NAVAL MATTERS “INTERNATIONAL” RUGBY

Hokitika Guardian, 21 March 1921, Page 3

NAVAL MATTERS

“INTERNATIONAL” RUGBY

i A REMARKABLE SPEECH, i b { BY TKI.KGItAI’II —I’ItESS . YSN., COI'YIUGUT. I ... | UNITED SERVICE I’EUEGRAMS. i (Received This Day at. 11.30 a.in.) i LONDON, March 19. j In a remarkalile speech on the Navy I Estimates in the Mouse of Commons, Commander Carlyon Bellairs, a prominent naval expert, said the Japanese yards were working twenty-four hours a day in order to rapidly complete her warships. Her naval personnel now equalled Germany’s in 1914. Great Britain would have all her work cut out to maintain a substantial margin over Japan. He thought it would be impossible soon to put pre-war dreadnoughts into line with post-Jutland battleships. For instance, the American “ Indiana ” was infinitely superior to the Queen Elizabeth. ,Indeed the disparity was far greater than between dreadnoughts and pre-dreadnoughts. If Great Britain sent the Hood and four new battleships to tlie Pacific, by 1924, she could have only five post-Jutlands against Japan’s eight. I Commander Bellairs added that unless ire laid down more, we would have by j 1 only five poxWJutland’s against j Japan’s eleven, assuming Japan did not hasten her programme. Lord Jellicoe’s stipulation in smaller ships would be eclipsed. He asked for forty destroyers and Japan would have eighty. He ask- • id for thirty submarines and Japan would have eighty. j Bellairs said his information was to the effect that Japan was able to com-’ pie to ships earlier than the date fixed in her programme. Her great shipyar i companies had agreed to build battleships in twenty months, cruisers •• i eleven, and destroyers in five, provided I they got the material. Japan was paying probably ten millions sterling for a , battleship. Japan reckoned the life of a j post-Jutland at eight years. Thus with I renewals and cost ol maintenance of | (lock yards and auxliaries each ship' would cost two millions yearly, a hen the j programme was completed. 1 cannot get it out of my mind that a purely ( military nation, instead of facing the cost of replacement, will bring about war at her selected time. . Certainly it is a grave danger. We must either face competition or bring about agreement by peaceful persuasion. America and Great Britain can say that Japan s building must stop. We do not want to, adopt Lord Fisher’s suggestion in the j early days of Germany’s building, and j threaten Japan with war, but we are entitled to say that Japan shall get uo steel for war purposes. At any rate we can say that Great Britain has held up battleship construction for six years, and the responsibility for thejnav.nl rac • rests with United States.”

(Received This Day at 10.40 a.m.) LONDON, March 19. . The Rugby International Board have refused France’s application to join the 1 Board. j