THE BRITISH NAVY.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVI, Issue 43069, 16 March 1907, Page 4

THE BRITISH NAVY.

On the vexed question of Army reform there are many conflicting opinions, but it may asserted as an undisputabl© fact that the Navy is unanimously regarded as the Empire’s first - Kne of defence. Upon this the people of the Motherland and of the overseas dominions are agreed, j Consequently it is gratifying to find the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty (Mr EL T&>bertson), in eiplaining the Naval Estimates in the House of Commons on Tuesday last, diedaring thiat. the Lords of the Admiralty ■believe the present programme will adequately maintain the two-power standard. In this connection, Mir Robertson pointed out that Russia, France, and Germany together' had' added to their navies 1,108,280 tons in a decade, while Great Britain had added 1,132,205 tons. The .cost per ton for Great Britain was £BB ; for Russia. £93; for Germany, £9*7; and for France, £124. Mr Robertson ’-..showed thiat Great Britain’s twoPower standiard would not be ©n~ dangered' for the next three years and Since 1898 Great Britain’s annual naval expenditure has exceeded the (combined: annual expenditure of France, Russia and Germany. From 1805, when it was £20,000,000,; it gradually increased, until in 1904 It it dfoppiad to £35,389,000. ’lllllO preslent Estimates provide for a total out lay of £30,000,000, The German programme of 1900 provided for an expenditure of on the , construction of new warships bv the year 1916, Injtihe same year Lord Goschen proposed an expenditure of £8,500,000 a year on naval construction, or a total for the same period of £130,000,000. It. waa at that time estimated that on account of the.extra coot per ton Germany’s £70,000,000 would produce only £53,000.000 worth! of ships according to the English standard of expenditure. Lord Goschien’s proposal of ,£8,500,000 a yeaJr has been since greatly exceeded 1 , but the naval construction estimates for this year have been reduced to £8400.000. In the event, however, of disarmament proposals not being agreed to at The Haggle Conference the cost of a third 1 Dreadnought must be added.