NAVAL LIMITATIONS.

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 July 1929, Page 5

NAVAL LIMITATIONS.

AN AMERICAN OPINION. (Australian Press Association.) (By Cable—Press Assn.—Copyright.) NEW YORK, July 28. Representative Britten, Chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee, prior to .leaving for Europe, stated that the two cruisers, the construction of which Mr MacDonald had ordered to be suspended, were merely mythical ships intended only by far-sighted British diplomacy for trading purposes and “we have grabbed th© bait.” He insisted that Mr Hoover had no right to suspend cruiser construction under th© present circumstances, and stated: “I am sure ho one will say we ar© yet in agreement with Britain. On the contrary we are very far from it.” He maintained that England had no intention of building cruisers, the construction of which had been suspended. “As in the Washington Conference, we have been the goat and' British diplomacy is laughing up its sleeve,” he added. NEW SHIPS BUILDING. (Received July 30, 1 p.m.) WASHINGTON, July'29. .

The final outcom© of th© naval limitation discussions is expected by United States’ experts to leave at least two-thirds of th© fifteen cruisers programme intact. As they see it, at least ten of the contemplated ten thousand tons vessels will be built under an arrangement reached in carrying out the agreement between the United States and Britain, on th© principle of absolute equality in the fighting strength of 1 their navies, with all kinds of craft considered.

LONDON CONFERENCE FRUITFUL (British Official Wireless.) _ RUGBY, July 29. A further conference was held at No. 10, Downing Street to-day between th© Prime Minister, and the First Lord of the Admiralty,'on the one hand, and General Dawes and Mr Gibson, on the other. It is understood that substantial progress was made towards a naval agreement. ARMY ECONOMIES. WASHINGTON, July 29. Mr Good has ordered the Army General Staff to overhaul the War Department’s organisation in an effort to reduce expenses, the principal means by which it is hoped to economise,has been announced as the removal of duplications and the removal of delay in current Departmental programmes already under way,-) and the elimination of obsolete service's.