IMPERIAL NAVY

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 2 December 1925, Page 11

IMPERIAL NAVY

NEED FOR COOPERATION. EARL JELLICOE’S APPEAL. WHAT DOMINIONS COULD DO. BY CABLE—PRESB ASSOCIATION—COPYRHIGT, Received Dec. 2, 1.50 P-m. LONDON, Dec, 1. In an article in Brassey's Naval Annual, Earl Jelliooe calls the attention of people of the Empire to the urgent need of co-operation, first in deciding upon, and second in carrying out, a naval policy. Earl Jelliooe says that heavy taxation, a serious decrease in trade, and the maintenance of numbers of people out of work, has seriously crippled the finances of the Motherland, and there is little doubt that if more help is not forthcoming from the Dominions the navy will slowly hut surely become inadequate for its 'work. He appeals to the Dominions to face the situation and to assist, each portion of the Empire sharing the burden proportionally to its population. Earl Jelliooe assumes that for the next few years £69,000.000 will be needed for the Imperial navy. H© suggests that in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa, the white populations should contribute- in kind at th© rate of. 17s per head, the figures working out: Australia, £4,800,000. New Zealand. £850,000. Canada, £7,200,000. South Africa, £850,000. India, £850,000. He contends that for these sums the Dominions could maintain at a later date the following approximate naval strengths, and simultaneously a building programme: Australia. —Three 10,000 ton cruisers in full commission and one similar cruiser in reserve; one aircraft carrier in full commission, and auxiliary patrol vessels. New- Zealand.—Two D class light cruisers in full commission and one in reserve. Canada could afford to extend its programme to an amount even exceedthe Australian naval forces, and would doubtless provide one or two additional cruisers, six to nine submarines, and possibly an aircraft carrier or naval airships. South Africa would probably maintain two 10,000 ton cruisers or three smaller cruisers.—Reuter.