ARMY AND NAVY ESTIMATES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 103, 3 May 1922, Page 9

ARMY AND NAVY ESTIMATES.

NAVY CUTS ITEAR GEDDES. SCRAPPING OF SHIPS. (From Onr Special Correspondent.) LONDON", March 14. The estimates for the year 1922-23 were issued yesterday and over all the Gedties report shadow hangs. Both the Army and the Navy.claim to have done as much, if not more, than the Geddes committee recommended, but in other ways. The prompt Army reply to the Geddes criticisms of the Navy is .ancient history, but tbe Army has taken this occasion to reply to these business men critics. The War Office issues a memorandum dealing with the Geddes report, which claimed to effect economies of over 16 millions. The amount required is £02,300,000, compared with £03.714,000 required for the previous twelve months. It i,- pointed out that .€10,500,000 of this money is required for charges arising out of the war, and that in reducing tho preliminary estimate of £7.3.000.000 to £55,000,000 the Geddes committee did not take into account charges in connection with the reduction in the army, abnormal expenditure—such as Ireland —and the Middle East. To make a fair comparison the Geddes figure must be increased to f.iS.C'.'O.OOO. Many f*f lha Geddes recommendations were indefinite, and when allowance is made for its miscalcu lations the savings recommended by that committee amounted only to ti11,500,000. This the War Office now claim.-* to make in its own way. Various small economies .ire promised —reduction of garrisons to seven batta- j lions, reduction of horses and vehicles, j abolition of half fare railway travelling ■ and the abandonment of new works For the Navy vote Lord Lee claims in his explanatory note to have nude drastic economies. The Admiralty, ho says, have gone even farther than the One-Power standard policy in accepting j these economies and the consequent risks which could only he justified on the assumption that the British Fleet will not be engaged in any great war for some time to come. On purely naval trroiinde the assumption was not justifiable, but the financial and international situation called for exceptional measures. This the Admiralty did although, he said, they realise that a very grave responsibility is imposed upon them. The proposed economies include: — The scrapping of 12 capital ships in' addition to the 8 recently sold. Further reduction of destroyer flotillas. Abolition of 27 submarines. Abolition of two of the Home commands. Reduction of the personnel by over 20,000 officers and men. Discharge of 10,000 men from the dockyards and drastic cut" in the .staffs. Lord Lee says:—"These economies, of course, can only be realised and the present Navy estimates justified on the assumption that the naval treaty at Washington will be promptly ratified by all the Powers concerned. Of this T am as confident as I was 12 months ago. when I expressed the hoj-e that as a result of frank and friendly discussion with the principal naval Powers it would he possible to avoid anything approaching to competitive building. . . ." It is impossible to make any clear statement of the real effects of these estimates if they are parsed by the House. The Army estimates psneciilly are vitiated by tho Tact that what is included in one place as a saving must re-appear in another department as a transfer, and thi* applies particularly with regard to reductions which arc being made in view of the new nrm, aviation. When all is said and dr.ne the outlook for the taxpayer is not rosy. Even on these estimates the Army, the Navy and the Civil Services will require £53.000.----000 exclusive of our permanent debt, which brings our annual expenditure up to £000,000,000. This will have to be met. too. to a far greater extent than formerly nut of revetii'e. for two large source* are now cut off —excess profits tax and the sale of surplus war stores. There is very little now left for the Disposals Board to sell. The taxpayer will have to be wary if bo is to prevent the Government from making too free with the device of supplemental estimates to such an extent as to render illusory the economies we are promised in to-day's estimates.