Much Headway Made

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 950, 17 April 1930, Page 11

Much Headway Made

NAVAL CONFERENCE REPORT

Huge Reduction in Costs

RUGBY. Wednesday. A MEMORANDUM on tlie results of the Naval Conference to date, in the form of a white paper, was laid before the House of Commons this evening. It surveys the main achievements of the conference and explains the resultant position, thus expressing, in official form, the faets already published.

Precedence is given to a complete agreement between all five Powers not to lay down any of the 35,000-tons replacement ships. During the years 1931 to 1936, inclusive, the British Commonwealth, United States and Japan begin at once a reduction in their capital ships up to 15,15, and nine respectively, while France and Italy only reserve their right l’or miug additional ships from replacement tonnage available to them son. signing of the Washington Treaty. Details are given of tonnages under the agreement between the British Commonwealth, the United States and Japan, and it is mentioned that this section of the treaty will contain a clause safeguarding the British position in relation to the building programmes of the other Powers. It Is also noted that the agreed figure of 150,000 tons of destroyers for the British Commonwealth must be a condition on the agreed destroyer and submarine strength of the European Powers at the conference and that this will be the subject of further negotiations with those Powers. Referring to the financial saving, the memorandum points out that but for agreement at the Conference, Britain would have probably expended £50,000,000 on battleship construction by 1936 and that a further £4,000,000 would be saved by reduc-

tiou at once of British capital ships up to 15. As to the armament reduction proposed at the unsuccessful Naval Conference in Geneva in 1927. the final British proposal was for a combined total tonnage of cruisers, destroyers and submarines, including overa-age vessels, of 737.800 tons. The comparable total agreed upon today is 541,700 tons. Further expenditure in these classes of ships of at least £15,000,000 lias been avoided. Considerable as are these material results, the memorandum regards as even more important, the mutual improvement of political relations which they imply and hope is expressed that during the next stage of the conference an agreement may be reached with the French and Italians at levels which will permit incorporation of their programmes and figures in the agreement already reached between the three other Powers. Replying to a question, Mr. A. V. Alexander, First Lord of the Admiralty, stated that under rules for replacement agreed upon at the Naval Conference, two ships of H.M.S. Hawkins class will have reached the age at which they might be replaced in 1934 and 1935 respectively. It had been agreed that the remaining two cruisers, the completion of which was delayed owing to conditions following the war might be replaced in 1936.