BATTLESHIP STRENGTH.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 306, 26 December 1924, Page 5

BATTLESHIP STRENGTH.

PRESENT BRITISH POSITION. SCRAPPING THE SURPLUS. BREAK-UP OP THE WASHINGTON". The recent agitation in the United States to stop the scrapping of the battleship Washington as provided for under the Naval Treaty, has directed attention to the present position of that pact and to the steps taken to comply with its provisions (says the naval correspondent of the "Times.") Signed on Felwuary 0, 1022, and ratified on Augnst 16, 1023, the Treaty provided, in so far as the vessels to be scrapped are concerned, that these should be finally disposed of within eighteen months of its coming into force. That period will terminate, therefore, on February 16 next, and in Britain, America and Japan preparations are now going forward to demolish the last of the units specified in this connection. In the ease of the United States, some opposition has been shown to the destruction of the battleship Washington. This ship was one of four authorised in 1913, of which three, the Maryland, West Virginia and Colorado, are allowed to be retained under tlie Treaty. The chief opponent of the destruction of the Washington, Mr. W. B. Shearer, brought an action in a local court against the Secretary of the Navy to show cause why the Navy Department should not be restrained from their action, and in the course of his indictment made various assertions which call for correction. There is no secrecy in regard to the matters dealt wifeh, a fact which Tenders it the more surprising that he should be co misinformed. Last British Ship? Scrapped. Mr. Shearer first contended that the United States ie the only party to the Five-Power Treaty which has carried out the provisions calling for the scrapping of capital ships. France and Italy, however, have no ships yet due for scrapping—the first French ship, the Jean Bart, can be retained until 1030; the firet Italian, the Dante Aliglueri, until 1031. Japan 'has notified progress from time to time with the scrapping of the ten completed battleships of which she had to dispose; while as regards the 24 British ships, the last is the Monarch, which will be sunk off Portsmouth in January. If possible, she will be used as a target; if not, she will be scuttled. In either case she will be at the bottom of the sea before February 16. Mr. Shearer can have no real ground for complaint on this point. It is difficult to see how this American writer substantiates his assertion that "the British Government has continued to maintain a navy of 711,000 capital ship tonnage." Parliamentary Paper No. 41 of 1024 shows that we have 18 battleships of 457,750 aggregate tons and four battle-CTUisere ot 122,700 aggregate tons, making a total of 580,450, which is precisely the figure in Chapter 11., part *■■ o£ the Treaty Even if he included the Nelson and Rodney, now building, these ships would add only 70,000 tons to the aggregate; and the inclusion of the Monarch already mentioned, the Colossus, which We arc allowed to use as a training ship for boys, and the Agememnon, which similarly has no war value, ha-v----ing been ueed for target experiments for thTee rears, would only increase his figure to 709,450 tons. He is clearly very much out in his reckoning. The Nelion and Rodney. A third mietake refers to the condition of the Nelson and Rodney, the two battleships Great Britain is allowed to build under the Treaty, and now under construction on the Tyne and Mersey. Mr Shearer complains that the King George X., Ajax, Centurion and Thuuderer D have not been destroyed, although this country is under an obligation to dispose of them on the completion of the two new ships. The truth is that the new ships, although Mr. Shearer believes that they are nearly complete, are not yet in the water. Laid down in December, 1922, they were expected to occupy three years in building, or up to December, 1025, but the boilermakers' dispute last year seriously retarded them, and it line since been stated by the Secretary of the Admiralty that it is very doubtful whether the valuable time so lost will be regained during the succeeding contract building period. It will thus be many months yet before the Nelson and Rodney become effective ships of war. This being so the objection in regard to the King Georve V. class falls to the ground. These four vessels aro all in reserve commission at home. Under the rules for scrapping appended to the Treaty, the work of rendering such vessels incap&blo of further warlike service must bo b<"gun not later thau the date of completion of their successors, and must be finished within six months from the date of such completion. The Nelson and Roinjy will certainly not be vcady until 1026, and therefore no steps are called for until then in regard to the ships they replace. A fourth point made by Mr. Shearer ia that Japan is far superior in naval force to the United States. This needs qualification, for it could be true only if it referred solely to her own watere. To maintain a fleet in tho Far East equal to that of Japan, Britain or America would need to have at disposal, to allow for refit, 'rest, and replenishment, a force much greater than the ratio of five to three allowed under the Xreatv. This is recognised by all who have studied the naval situation in the Pacific. But it is a matter quite apart from the carrying out of the agreement signed by the Powers at Washington. While the destruction of so fine a vessel as tho Washington naturally arouses feelings of regret among many people, the course followed is merely a repetition of that taken in England and Japan, and marks the consummation of a measure of voluntary disarmament in peace time unprecedented in the world's history.