“GONE TOO FAR.”

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 312, 30 November 1933, Page 2

“GONE TOO FAR.”

NAVAL REDUCTION. VERONICA CAPTAIN’S VIEW. NAPIER, Nov. 28. Great Britain’s naval policy of recent- years and the effect of reductions which had been effected in both men and material were the subject of a brief review given to members of the Napier Rotary Club by Captain J. L. Jackson, commander of H.M.S. Veronica, at a luncheon. “Ever since the war finished our great difficultv has been to reduce the Navy to normal proportions,” he said. “Whatever other people think, it is my opinion that we have gone too far. Reducing a large service both in men and material is a very large job, and I will go so far as to say that I think the reduction in personnel is more serious. Ships take a comparatively short time to build, but men take years to train. When you find that two other large nations of tile world have increased the personnels of their navies by 40,000 and 30,000 while we have reduced ours by 50,000, you will realise the seriousness of the position.” Discussing restrictions imposed on sizes of various types of vessels Captain Jackson said he considered that if instead of limiting cruisers to 10,000 tons a total tonnage limit had been fixed for all nations a much more efficient type of vessel would have been secured. One excellent type of cruiser, lie said, was the new 7000-ton-ner, of which he hoped New Zealand would receive one or two in place of cruisers stationed here at present. “The British Navy.” he added, “has squadrons stationed all over the world, so that in the event of war we have a certain strength available at the spot.” Captain Jackson went on to say that as far as the East was concerned it was really impossible to maintain a large squadron there, one of the principal reasons being the effect on the health of the personnel. The mast powerful squadron was stationed in the Mediterranean. Australia had its own, while Canada possessed a division smaller than that of New Zealand.

“At Home we looked upon New Zealand as the Dominion which has done more for the Navy than any of the others,” he said. “We in the Navy do fet accused of being militarists. I don’t elieve that any of us are, but what we do not want to see is our men and materia] being reduced and weakened. Tfie whole of the world has looked upon the British Navy as being in the background to stop aggression, and there are many nations, particularly in South America, who view reductions in the British Navy with great uneasiness. They are inclined to look to someone who they imagine is stronger—that is, America. One is sorry to hear foreigners say that in their opinion Great Britain is losing her place in the world.”