NAVAL INCREASES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1500, 24 July 1912, Page 5

NAVAL INCREASES.

IMPORTANT STATEMENT.

FOUR EXTRA DREADNOUGHTS IN FIVE YEARS. MEDITERRANEAN FLEET. GERMANY SETS THE PACE. Br Telegraph—Press Association-Copyright (Rec. July 24, 0.20 a.m.) London, July 23. Mr. Winston Churchill, First Lord of tho Admiralty, in introducing the Navy Supplementary Estimates, said they were duo to the new German Navy law under -which four-fifths of Germany's vessels were in instant readiness for war. This proportion was unprecedented in modern practice. Great Britain's programme of construction for the coming five years would bo increased by four Dreadnoughts. There would also bo an acceleration in the construction of tho smaller cruisers, and a larger number of destroyers and submarines would be put in hand. Turning to tho question of the Mediterranean Mr. Churchill announced tliat eight battleships would be stationed at Gibraltar with a subsidiary base at Malta. Mr. Churchill added: "By 1914 our fully commissioned battleships will be increased from twenty-eight to thirtythree." The German plans involved a remarkable expansion -in strength and efficioncy. By 1920 the new German fleet would consist of the following vessels:— Battleships 41 , Battle cruisers 20 Small cruisers- 40 There would be besides an ample proportion of destroyers and submarines. Nearly four-fifths of this fores would be maintained in permanent commission. Such a fleet would bo about as numerous and superior in actual strength, to tho recent British Fleet reviewed at Spithead.

Useless to Spend on Impulse. | Cool, stoady, and methodical preparation over successive .years could alone raise Britain's margin of naval power. It was useless to fling money about on impulse. Britain, should learn from Germany, whoso policy marched unswervingly on. _ I "We must liave an ample margin of stiength, instantly ready," declared Mr. Churchill. Tho amount asked for on tho Supplementary Navy Estimates was only the first and smallest instalment of the extra expenditure which the new German Law wiuld entail on Great Britain. Germany was spending about a million a year on submarines, and Britain could not allow her lead to diminish. Five Battle Squadrons, It was imperative swiftly lo incrs.iso tho fully-commissioned battleships. From 1911 onwards Britain should have five battleship;squadrons, comprising <11 battleships, as compared with Germany's 29. Of these five squadrons four squadrons should remain in full commission. It would also be necessary largely to increaso tho personnel of the fleet in tho next four years. ■ Mr. Churchill denied that tho Admiralty had had recourse to all tho available reservists in the recent manoeuvres. They lwd only utilised four thousand out of the 60,009 men available. Tho problem was not to supply men in war time, but to increase the actual servico ratings permanently employed. He foreshadowed an increaso of pay, but would mako definite proposals in the autumn. In the Mediterranean, The/naval position in tho Mediterranean. was about to undergo important changes in view of the advent of tho Italian and< Austrian Dreadnoughts., Ho demurred <to the assumption that these Powers ■ were likely to combine against Britain, and he demurred also to the suggestion tliat Britain ought to maintain local superiority in the Mediterranean over the combined fleets of these Powers. Any attempt to confine supremacy to a particular water was false strategy and bad politics. They proposed to withdraw six of the older battleships, replacing them by four Invincibles and also replacing the armoured cruisers Tvith more powerful ships.

Angry Labour Member. Mr. James O'Grady, Labour member for East Leeds, angrily but vainly demanded precedence over Mr. Churchill's Navy statement. "Consider the dockers' starving families," 'he cried, and, throwing his papers on tho floor, exclaimed: "It's 'i damned scandal." Ho then quitted tho House.

UNPREPARED FOR WAR,

LORD ROBERTS WARNS THE . COUNTRY. BRITAIN'S PROUD BOASTING. (Rec. July 24, a.m.) London, July 23. Lord Roberts, speaking at.the Mansion House, declared that the Army was as unprepared for war as in 1599. The experience of tho Boer War had not been turned to efficient use. Germany was well aware of (ho feebleness underlying Britain's proud boasting of naval and military strength. Ho had no hostility to Gormauy, but all must see the danger of a collision within the limit of time indicated by'the convergence of tho lilies of destiny, which might be accelerated at any moment by a misunderstanding.

EFFECTS OF THE GERMAN LAW,

COMING BUEDENS. It is apparent, says the London "Dailv Telegraph," that thero is a widespread misunderstanding of the character of the naval responsibilities which the passage of tho now German Naval' Bill will east on this country, and to assist in mepting which, the Government liavo decided to hold_ in reserve the surplus of 0,500,000 sterling which accrued last year. Tho proposal of tho Government is to add tho surplus to the Exchequer balance as an Fund, mainly with a viow to meeting tho new demands on the. Treasury, which aro inevitable—absolutely inevitable—on two suppositions—first, that the German Navy Bill is passed by tho Eoichstag, and. second, that the supremacy of the British Fleet is to bo maintained. There is no doubt as to either of these points, an;! therefore there is no uncertainty as to the increase in British Naval expenditure. Tho serious character of the German proposals does not lie in the number of ships to be built over and_ above tie provisions ol' the existing Navy Law, ami Wio' more numerous vessels which will have to to built in this country to neutralise them on the standard of'two keels lo one. If Germany decides upon three additional Dreadnoughts in tho_ next six years, then, as Mr.. Churchill, in his recent exposition of Admiralty poliev, explained, we shall need six. This will cast .111 eventual and additional burden on the Navy Estimates of over twelve millions, and ft further large sum will bo needed for submarines, over and above the recent annual outlay of about a third of a million sterling. T:he- nrw burdr.H on roiutruction ""hioll Ulw aew German s&lwwe. jcill in wive'

this country cannot bo loss than twelve millions, even if Germany postpones hiving the keel of ono of the threo extra battleships authorised, and if all threo shiip.s sire before 11)17, the charge \till rise to about fourteen million;. This moans that in tlio six years immediately ahead—over and above our normal outlay ,on new fillips of about ,£13,000.1K111 annually, or an aggregate of, roughly, soventy-eight. or eighty millions storlinsr —live Admiralty will havoito be provided with from .C12.000,0!!0 to .111,000,000, the pressure of which will be felt mainly in the financial years of 1913-H and onwards. There is no doubt as to the-e figures except. that they inav err on tho sido of moderation. • But this is only one sido of the picture fliul the brightest. Germany is about to 1 raise the number, of her oliieers and, men from, approximately, 60,001) to over SO,OOO. \\ itti nie.se men ii: is m-cposed to place on a war footing a new squadron consistof mure battleships, besides cruisers and torpedo craft. The High Seas Fleet is to be raised from a siren-'th of 17 baltle.shins to i">, and eventually the ten armoured cruisers associated with <t will bo Dreadnought, cruisers of the Invincihle type, raking the armoured strength instantly ready at all ftmos in tlio North S'ea or Baltic to 35 Dreadnoughts. On this portion of tho sr.hemo tho Imperial Government will spend most of tho money for which the Reichstag must eventually be asked. This year the expenditure proposed under the Supplementary Naval Estimates is slightly under a million.