to stop the drift to war, and British re-armament would prove for ourselves and for the world the best possible treatment for the morbid and patholoical position of the world that stimulated this dangerous talk about the inevitability of war." In this statement the statesman and the realist join in expression.
In the new British defence plans emphasis has been placed on coordination of effort, and the need) for an experienced Minister familiar with all aspects becomes all the greater, As First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Samuel possesses an unusual intimacy and familiarity. with the particular problems of naval power and with it he comines an extensive knowledge of air problems gained during his office as Air Minister. The advent of air power has given an entirely different complexion {o the character of warfare on land and sea, and the tendency of strategic and defensive developments in recent years has borne very distinctly the impress of an appreciation of this factor. It is possible to build a fleet which will continue its wraditional functions to guard the ocean waterways on which Great Britain's} existence depends, but the appearance of the aeroplane and, to the navy, the alreratt carrier, with its deadly and wide-ranging load, dangerous in attack and useful in defence, have produced new prob-Jems. Sir Samuel does not believe that the air weapon makes it im= possible for a ficer to continue to carry out its responsibilities in an unrestricted manner as before. In this, he joins forces with the foremost professional sailors of many: countries who contend that the fundamental principles of naval warfare have not been revolutionized by new weapons and new methods, and that the air weapon docs not possess the supremacy which popular imagination accords 'Most ships to-day have merely'
provised protection against aircraft but the ship of the future will be better equipped and will reduce even greater the margin of vulnerability. These, of course, are questions which a rapidly-changing. situation in armaments will continually produce, but Sir Samuel's experience and familiarity with all aspects increase the importance of his anticipated appointment to the position being created for him.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.