WARSHIP BUILDING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 84, 18 July 1910, Page 5

WARSHIP BUILDING.

"MAD, INSANE COMPETITION." GERMANY'S BUILDING OVERESTIMATED. By Cable.—Press Association.—Copyright Received July 17, 5.5 p.m. London, July 16. Mr. Lloyd-George, speaking at the Lord Mayor's dinner to merchants, said the increased expenditure was da.; to •what Lord Charles Beresford ,-aled. "the mad, insane competition for i.-iiiaments" The Powers were spending four hundred and fifty millions sterling annually upon machinery for destruction. Wc had taken the lead, having, to defend the greatest Empire. If the nations continued expi :t '':ig in the direction which gives the people no assistance towards the highest civilisation, then they must inevitably suffer. All nations were responsible for this great and growing misfortune. We must only wait until there comes understanding among people.

GERMAN ADMIRALTY STATEMENT.

The Daily Mail publishes the German Admiralty statement, which declares that Mr. Asquith credited Germany with the acceleration of four Dreadnoughts last autumn. This is incorrect; also the building periods of the German Dreadnoughts were longer than Mr. Asquith stated. The paper adds that Germany will have eleven at April, 1912, not thirteen. She has not five now ready for war, but will have seventeen completed at the end of 1913.

i'he 'German newspapers express satisfaction at His friendly tone of Mr. Asquith's speech. The correspondent adds: "There is no reason for supposing the Navy officials •will abandon their preposterous attempts to conceal the facts regarding, the rate of construction."

AUSTRIAN BUILDING. The Neue Frie Presse has protested at Mr. Asquith's describing Austrian building as "a mystery." The paper states that the Tecnico yard is constructing two Dreadnoughts, though the expenditure has not yet been guaranteed. The other two Dreadnoughts will be laid down in 1911'.

THE GERMAN PROGRAMME. The German naval programme at present in course of execution was voted in the Navy Act of 1900, which fixed the strength" of the German Naw at 38 battleships, 14 large cruisers, 38 small cruisers, and 96 destroyers. It provided that everv German large ship should be replaced in twenty-five years, and every destrover in twelve. , In 1906 this Act was amended by a new Act, the so-called "Novelle," which raised the number of large cruisers to 20 and the number of destroyers to 144, and provided for the annual laying down of two large battleships, one large armoured cruiser, two small cruisers, and 12 destroyers, besides submarines. In 1908 the Act was again amended and expanded, the age at which every large ship must be replaced being reduced from 25 to 20 years, and the number of ships to be annually laid down and the expenditure being fixed year by year. Provision was made for a total expenditure of £207,000,000, of which £98,000,000 was to be devoted to newships and guns, during a period of ten years. It is now known that even if , this programme is not extended, the ex- ' penditure will be in advance of the amounts set down between 1910 and 1917. According to Colonel Gaedke, the programme will be revised in 1312, and raised to four or five larae armoured ships. The German Government, however, has formally stated that it has no 'intention of increasing the programme.