COMMONWEALTH NAVY.

Hokitika Guardian, 14 October 1919, Page 2

COMMONWEALTH NAVY.

OFFER OF BATTLESHIPS.

FaDBTRALIAN & N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION]

LONDON, Oct. 11

The Commonwealth can have almost a free hand in picking vessels from the (British Navy for carrying out Admiral JeUiicoe’s.recommendations. The Admir alty’s policy supported by the Colonial Office, is to reduce fhe fleet by the presentation of ships of the most modern classes for the Dominion’s navies.

The Premier was recently consulted and agreed with the policy. Indeed, he is now one of its strongest advocates. A high authority at the Admiralty stat ed the Admiralty hopes Australia will accept the ships, including dreadnoughts, instead of building new ones. He added that Admiral Jellicoe’s report wil doubtless be found to more easily and readily accepted, if the public remembers that Britain possesses a great margin of modern warships and is eager to present some to Australia. It becomes therefore more a question of maintenance of ships than the cost of construction. Asked whether the distribution of ships was due to the League of Nation* disarmament, the authority lepiled that our immediate concern is retrenchment. They’re after us, not w ith a pruning knife, but with an axe. There’s a general hope at the Admiralty that the Commonwealth will give a lead -to th# Dominions by shortly accepting warships. Jelicoe’s full report is eagerly awaited and will be most carefully studied by the new Board of Admiralty, into wliich Admiral Beatty is bringing several younger men, belonging to the new school in the Grand Fleet. These, changes are unlikely to affect the A - miraltv policy in the Pacific, unless Jellicoe demands a considerable readjustment, when the) matter might enter upon an important struggle between the Jellicoe and Beatty schools.