THE NAVY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1361, 12 February 1912, Page 7

THE NAVY.

NO WHINING IN BRITAIN. DEEDS, NOT WORBSSPEECH BY MJi. CHUIICHILL. Uy Toleirrapti-Prean Assonlatlon-OoDirlcht (Received February 11, 5.. r > p.m.) London, February 10. Mr. Winslon Churchill (First. I.nrtl of the Admiralty; was entertained in (lliisgow nl luncheon liy Ihi' Clyde Navigation Trust. In n vigorous speech he iifliriiied tho necessity nf Great Britain maintaining her imviil supremacy. Air. Churchill declared (lint (lie Navy, ship for ship, was superior tu Mini nf any other Power. The latest 1:t-r» gun was (he finest weapon over possessed. The Nnvy wns in :i sliwe of Hie highest preparedness. The rumours Ihnl. it was not ready in 1!)11 were baseless, lie hoped the creation of a War Staff would render such rumours impossible, nnd increase the efficiency of all branches. Our Nnvy was essentially for defensive purposes. Britain did no! dream of agression, nor did she attribute such a thought to oilier Towers. Thero was this difference between German and English niivnl power. We could not nieimoe 11 single Continental hamlet, however supreme our Navy. England wns Ureal, by reason of her Nnvy, while Germany was ureal, and honoured the world over before she possessed a single, ship. Our whole fortune, our centuries of achievement, and the British Empire would be swept away if our naval supremacy were impaired. Newspapers had hinted nf prospects of a further Kuropean naval increase. That, was serious, because, besides !he growing size of everything connected with navies, and the increasing cost, the nations of Europo were pressing each other into an almost indeliiiiln expansion of expense. We had met if, but we, faced <he situation with composure, because at every point wo had the matter well in hand. The country was never more united in the resolve to maintain its naval supremacy. The resources at the command of f he Chancellor of the Exchequer were ample to meet all requirements. A considerable body of opinion favoured a naval loan. This would doubtless easily bo obtainable, but it would be sheer waste to build beyond tho effective mastery of the seas. What was wanted was steady building, no violent departure from existing methods, or capricious adoption of great loans. Tho adoption of a naval programme, extending over several years, instead of the presentannual propositions, might be worthy of consideration. There was no chance of being overtaken in naval strength, as wo could build faster and cheaper than any other Tower, and wo should have no difficulty in recruiting. "Whatever may happen abroad," added Mr. Churchill, "there will be no whining here, no cries, for help or succour. We face tho future as our ancestors did, stolidly and inflexibly. We should be the first (o welcome a slackening of die present rivalry. Wo shall meet it with deeds, not words, hut if tho competition becomes acute, wo shall increase tho ratio of our naval strength, and make the margin of our superiority larger as the strain becomes greater, and we shall show tho Powers thnt, instead of overtaking us, they will bo outdistanced." THE GERMAN ESTIMATES. Berlin, February 9. The Navy Estimates for 1912, for tho new conslruction of armaments, set aside =£12,0(1,000, a decrease of JMGa.OOfI compared with lilll. The Government builds fifteen instead of sixteen Dreadnoughts in tho next six years. Tho great shipbuilding programme established by the Navy law of 1900, and amended by the Laws of 1500 and 100S, affords a striking illustration of the German love of orderliness and method. Tho essence of naval expenditure on new vessels was given by the semi-offi-cial "North German Gazette" on March 23, 1910, when it stated that "the sums necessary for the construction of German battleships are asked for in four annual instalments, and consequently tho period of construction is about 30 to 40 months." The official order for the construction of a now vessel depends upon the voting of the first instalment, and coincides iu point of time with the beginning of the financial year. Thus in any given year a certain number of instalments have to be voted in accordance with tho naval programme. The instalments vary in amount. hi practice, the second is usually the largest, but tho deviations from the average lend to balance one another, and it is possible to foresee the financial burden involved from year to year with almost complete accuracy. The following table, covering the period from 190G to 1917, and providing for tho construction of 3,1 ships, shows the number of instalments due ench year for ships laid down or under construction and on the point of completion:—

Tho first column indicates vessels laid down; Column IV. those under completion in any of those- years. Last year no fewer than 1G instalments, equal in the aggregate to tho prico of four complete vessels, were voted. In other words, German expenditure on ■Dreadnoughts during 1911 will be at its liigh-watcr mark.

INSTALMENTS. Total. I. II. III. IV. 1906 2 — - — oq. to 2 1907 3 2 — — eq.to 5 1908 4 3 2 — cq. to 9 1909 1 4 3 2 cq. to 13 1910 i 4 i 3 eq.to 15 1911 ■! i 4 4 eq.to 16 1912 2 + 44 eq.to 11 1913 2 2 4 4 eq.to 12 1914 2 2 2 4 «|. to lfl 1915 2 2 2 2 oq.to 8 I91G 2 2 2 2 cq. to 8 1917 2 2 2 2 or/, to S