MUST COMPETE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 690, 16 November 1933, Page 5

MUST COMPETE

(Press Assn.-

REVISED NAVAL PROGRAMME NECESSARY FOR SECURITY. . - c."' OTHER NATIONS BUILDING "

— By Telegraph — Copyright).

Rugby, Nov. 14. In the House of • Commons • the; First Lord lof the1 Admiral ty, Sir Bi • Ey f-es- - MonselL annouhced tlfat the Government ' ! had^.with rmAcb regret,- decided- £o revise. ithe -1933 naval programme, .. ; : '.h: ?;• "i He .recalled that the 1933 programme inteluded one 'of the Leander class of cruisers of 7250 tons, and three of the Arethusa class of 5400 tons, each armed with eight and sixinch, guns respectively. The policy of building. cruisers of comparatively small tonnage had been adopted in the . hope that other nations would follow the Iead. Also in July, 1932, the United Hingdomls delegation at Geneva put forward a pfoposal fof the reduction of future. .cruisers ' to 7000 tons, with a maximum gun calibre of six-inches, in the hope tha!t this would he generrally 'accepted1. Unfortunately neither of these hopes had been realised. . Japan and America. In 1931 Japan laid down two cruisers of'SSOO'tons reputed to mount 15 six-inch guns.- It was learned- that she was now laying down two- more of the same; dimensions and that the construction' of yet another two; making six in all, was projected-. ■ ■-* The United States has also already announced her intention -of building fou-r • cruisers of 10,000 U tons with 15 -six-inch guns. If therefore the British programme (as already approved) - wfere to- be carried out the new- cruist ers would be definitely inferior to those heing developed by other Powers. - Britain Limited. As was- knoiwn Britain's total cruiser tonnage was limited by the London Naval Treaty. ? If they proceeded with the original programme of cruisers- all the cruisers they would be building would be definitely inferior to certain of tbe cruisers which were being built by other Powers; if on the other hand they were to build-any cruisers comparable with those vessels they must reduce the number from four -to three. Two Alternatives. The first alternative could not be accepted. Accordingly af ter • - most anxious consideration and with much regi'et, they proposed to revise - the 1933 programme so as to include two cruisers of the new type of about 9000 tons with increased armaments and one more cruiser of the Arethusa 1 type of 5200 tons*. This alteration the First Lord pointed out -would not involve any increase in the cost of the 1933 programme — indeed, some small reduction in its cost was expected to result. The United States and Japan under the terms of the London Naval Treaty were fully entitled to huild ships of the size they contemplated ; nevertheless it would be the continued policy of the British Government to endeavour, by common agreement, both to restrict the number of vessels of the larger size as much as possible and also to reduce the maximum size of cruisers - to he construct ed in future."