WITH THE POWERS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 150, 25 June 1912, Page 7

WITH THE POWERS

SWEDEN'S INTEGRITY AND HONOUR CAN DEFEND IT HERSELF REFUSAL OF GERMAN AID. By Teleeraph.— Press Associations-Copyright. (Received June 25, 8.5 a.m.) PARIS, 24th June. The paper Petit Republique states that Sweden informed the Triple Alliance that she had rejected Germany's offer to defend her against Russia, and thatr she did not require anyone to defend her integrity and honour. ' RUSSIA'S NAVY. IMMINENCE OF HQSTILE COALITION. INTEREST IN COMING DEBATE. ■ ST. PETERSBURG, 24th June. Great significance is attached to the debate on the Navy Bill. M. Sazonoff, Minister for Foreign Affairs, referred to the imminence of a hostile coalition. Details of the shipbuilding programme show that the new Dreadr.vughts' coal capacity would enable them to operate in the North Sea or the Mediterranean.A few .days ago M. Sazonoff, Minister of Foreign Affaire, speaking before the Budget Committee of the Duma, urged, the necessity for a vote of £50,000,000 for the creation of a strong fleet iv the Baltic. He alluded to signs 'of growing animosity in Sweden towards Russia, and suggested that eventually Sweden might attack her. He also declared that Russia, must consider the possibility of a. coalition of Powers against her. The scheme takes the place of a programme which was proposed in 1910 for the expenditure of £'/0.000,000. spread over ten years. There have been no recent indications of aggressive action on the part of Sweden against Russia, but M. Sazonoff doubtless found her possible hostility a useful argument to use in order to persuade the Duma to adopt the Government's scheme. In any case, Russia would appear to have nothing to fear from her Scandinavian neighbour. Her navy has made wonderful strides since the Russo- Japanese war, and ViceAdmiral Grigorovitch, thb new Minister of Marine, iB regarded as a particularly able and vigorous administrator. At the end of last year the Russian navy consisted of ten battleships, two coast defence ships, six armoured cruisers, eleven protected cruisers, ninety-seven destroyers, forty-four torpedo boats, four torpedo vessels, and thirty submarines. S&ven > battleships, threo armoured cruisers, nine destroyers, and six submarines were in course of construction, and somo of these have already bein completed. Thft preamble to the Navy Bill of last year declared that the Baltic fleet should be bo strong as "to prevent ah enemy's operations of whatsoever kind giving the enemy victory." The Black Sea fleet was t» be "half as strong again as any possible combination of fleets in those waters," whilst the creation of a Pacific fleet capable of coping with a probable onemy was hold for practical reasons to be an impossibility, and only cruisers and torpedo craft will be maintained in those waters. In accordance with the standard fixed under the Bill, the Baltic fleet would be raised to a strength oE sixteen battleehips, eight urmoured and sixteen other cruisers, ninety-two torpedo boats, and twenty-four submarines by 1924. The war strength of the Russian army consists of nearly three million men. The Swedish navy comprises twelve coast defence vessels, one armoured cruiser, five torpedo vessels, eight destroyers, fifty-two torpedo boats, and three submarines. Six torpedo boats and three submarines are in course of construction. The further expansion of the navji haß been deferred, pending a report of the Defence Commission. The war strength of the Swedish artnv is estimated at 450,000.