NAVAL GESTURE

Hokitika Guardian, 27 July 1931, Page 2

NAVAL GESTURE

DISARMAMENT LIMITS. POLICY CRITICISED. WELLINGTON, July 24. Tracing recent developments in naval disarmament when addressing the annual meeting of the Wellington branch of the Navy League last evening, the Mayor, Mr T. U. A. Hislop, and Mr W. Perry, president of the league, expressed fears that the British Empire might stand in danger if a halt were not called in its disarmament policy. They pointed out that other nations were arming while Britain was disarming, and contended that Brita.n’s gesture to the world had gone far enough it should wait and see if the gesture were being received as it should be. Mr Perry gave it as his opinion that the Disarmament Conference to be held next year was fraught with grave consequences, for Britain. If it were not a success, he said, Britain would probably find itse’if well behind in the race for armaments that would ensue. The meeting was also addressed by Wing-Commander Grant Dalton, who stressed the importance of an air force as a part in the national scheme cf defence. By figures he quoted he showed that an air force was more economic to finance than either a navy ov an army. “Some people think it is unnecessary to take precautions, as they did in 1914,” Mr Hislop said. “They may be right, but there was a feeling not long before 19.4 that naval expenditure was excessive, and it was largely as a result off the Navy League’s " activities that eight battle cuisers were laid down as was intended in the usual building programme, instead ot four. That was not long before the war broke out. But if the spirit which was behind the idea of trusting to the pacific intent of the powers of Europe had been carried into effect, one trembles to think of the position Britain would have been in when war was declared. Now a time had anived when neople were thinking that liriLu.i should carry out a general programme < f disarmament as a lead to the wor'd. There had been an effort to carry out that •policy, and the result was that Britain as a naval power, especially as far as expenditure was concerned, Ind fallen from its position of 1914, and was far behind the expenditure other nations were using for their navies. “CARRIED GESTURE FAR ENOUGH.” “We have carried the gesture far enough,” Air Hislop said. “We should see now if it is being received in the way it should be. We have reduced nav al expenditure till to-day, taking the value of the £ as it was beiore the war, we spend 46 millions sterling where we spent 78 millions, Other nations, on the contrary, have increased their armaments. We stand face to face with the incontrovertible fact that we are disarming while ether nations are arming,” It was for such reasons that an organisation like the Navy League should be kept alvie, its activity even increased. Britain should show that while it wanted to- reduce its armaments it did not want to be the only nation to do so, Mr W. Perry remarked that at the London conference last year Britain had been allowed 50 cruisers when it wanted 70. Since then the position had become worse, as the amount spent on the navy had decreased. When Air Ramsay MacDonald first became Prime Minister df Britain in 1924 one of the first gestures made to the world by his Government was the cessation of work on the Singapore base. Subsequently, when the Conservative Party had come back to power, the work had been resumed, and now that Air AlneDonald was again Prime Minister, and had been for a number of years, the work on the base had continued. That was one of the most significant things in post-war history. Recently Air AlacDonald had given some alarming figures on Britain’s naval expenditure, and had disclosed that other nations were spending big amounts on armaments ,not only navn) Britain had made a gesture to the whole world in disarming, perhaps (0 a dangerous extent; other nations had not reciprocated.

DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE NEXT YEAR, “The Disarmament Conference next year in my humble view will b. fraught with tremendous consequences to the British Empire,” said Mr Perry. “If it is successful the gesture we have made to the world will he an w red. On the other hand, if it is not successful we will find ourselves behind in the race for armaments that will ensue.” Another very significant statement that had been made recently was that of Earl Jellicoe’s, when he had said that he feared there was a waning of interest in the people as far as public interest in the navy was concerned. If there was any waning of interest in naval power, and the Disarmament Conference turned out to be unsuccesful, then there was reason to be apprehensive of the future of the British Empire. ECONOMY OF AIR FORCE. Wing-Commander Grant Dalton, addressing the meeting later in the even-

ing, said he would like to try and show that the air (force was just as d e_ serving of support as the navy. The British Empire, he observed, had been built up on the efforts of its soldiers and sailors—there had been soldiers before ever the navy as an organised force was thought of, which was why he mentioned them first —and they had become specialists at their respective obs. That was apparent now in the Air Froce, which was a highly specialised service. There was extraordinarily goo feeling between the services and the necessity for co-operation was realised : the Air Force was playing a very real part in warfare to-doy. The winnr-conimander mentioned the success of the air f' rce in the Abyssinia enmpniern n few years ago against the “Mad AUi'lab.’ saying that the campaign had, been sucessful at a far lessser cost than it could have been if carried out by military forces. COAT PAR ISON OF COSTS. The strategy in each war lie said, started wuere it had been leit off in tiie last one, and in recent years it was the air that hud been the subject ot most concentration. He describe*! various air force trials that had been carried out at Home and said that it had been found impossible to. keep a town like London free from air attacks, The “interceptor” planes had been found to provide an effective means of defence —these planes could climb faster than any other typo in the world —but attacking forces wou'd have been able to drop bombs on their objective before they could be reached by a defending force, There has been a great improvement ip nntLairpraff gumiPry but real pceuvacy in shooting was p?}ly possible if the planes flew straight, The torpedo bomb recently invented, the wing-commander considered to be a most deadly weapon, The whole question was still one of finance, however. Quoting figures as to relative costs, he said that the upkeep of a batle cruiser like the H.AI.S. Nelson was about £350,000 a year, that of a lighter cruiser, like the H.AI.S. Berwick, about £248,000 a year. Destroyers and submaines cost about half a million 6teling each to construct. A baftalion of infantry cost about £IOB,000 a year to feed and clothe, and a brigade of the R.F.A. about £94,000 a year. A squadron of twelve air force machines cost about £50,000, and a Squadron of bombers about £94,000: