Washington Conference.

Hokitika Guardian, 17 December 1921, Page 3

Washington Conference.

THE NAVAL AGREEMENT. (From the Special Representative of the Australian Press Association.) (Received This Day at 8.30 a.m.) WASHINGTON, Dec. 15. Official.—Mr Hughes said while the tonnage difference was small, there was a considerable difference as to efficiency, as the retention of the ALutsu, give Japan two post Jutland ships of the latest design. In order to meet the situation and preserve the relative strength on the basis was agreed. United States shall complete two ships in course of construction, the Colorado and Washington, which arc about ninety per cent completed and serai) two older ships, the North Dakota and Delaware. Those leave United States the same number of capital ships as originally proposed with a tonnage of 525,850. against 500,050. Three shins would he of the Alarylaml type. As the British had no post .Jutland ships except om; Hood, which is only partly post Jutland, it w;is agreed in order to uuiiiitnin a pioper relative strength, that the British may construct two new ships nut to exceed 35,000 “legend” tuns each, according to British standards of measurement. or according to American calculations thirty seven thousand tons, and also agree that on two new ships being completed Britain shall scrap four King George \ type which were to lie retained. ’lbis would lca\e Britain twenty capital ships instead of 22, with a. tonnage of 582,050 instead of 004,450. This gives Britain ail ex- (■(.., tonnage against United States ot 50,200, which is doomed lair in vie" of the age of the ships of Royal Sovereign and Queen Elizabeth types. The maximum tonnage of capital ships for the purpose of replacement on thi' basis of American standards calculation is as lollows :—l uitod States and Britain each 525,000. .Inpan .315.000

Loin pa ring the arrangement with tinoriginal proposal, l idled States snaps thirty ships, thirteen of them under construction, instead of seventeen older shins of n tonnage of 821.5!(), instead ol 815,510. Japan scraps 435.328, instead „f .118,023 tons. Britain scraps 23, of a tonnage of 605,080, instead (4 19 and a tonnage of 583,375. This makes the grand total to he scrapped 68 of 1.871,541 tons. Ihe naval holiday for ten years in respect, of capital ships, as originally proposett h v the American Government, will hmaintained except for the permission to const met ships as above stal si. 'leiai raiigement between I’-itain. 1 nited Slates and Japan is, so Inr as ; :o number of ships retained and -e-apped concerned, dependent upon a suilahh.-.-igreemcnt with Fiance ami Lab a. ■•> t heir capital ships. The matter i - no" in course of negotiation.

1 1 is reported the Chine-e and .lapaucse delegations have made turther

progress, relative to the question m Shantung and in their discussions about Tsingiao-Tsinan railway.