PROBLEMS OF EMPIRE.
I believe the Colonies could give us, with mutual advantage, very considerable help in the way of men, on the lines suggested in the discussion already referred to. In Canada I obtained some valuable information, and in Australia my father and I took every opportunity of discussing the possibility of establishing branches of the Naval Reserve in the Colonies. We had conferences of shipmasters at Government House. I met representatives of the steamship owners both in Sydney and Melbourne, and representatives of the Seamen's and Firemen's Union in Adelaide and in Sydney, and I received many letters of warm encouragement from all classes of persons, including Swedish and Norwegian captains who had served in British ships. The results of these inquiries are embodied in an article in the Nineteenth Century of December last, and may be briefly summarised here. About 5000 men are employed in the inter-colonial trade and in fishing. A large proportion of these are foreigners, and comparatively few are Colonial born. The foreigners are principally Scandinavians or Danes who are naturalised Australians, who look upon Australia as their home, and would be ready to serve her in case of emergency. There seems no doubt that the high rates of pay attract the pick of the seamen from British ships, and that there exists excellent material for the Naval Reserve in the Colonial Marine. The shipowners of Victoria assured me that they would give every facility to Royal Naval Reserve men in their employ to perform their drills, and would not fill their places during their absence. They are exceedingly anxious to have a supply of Colonial-born young seamen coming forward. Their ships are all steamers, and they recognise that they cannot train seamen for themselves.
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