LESS MONEY FOR ARMY

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 602, 2 March 1929, Page 9

LESS MONEY FOR ARMY

REDUCTION IN BRITAIN OTHERS MAKE INCREASES British Official Wireless RUGBY, Thursday. Speaking on the Army Estimates in the House of Commons to-day the Secretary of State for War, Sir Laming Worthington-Evans, compared Britain’s expenditure with that of other countries. The Minister said the reduction in the effective vote in the lifetime of the present Government had been 7 per cent. The United States Government had increased its comparable expenditure from £51,000,000 in 1925-26 to £59,000,000 in 1928-29. [ltaly had increased her expenditure from about £18,000,000 to £78,000,000, and Germany had increased hers from about £20,000,000 to £25,000,000 for the same years. France had increased her army expenditure from £34,000,000 in 1925 to about £58,000,000 in 1929. Russia had more than doubled her expenditure, but her military Budget included the navy and the air force, so no close comparison could be made. Belgium, Switzerland and Japan had all shown some increase in army expenditure and Britain was the only nation which had continually reduced the expenditure on her army. WORK OF MECHANISATION Referring to mechanisation, Sir learning said each cavalry regiment now had a mechanised machine-gun squadron. In addition the cavalry regiments were being converted into armoured-car regiments. About 22 six-wheeled armoured cars of the latest pattern had been purchased as part of the equipment of one regiment of infantry. There was an increased number of machine-guns, so that each battalion had one company of 16 guns, of which 12 were manned in time of peace. In three battalions those companies had mechanised transport and he hoped to be able to equip three more this year. The mechanisation of light artillery was being commenced. Two brigades of field artillery had been equipped with radio telephones and four more would be so equipped this year. In the Royal Tank Corps a modern type of tank had replaced the old type used in the Great War. Enormous strides had been made in the modernisation of the army in the lifetime of the present Government.