The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER MONDAY, MARCH 13, 1916. THE NAVY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 82, 13 March 1916, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER MONDAY, MARCH 13, 1916. THE NAVY.

A't the end of January Mr Balfour was - asked in the House of Commons if he would make a statement before the rising of Parliament assuring Jie country that the Navy was in a condition of preparedness for meeting any new developments of the German navy made during the period of its inactivity in the matter of new ships and larger guns. "I had not," he said, "intended to make any statement upon the somewhat speculative question put to me unless the suhject were raised in debate, but, in answer to. his appeal J will try to compress into the compass of an answer all that can properly be said on the matter. What Germany is doing in the way of shipbuilding must necessarily be a matter of conjecture. No doubt it has been within its power during the course of the war to initiate and perhaps complete the building of large ships with powerful armaments. 1 I' have seen in the Press mention of; guns of 17in. calibre. We have noj evidence that such exist, but given! time and labor there is no particular: difficulty in making them. Evidently.! however, the most diverse conjectures! about German shipbuilding may be. made by the ingenious, and. speaking for myself, I am by no means sure, that, of these conjectures, the one *o, which I have just referred is the most! plausible. As regards the prepared-! ness of the British Navy, I can only J say that successive Boards of the Admiralty have most anxiously considered the mode in which the building resources of the country can best he employed. The resources are now used to their very utmost. Speaking broadly, it may be asserted that every dockyard, public and private, here or in the Mediterranean, is being used to its utmost capacity either for new construction or for repairs required by ourselves and by our Allies. This being so, it is manifestly impossible to add to the magnitude of our preparations; the most we can do is to a'ier ifcheir character. Nothing, however, has as yet occurred which would justify the Admiralty in thinking that any

serious error of judgment hud so far been committed in connection with the various types of ship which are uiideKj? construction." Recently published figures show that, setting aside des* troyers, submarines, supply ships, and auxiliaries, and the ships of the Australian Navy, the British Navy (including ships under construction) comprised, when the war started, 11.8 battleships, little-cruisers and armored cruisers of 1,950,000 tons, and 97 light cruisers, scouts, and gunboats of 425,000 tons, a total of 2,375,000 tons. 1 During the war nineteen battleships and cruisers of, roughly. 200/100 tons, have been lost, reducing the above total to 19(5 ships of 2.170,000 tons. Since 'August Ist, 1914, on the other hand, new naval ships totalling in tonnage about one million tons have been added to our great fleets, so that ifc is easily seen that the British Navy is more powerful to-day than ever before in its history. I