DISARMAMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 95, 24 April 1939, Page 6

DISARMAMENT.

BRITAIN'S WAR ESTIMATES. (To the Editor.)

Many champions of Mr. ChamoerlaiaV foreign policy glibly reiterate the bald, unsupported statement that the "unilateral" djj. armament of Britain by a Socialfst Government is largely responsible for the danger* faced by that" country to-day; as for Uμ Socialists, it is only necessary to recall that, although in office, they never were "in power." And J»rd Strabolgi , (Lieut.-Commander Kenworthy. R.X.) dismisses as "empty talk" Britain's "unilateral disarmament" claims. Writing in the London Press, he etates: "The truth is we have not reduced our fleet since 1022. but have actually added to it. We have spent more on the fleet every year since the end of the war than any other naval Power. After the Washington Treaty, limiting the fleets of the five principal naval Power*, it wae the British Admiralty which led the way in building a new type of cruiser, bigger'and more powerful than any vessels of similar type in our own or foreign navies. This was the signal for a fierce building comfietition in large cruisers: we obtained the lead and have kept it. Furthermore, we pave another lead to the world when we laid down the two largest battleships in the world, after the Washington Treaty. It is obvious that «ocalled 'unilateral disarmament' has left us with the !<trongp«t fleet of any maritime Tower in the world." When the war wa« over Germany and her allies were disarmed, but Britain continued sjieudin™ large aitnua] sums on armaments. The fi-juree of armament estimates since the war show only flight deviations from year to year. The average for the years 1924-3.1 is £11-2.000.000 a year; the highest was £7.000,000 above and* the lowest £10,000.000 below. So that before Hitler came to power British armament estimates were never less than £102,000,000; while the average for the ten years. 1924-34 (before Hitler), was £112.000,000. So v,hea was Britain carrying out its programme of "unilateral" disarmament? D. ROSS.