THE NAVAL DEFENCE OF INDIA. [To TER EDITOR or TH11
SPECTATOR."] Sin,—In February, 1912, you printed in your columns some letters from me on the necessity of reviving the old Indian Navy, abolished fifty years ago in a parsimonious fit. In one of these letters I said:—
"With the establishment of a local Navy in Australia, and the increasing urgency of one exclusively to guard the vast coast lino of our Indian Empire, extending over some thousands of miles from the Persian Gulf to the Straits of Malacca, with the three Presidency towns and Kurrachee and Rangoon, all accessible from the sea, no time should be lost in establishing a special Navy for the protection of the shore and commerce of our great Dependency. What would an indignant public say were one or two fast foreign cruisers to appear before Calcutta and the other towns I have named with a demand for an indemnity, failing which these ports would be reduced to ashes ? The instance of the Alabama' shows the havoc that may be wrought by a single ship commanded by a daring seaman like Captain Semmes."
What I anticipated has happened, and to-day (Monday) we hear from the Admiralty that the German cruiser Emden' is unchecked in her career of destruction in the Bay of Bengal, having already sunk six merchant ships, presumably with valu- able cargoes, while it is probable that she has captured other prizes, and perhaps worked havoc at Rangoon, the richest port in India after Calcutta and Bombay. A repetition of the same misplaced economy which formerly resulted in the abolition of the Indian Navy, after two hundred and fifty years of service, has now left defenceless the coasts and commerce of India, with its population of three hundred millions and a revenue of eighty millions sterling.—I am, Sir, &o., C. R. Low, Commander (late) Indian Nary.
27 Russell Road, Kensington, W.
[As our readers know, the Spectator has for many years
past advocated the revival of the Indian naval force which was so injudiciously abolished after the Mutiny. — En.
Spectator.]
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