SEA POWER

Evening Star, Issue 22596, 13 March 1937, Page 17

SEA POWER

THE BRITISH PLANS MINISTER'S PACIFIC EXPRESSIONS (British Official Wireless.) Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright RUGBY, March 11. In the course of his speech in the House of Commons, Sir Samuel Hoare said that in the case of battleships during 1937 five new vessels would be laid down, because as 12 of the existing 15 were over 20 years old they would otherwise be in a position of serious weakness in the face of naval Powers which have been building new battleships for some years. The new battleships would displace about 35,000 tons and have 14in guns, and were designed for higher speed than any existing British battleship. As to cruisers, seven new vessels were to be laid down this year, and would bring the under-age cruisers to 53. and those over-age to 23. The over-age cruisers would not be scrapped, hut armed with anti-aircraft guns for escort work in narrow seas. Sir Samuel’s concluding words were devoted to the future of naval armaments. He asked if the world was entering upon a new race in which sooner or later it would die either of exhaustion or by self-destruction in a final catastrophe. He refused to accept a view so fatalistic, recalling that one field in which it had so far been found possible to reach agreement on limitation was the naval field. There were the Washington Treaty (though it had not been renewed), the 1930 Treaty, the Anglo-German naval agreement, the protocol on submarine warfare, and lastly there was every hope that the London Treaty of 1936 would be accepted by a sufficient number of Powers for Britain to ratify it. The position was that. negotiations were going on with a number of other Powers with a view to bringing them within the system of the treaty. The main effort of the British Government had been directed to the conclusion of bilateral agreements with Germany and Soviet Russia, but similar negotiations had been proceeding satisfactorily with Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Poland, and Turkey. As to Italy, he was glad to say that, the Italian Government was ready to make a valuable contribution by its readiness to accept the maximum gun calibre of 14in for capital ships, provided other principal naval Powers did likewise. The Minister said he hoped, following the Anglo-Italian declaration relating to the Mediterranean, that Italy would, before long, accede to the whole of the treaty. He urged the House not to under-estimate the value of the 1936 treaty, which he believed might be great. It was regrettable that it embodied no direct quantitative limitation, but if the treaty became general they might nevertheless obviate a naval race, which could he qualitative as much as quantitative, and past experience showed that the first was more dangerous. Competition in types was more expensive and more detrimental to friendly relations between nations than in numbers. The 1936 treaty gave them a chance to avoid a race of new types and sizes, and he was not unhopeful of the future. LABOUR LEADER'S CRITICISM LONDON, March 11. Mr A. .V. Alexander (Lab.), criticising the Navy Estimates in the' House of Commons, said: “Along that road lies the beginning of the end of the Empire.” He asked if the naval strength of Australia and New Zealand would be increased, and if so would the dominions contribute. “If there was a danger of war in the Pacific the dominions might find themselves in a different mind from what they have been in recently.” STRONG FAR EASTERN FLEET PROBABLE LONDON, March 12. (Received March 13, at 11 a.m.) Sir Samuel Hoare’s- allusion to Britain’s determination to establish a twohemisphere standard is understood to indicate the establishment of a Far Eastern fleet as strong as the Home and Mediterranean fleets. The Australian Associated Press gathers that this will be one of the main features of the Imperial Conference discussions in which the Dominions’ naval co-operation with Britain will be sought.