CABLE NEWS.

Mataura Ensign, 20 March 1909, Page 5

CABLE NEWS.

4 BUILDING OF BATTLESHIPS. —— ♦ NAVAL ESTIMATES DERATE. "AWAITING DEVELOPMENTS." BI ELSCIBIC ILLtUEATU — COI'I'JUUJST. rtU CMILU I'UECW AbOOCIATION. LUMJUN, March VJ. In Hie House oi Commons Air Austen Ckaiabvi'luiu (who was Civil Lord lo the Admiralty in the lubt Saiittbury Adniiuislrutiou; buid that Mittittters bud Iwu in u very lovl's paradise. A year ago they hud no security, but in his judgment it was better than now, and in any cube. the margin was dangerously narrow. They had beeu forgetful that such a contingency as a shipbuilding strike might occur. Jlr Andrew liouur Law insisted that it was osbential to lay .clown the Dreadnoughts promised for April immediately. Mr It. Mc&enna (First Lord ot the Admiralty) sold (the coming battleships would bo 30 per cent, batter than tho Dreadnoughts. Mr A. J. Balfour (leader of the Opposition), noticing that Mr JlcKanna avoided giving a direct promise that lour Dreadnoughts would bo laid down in April, taxed Mr Ascguith, who promised this if the acceleration of tho Gorman programme continued. ffho Opposition strongly objected to tho qualified promise, and Air Asqulth evidently refer ring to the statement made in tho Keichstug by Admiral von Xirpitz (Gorman Minister for Marino) that in the autumn of 1912 Germany would have only 18 Dreadnoughts jand Invincible*, that he did pot know on what grounds Mr McKcuna had arrived at r the larger' tiguru, and that no pro poeal for disarmament had been tnade to Germany, suid: 'Certain declarations have rilled ine with surprise. I await fuller explanations."

GERMANY'S ACTIVITY. LONDON, March IS). Th« ''Times' recalls Krupp's loau issued in July lost, which, tho jourual states, proves .that Germany's order to accelerate tho building of battleships .was given in April, not October. AN UNPLEASANT SURPRISE. Received March 20, 8.35 a.m. LONDON, March 1!>. The 'Standard's' Berlin correspondent reports that Mr Asquith's stateuieilt that tho Admiralty lias ascertained what had happened almost immediately after the construction of the Gorman battleships had been begun lias caused an unpleasant surprise to the German authorities, who had no idea that their Becrets wero so inefficiently guarded. Elaborate precautions had previously been taken to conceal the extent of their shipbuilding operations. ADMIRALTY'S ADMINISTRATION.

Received March 20, 8.35 a.m. LONDON, March 1!>. A number of tho members of the House of Lords and tlie House of Commons have signed a requisition asking Mr Asquith (tho Prime Minister) to hold an inquirv into the administration o: tho Admiralty. MEETINGS OK CITIZENS. Received Murcli 'JO, 8.35 a.in. LONDON, March lib Meetings are 11011115 organised in tho I city and iu Liverpool in connection with the naval crisis. AN AUSTRALIAN VIEW. Koceiv-ed March 29, 9.35 a.m. MELBOURNE, March 20. The Minister of Defence, referring to the naval situation, said it was tho most serious that British statesmen had had to face sin<i> last century.