GERMAN NAVY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 161, 1 April 1908, Page 7

GERMAN NAVY.

MAINTENANCE OF THE" 1908 PROGRAMME. •,.' / • l ORDERS"TO-BE". PLACED".'; ' MODERN BATTLESHIPS . TOy REPLACE ~ ■ OBSOLETE." ' '' ' , : ■ 1 AY TELEGRArn—PRESS ASSOCIATION —COPYRIGHT, j , Berlin, Maroh.,3o. ; c Germany is placing., ordersithis.Bpring. for. < the construction . of threo battleships to take the places, .of the ; Oldenburg, Siegfried, Beowulf ;.•'••'also ( 'tyr:' large'?.'' armoured cruisers, two smaller," a'ricf twelve ocean-go-ing, torpedoers. PAPER" nGURESi !: i ; ip WILL THl3^ t The .of tliis" cablegram, it. is-. 1 correct, is that it , lnditiatts''''tliat;*'so"'f!ir, Gey- j many is keeping up to her naval construction l ( programme;. Some British politicians have expressed much doubt as .to whether that pro- J prarr.me will be carried outp-\vh.e|fi,er„ ,in .the. . 'first place, the warships will be commenced • to :time; and, secondly,■■.)y^ , other,;Gernian i ,(ion,-.. • struction'is rapid enqugh to. complete fliem 111 1 time. For instancfr' l the' |, A I(itin1(iting I Primo''Minisi •, ter, Mr. Asquith, was reported as : saying in the House of Commons on : March _ 11 that i "the assumption that Germany by November, ;■ 1911, would possess thirteen: vessels of. the' ; Dreadnought class I was baEed on'the hypotbe- , sis tliot one v.-cul(l ,i )ny blliit in thirty months, after it was laidi'down, and that the whole i programme on paper' would be executed:: to. '' the letter. On this'point, theje,;,was.jgcave . reason for doubt^l)uti. r -fpr-.the q moment -hp: ... assumed that hypothesis to lie correct.' Mr. Asquith : went : on say, h that,; as, rfg;ai;ds Dreadnoughts, Britain- will be 'one 'short if. : Germany completes, her ppogramme ■ But, lie added, "that a'ssumfesvthnV'TOthing will he done here in the way-'df 'Aew, r fi6iistruction in 1900, or that tile l 'vessels' iVrll tie laid down, at sucn -a date that" ithey J *111 not bS- completed by 1911; but, without thai . programme for 1909, I can, * say,.i without Lthei : faintest hesitation, fch.it if-,[we,, find there., ( ; a reasonable', probability, J; qf. the.;German.'(pji'p; gramme , being : realised, -as..,the paper figures. Biiggest, ,-we will ffler.'.iOo our r . i dutj-. I t.p i . provide, and shalr''proviao,' : a''sufficient: hum: ber of ships at sucli a date of laying down l that by November,-1911, the superiority which Mr. i Balfour foreshadows will not" bo an actual fact." ■',:. ■ ' : .k-:' ; Warships. oonstijuiptfyi ord/3t> to units which, bfoptiung.'pbsOlefe. 1 in the' German, programme as " Ersatz" ships. As Germany. recently . reduced the life 'of',a battleship from>. 25 to 20 years, her "Ersatz" .programme representa;.fl_kis.4ain»__Ua4er-.t.ho; '• last Germa'n. Navy. Aot, 1 the yearly .programme is. fixed as follows:— , ' .. - — on ■'■ ' ■.. ' programme . . 1 ' , pj-eviously - ':■■■' ijf 'Jfixed. ,1908- " -:.■"■■■.- ;•' ■ - V Ersatz 01deif|JHrgr3?M.iiI''SuT:: ••-•'•■•' .: Ersatz Siegfried «',•• v 3.-7- -- - : 1.., /'. :. Ersatz Beowulf ■'' ;■, V'." *-J 1909- ' ; ''■ I :"V fl-". U Ersatz Eritjof ... ... . '. : Additional SMttJ 2: Ersatz. Brandenburg' J r ' 1910- V- i:/ ■. -■ . ''Ersatz Kf. P. (i '., . ;'' Ersatz,Weissenburg.i...'3. ' -''1.-- t. : Ersatz-VWoertli' 1911- 1 ... ; - - ,Ersatz HildebrSnd-.• i■■ , ' ; Ersatz Heimdnll ... 3 1, : . 2 - EisaU Hagon >. i- 1 .i> ' 12 5 • That 'means that Germany, :! insteadrof beginning (as previously l :,propbsed)-:j.sevenii l'Dreart'noughts"during the,next-four..Jears, tfill'hegin, twelve: V And, aftcoi'ding 't'o ::'tho cablegram, orders'for, 1 all the ,i9oßi> ships nwillviboyplaced' - this' spi-irig., / The > •at! least 18;000 ton's.' ; . The ,three.:;ships\thpj- ■ are replacing, are 4QQO'tpn,ahd. ; soOQ;ton This, of bour^,.:ft < ,W. Wilson" jbp.:;^^t!eredT,?mtj during these . four •, existing' . Navy .. Acts,. Germanjv.jwilllay down four gigantic cruiser?', '/.lar^e.flttSfiiiwi Britipi Invincibles, faster,' and" m.OfOt ',Thus she will on the •a:verage'begin-eaph'",yonr, four capital-armoured shjp^'^djhes ; [yotq:;ffit; . new ■ construction : alone:.,.n'i.us i t..:slpwjy -' advance, to i 10,000,000 annually. Only.,twice : ih .recent years has' the British-Navy-appropriated such a sum; for suoh a; purpose, and ■ this was in the financial' years 1903-4. and • And -it must be understood that German -programmos are ; not' like .Ilrcncli or ones. The-ships in' theinj arej: ways, built, 'and usually .'buiU'.!. Thedate :of .completion is. fixed . long beforehanrt,; and in the past haß been ohserve<r<-m s most • cases ."to- the .- month. 5 - There Alias, ;,it _ is,, true, been 'some dolay \Wth"'{h^ f 'ships .-wluphywere : to have been laid dpwiv. last summer. but this. was diie to a ni their" iinnamcnt'.andf design, and it is a fentm-o whioh is not'likely to recur. There: is npi single, instance- m .Giyman" naval - history. of, 1v- shipwhichnas been voted in -a' Navy Act I 'being .aMndoned.- : We , cannot, 'linforhinatejjtt.vjsfy-ithf game;.of;;the; 1 British Navy. In/ 1903,.thre0-'cruiEerS';.vpted ; : wei'o ; abandoned; in M9O4 1 oni"large"a'r'moUred ' cruiser and : fourteen' destroyers disappeared; ' in 1905 one Thvincible: vanished from the- list ; ■' in 190S one. battleslijip'',: threo.idesb - P.versr and' four submarines :cancelled: All / these ' vessels had been; vbfed. by; Pqvhanient at t(ie ; demand of, the Admifalty.:/.-The :result-of'these '■ porpetual' shifts aiidcoharigfesvif;'_thati;n'o.-.one f. ever .feols certain' British grogranimo ' will be ciirried outi'/iO- 3v'.Aa« t j ; 1 ' 'Mr;.. Asquith's: posttive :;tissur!\Dce,.'quoted 1 above, has, of ccurse, gone a long way to .' assure confidence.'that Britain ; next, year will • build:'to-- meet all' requirerfte.c'ts. ' : f;