ROYAL TOUR IS NOT YET CERTAIN

Grey River Argus, 9 October 1948, Page 3

ROYAL TOUR IS NOT YET CERTAIN

AUCKLAND. Oct. 8

A premium oi s.iu ii>s ror eacn £.lOO oi cover is oeing paid lor insurance against the- possibility oi tlie cancellation ot ttie xcoytti tutu- to New Zoa.Liiicl. 'me urit,inui suggestion was between so anti >.iu, but it is only re—ntiy that active interest has Peen ohown and one line ox insurance wa:.placed to-day in Wellington at £lO 10s. zioyd’s insurance broker in Wellington said to-night in a telephone interview that most inquiries had so tar oeen tentative, althottgn a lot oi policies had been taken up in Australia. However, in the last two or three days more interest had been shown. This particularly applied to souvenirs and other goods which depended for their sale upon Their Majesties’ visit.

COVER TAKEN WITH LLOYDS

DUNEDIN, Oct. 8

A Dunedin firm, faithful to Dunedin’s traditional cautiousness, wisdom, or long-sightedness, was the iirst to take the insurance cover being offered by Lloyds against the possibility of the cancellation of the Royal visit to New Zealand. Two or three days ago an Auckland firm and a certain local body in the Wellington area took out a similar cover and other policies have also been ai • ranged. The premium quoted has been £lO 10s for each ’£loo of cover, but inquiries in Dunedin to-day suggest that this rate is not likely to be. long maintained as the limited market is being’ filled, largely by inquiries from Australia. It is emphasised that there is no prospect of any insurance being arranged on a gambling basis.

NAVY LOOKING TO POSSIBLE EMERGENCY LONDON, Oct. 7 The naval correspondent of Lloyd’s List and Shipping Register discussing the Royal tour, says he understands that plans for curtailing the Home Fleet’s cruise to the West Indies and to South Africa are ready, to meet any emergency. H.M.S. Vanguard’s tour to Australia and New Zealand could be cancelled. Already there is a feeling in the Fleet that the Royal visit is not the foregone conclusion it was. . .

The “Register” says that the Admiralty has sent out a “general alert” about the readiness of the Fleet for an emergency. An Admiralty spokesman said that the article only reflects recently announced orders to speed up the recommissioning of some vessels and the priority renovation of others—in effect, to halt the gradual disposal of ships by sale or scrapping which had been under way since the end of the war.

The “Register’s” naval correspondent says: “Almost all new weapons developed since the war are already mounted or could be mounted on warships if necessary. Should an emergency arise, the latest aircraft could be flown from suitably equipped modern aircraft-carriers, the most recently developed anti-submarine weapons could be operated in our most powerful destroyers, and the newest mines could be laid from fast surface ships, mbmarines, and aircraft.” He estimates that in an emergency the Admiralty would be able to muster five battleships, 23 fleet aircraftcarriers, 32 cruisers, 127 destroyers. 181 frigates. 65 submarines, 69 minesweepers, 36 motor torpedo-boats, three fast minelayers, and. 200'other warships. This does not include the shins of the Commonwealth navies, which could muster between them two aircraft carriers, eight cruisers 26 destroyers, 55 sloops and frigates 65 minesweepers, and 100 other vessels.