OIL VERSUS COAL

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 131, 19 June 1937, Page 11

OIL VERSUS COAL

Use of Former in Navy Defended i (BritiBh Official Wirelesa.) RUGBY, June 17. In tho House of Lords, Lord Ailwyn asked the Government wnether consideration would be given to coal-firing in all ships of new construction for the fleet and, if not, whether they would state their xeason for their continued poliey of relying exclusively on oil for tho Navy. He pointed out that the importabion of oil increased from 2,500,000 tons in 1914 to nearly 12,000,0'00 Iona in 1936. Earl Stanhope, replying, said that slthough oil supplies were not under British control, such a number of countrics now supplied oil that it would be extremely unlikely that any Teal difficulty in gottiug supplies would arise. The Government hoped and believed that the measures which they had in view Avould be sufiicient to meet an3' emergency. If a 10,000-ton cruiser wero convcrted from oil to coal, it would losc 3$ knots in spoed. Tho general view of the Admiralty was that technical arguments were ' so strongly in favour of oil that they outweighed, even from a strategieal point of view, any disadvantage of having to buy fuel from foreign ,sources. The . Teserve of, oil fuel had steadily. aecumu--latcd over ,a large number of years and was going aj^ead ycry satisfactorily.