NAVAL DEBATE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 13 March 1913, Page 5

NAVAL DEBATE.

IN CANADIAN PARLIAMENT. SPEECH BY THE PREMIER. (Received Last Night, 10.10 o'clock.) • OTTAWA, March 12. Tho House has resumed the naval debate, and it is likely to last for another week. The Prime Minister (Mr Borden) produced Mr Church:lPs memorandum showing that the cost of construction of warships in Canada was prohibitive. The increase in eo.=t was not less than twenty-live to thirty ner centum. A Canadian plant for battleship construction cost fifteen million sterling, and would require five years to erect. Such an outlay was only justified if Canada, decided to build a number of finst-cla-ss battleships yearly. The Premier emphasised the great difficulty Grrat Britain. was experiencing in manning the fleet since Germany had increased her number of ships, tf Canada established two units, one in the Atlantic and another in the Pacific, too many men would be required 1 to be taken from the British forces, and the strain would become greater than the Ad'miiralty was likely to meet. Mr Neelv asked if Canadians were willing to hand over the palm f or genius and «"lf-reliiince to the Australians. While the .Australians were able and willing to defend th« Pacific, the Canadians were told by Mr Borden that they wore not. .Mr Emerson declared that Lord North's mistake had lost Britain her American colonies, syul it was quite that Mr 'Chinvhili's memorandum might lose the Emnir r Canada and Australia. Tli« cf Canada, he wid, were to bow down before an Admiralty Lord.