SUPREMACY AT SEA.
BRITAIN AND GERMANY. GERMANY'S NAVAL GROWTH. By TelcjrrapJi.—J'resa Assoi:iauon.—Copyri.-'iit Received March 14, 'J.55 p.m. London, Yesterday. Speaking in the House oc Commons, deprecating any comparisons with Germany, Mr A. W. H. Ponsonby, M.P., urged the abandonment of a naval policy founded on the mischievous scare of 1909. Lord Charles Beresford contended that our fleet margin was too small, and suggested, amidst cheers, the possibility of inducing the great English speaking nations to unite for peace. "If that were possible we could reduce armaments, but meanwhile the expenditure must continue." He argued that the present estimates were inadequate to secure an unassailable position at sea.
The Right Hon. R. McKenna, First Lord of the Admiralty, assured supporters of the motion that the sole object of a huge and costly fleet was to secure, under all contingencies, that they should have freedom on the highway of the ocean. "This is impossible unless the navy is supreme, as against any foreign navy, and any reasonable probable combination we might have to meet single-handed." He contended it was impossible to avoid references to the growth of the German navy, and emphasised the drastic amendments of the fleet law in 1906 and 1908, which provided much larger ships, and doubled Germany's naval estimates in ensuing years. After justifying his inference in 1909, which led to the building of four continued ships, he remarked that, although the information regarding the dates was wrong, that concerning the size and cost was right.
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King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 345, 15 March 1911, Page 5
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248SUPREMACY AT SEA. King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 345, 15 March 1911, Page 5
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