THE BRITISH NAVY.

Evening Star, Issue 22526, 19 December 1936, Page 16

THE BRITISH NAVY.

In Sir Samuel Hoare, First Lord of the Admiralty, Great Britain possesses a Minister of marked ability and considerable driving power. These qualities are particularly desirable at the moment, when the strengthening of the Empire’s defence forces is so imperative. A day nr two ago Mr Hector Bywater directed attention to the shortage of cruisers that would follow the scrapping of five of these ships at the end of the year in accordance with treaty obligations. It is highly satisfactory, therefore, to learn from a statement made in the House of Commons by Sir Samuel Hoare that such action may bo avoided, as the Government proposes lo detain these ships on the ground that the nation’s requirements necessitate this action. This is made possible by an article in the London Naval Treaty. The assent of the United States and Japan, who were signatories to the treaty, is necessary. America raises no objection, and Sir Samuel Hoare anticipates a favourable answer from Tokio. A vigorous building programme, within treaty limits, is being carried out in British shipyards in order to make up the leeway that was lost through the country’s vain lead in disarmament. In the course of a speech on naval policy lately Sir Samuel Hoar© said: Britain had without success tried to get the other naval Powers to reduce the size of capital ships. The most that had been done was to obtain a tentative agreement to an upper limit of 35,000 tons. As other countries were building these big ships it was inevitable that Great Britain, whether she liked it or not, as the nation most dependent for its existence upon its sea communications, should possess ships no less powerful or modern than those of the other Powers. With that end in view, the Minister declared, immense trouble had been taken with the designs for the new battleships, which would be framed in accordance with the experience of the war, the lessons learnt from experiments, and the developments of science. These great warships, when completed, will be the joint result of the most careful and detailed study and the lessons of actual practice. It will be remembered that Sir Samuel Hoare paid a visit of inspection to the Mediterranean fleet, and on his return, it is pleasing to note, he emphatically endorsed a statement by Mr Winston Churchill that the British Navy had never been more efficient than it is to-day. In view of alarmist statements that have been made of late, it is refreshing to road these expressions of confidence and to be assured that not only is the naval building programme being carried out with expedition, but that under the new arrangements the three branches of the defence services are co-ordinating in a way never before experienced. There is no need for apprehension. An official table issued in Washington shows that the British Navy has the greatest total tonnage of any naval Power, the largest tonnage of modem under-age ships, and leads in the number of aircraft carriers and heavy and light cruisers. The dominating motive among British statesmen is to have a navy strong enough to ensure the freedom of the highways of the ocean and to uphold the peaceful and humane traditions of the British Commonwealth of Nations.