NAVAL SUPREMACY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 414, 25 January 1909, Page 6

NAVAL SUPREMACY.

BRITAIN'S LEAD IN BATTLESHIPS, -, /' ; " TONNAGE;;AND;COST. XX-" : /;' ; ; Mr. Mackarness, the Liberal'.memKe'r. .for. Newbury (Berks.), has recently secured from the First Lord of;the Admiralty some very interesting comparative statistics; relating to ..the - navies- ' ;of Great Britain,/ Germany, France, and Russia.' '■:/, -~ /■ : ;'; / Mr./M'Kenna, in the Parliamentary Pa-, that the, 'number: of firstclass ; battleships now. in commission is as follows:— .■■■/■-' ■ ; ; : ..-/■ : V -.:'■' ' '/' / .; .'■■/'.'. Fully- Nucleus ,' : X /.. ;: Commissioned. Crews. '.Great, Britain „'......... 30. ... '10/: Germany ............... 18 ../'. ' ', —■;/, ■France o , ;-.....;!.-......;.. 12 L-,-.; :• :i. . -2: ; ."llussia.;-. ........;......... 4 •:' '2/' 1 'Thus,; in first-class battleships,"including, the two categories, ,Great Britain has; , two' more than 'Gerinany,. France,' • and: Russia combined. ■■■ >•!'•■.-•■/■■•.:. /-. - ! .-■' ■;:/. ':;:':.; K "In this connection'.it is interesting to recall, tlio information previously obtained by Mr..Mackarnoss, .in- .respect to fighting strength and, cost.; The effective fighting ton-nage.of-the.respective navies, distinguishing between vessels under twenty years of age .and vessels of twenty years of age'and over .is thus/shown:—/•/:, /.:, ' . ~,.; /'• '.";, ";,/ '}~-:■: ; .Under.2O '20years / ' TotidX: \ ''■ ■■'•• ■■' ■' ■'years. ■ and over. ' Tonnage. Britain.- : '..-; ; 1;749,874 ; , 103,011 .■ 1,852,885 Germany l ;;.;; 561,932 '/.66,372 " ;628,354 France' ... ■• 692,699 114,874 707,573 llrissia .... , 241;778 /. 48,543 290.321 While the total effective fighting tonnage of Great. Britain/thus, exceeds that ■ of France, Germany, and Russia combined by 226,687, pur. excess'in vessels'under twenty years of-.age is riot less than 353,465. Moreover, while Great Britain has only a : tonnage I percentage of 5.5 of vessels, twenty years of age-and over, , Germany has a percentage of 10.5 in this class' of ship,. and France as much .as ,16.2; ; , / . -.■/.'.'/,/ ■ ■ /.Finally, as regards .cost the following.is the total ■ naval expenditure during the last ten years:— ;:• / . .'..- •■:f - ; ■ '■■■"-, ■ / ; - : ; : .--,/■:,'■■' ; -Total' " .-' /■ -•;■• ■■■-.■■■■ . .-.--. ■•••"--:■•; Expenditure. ■'■■■■.■ ' :; ;. ; ; -' ; :-'''-. ■ X ■■:"£. ■■'- ' Great Britain , 318,647,127 • Germany: ....:........„......... 107,927,573 France ..................... 126,122,028 Russia . : '..104,642,215." ■.'•.■•'■',-:-';To^-'v;''' /^ .; In respect, to Great Britain it ..should :bb pointed : out' that the aggregate/ shown ls : confined ;to the Navy Votes, and does not' include expenditure under the Naval Works Act, 1895-1905. ■/ -~'-.-"■■'.