GERMANY'S TWO SHIPS A YEAR

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14947, 21 March 1912, Page 7

GERMANY'S TWO SHIPS A YEAR

THE PROPOSED EXTRA UNITS.

In the six years, 1912 to 1917 inclusive, Germany will, under the German Navy Law, lav down each year two large armoured* ships (one battleship and one battleship-cruiser). Britain proposes to lay clown during 1912-13 four large armoured ships, or twice Germany's number. There is now a movement in Germany to amend the Navy Law and increase Germany's number from two annually to three. The case is thus put in a German publication quoted by the Daily Mail. •' The existing Naval Law provides for the building of only two capital ships a year henceforth. England has already declared that she will build twice as many. Therefore, wo should soon have an antagonist again twice as powerful as we are in great units. The burdens imposed on the nation by the Naval Law, in other words, simply represent money squandered. We thould stand where we stood in 1902. The proportion must absolutely remain two Gorman to three British ships. As the English are building four we must simply build three.

"If we keep this proportion, then— but only then — wo be able to talk throughout the world as loudly as England. Then, but only then, will England shrink from a struggle which, even were she victorious, would rob her of two-thirds of her fleetthat is to say, of the same number as that of the German ships destroyed—and perhaps transfer the mastery of the sea to America or Japan. " We have hardly to fear that England will lay down two keels to one if we continue to build three ships a year. To begin with, such a strain on the Budget would be disagreeable for an Empire on the threshold of great schemes of social reform. Secondly, experts are more than doubtful if England could annually man six Dreadnoughts with crews of 1100 or more. Thirdly, the North Sea is small, its coasts favour' us, and the leaders of our fleet believe that they can defend them if the Empire will give them three ships annually, because the balance of strength does not need any more as long as the geographical situation guarantees the fleet absolute security."