REASONS STATED

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 118, 14 November 1929, Page 9

REASONS STATED

AWAITING RESULTS

FIVE-POWER CONFERENCE

British Official Wireless. \ (Received 14th November, 11a.m.) BUGBY, 13th November. Mr. A. V. Alexander, First Lord of the Admiralty, announced in the House of Commons to-day that all work oa the naval base at Singapore is to ba slowed down as much as possible pending the result of the Fiire-Power Naval Conference in London next January. He explained that the Government gave attention to the question of the continuation of construction work as " soon as it came into office. In 1924 the previous Labour Administration hal decided not to proceed with the naval base at Singapore. Since that date, however, the action of the late Conservative Government. had altered the situation very materially. A floating dock has been provided at heavy; expense, and in September, 1928, a contract was signed for the building of a large graving dock at a cost of approximately £4,000,000. Moreover, the bulk of the expense had up to the present time been met by contributions from Hgng Kong, the Federated Malay States, and New Zealand^ Their total contributions amounted to £.2,113,000 together with a free gift of the site by the Straits Settlement The decisions of the Naval Conference might affect the use of this base, and under these circumstances the Go--eminent had decided that the work already contributed for at Singapore was to be slowed down as much as possible, that all work that could be suspended should be suspended,! and that no work should be embarked upon pending th« result of the Five-Power Conference. '