U.S.A. DEFENCE

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 September 1940, Page 8

U.S.A. DEFENCE

NEW BATTLESHIP. [BY CABLE —-PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.] PHILADELPHIA, September 17. The keel of the new 45,000-ton super-dreadnought, New Jersey, has been laid down at the Philadelphia navy yard. The New Jersey, which is a sister-ship;, of the lowa, now under construction at Brooklyn, is to cost 93,000,000 dollars. . x PACIFIC BASES. MONTREAL, September 17. It is reported at Ottawa that the Canadian-United States Joint Defence Board has announced a decision to conduct an immediate elaborate survey ’of the -west coast defences, including the North Western States, British Columbia, and Alaska. Canadian members of the Board will leave by air for the coast to-morrow-for a tour of inspection, which will be the subject later of a full meeting on the Pacific Coast. PACT WITH AUSTRALIA? WASHINGTON, September 16. The British Ambassador (Lord Lothian), the,United States Secretary of State (Mr Cordell Hull), and the Australian Minister (Mr R. G. Casey) conferred to-day in Washington. A statement made by Lord Lothian later said that the discussions had dealt mainly with matters affecting Australia. Reuter reports that Australia’s position as affected by Japanese moves in French Indo-China was the main subject discussed. It was suggested that the outcome might be an Aus-tralian-United States defence pact on the same* lines as that operating between the United States and Canada.