POWERS' NAVIES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22685, 24 March 1937, Page 14

POWERS' NAVIES

BRITISH PROGRAMME

NO TIME BEING LOST

NEW CONTRACTS PLACED

By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright British Wireless ItUGBY, March 22

The Admiralty has quickly put ships of the new programme in hand. Parliament passed the Estimates on Thursday evening, and on Saturday morning the contracts for some of the ships had been signed and orders for some ships authorised last summer were also placed.

The orders placed at the week-end include three cruisers of the Dido class authorised last year, and two others of the same class in the 19.57 programme. Three of them will be built on the Clyde, one on the Mersey and one on the Tvne. Moreover, orders for machinery for two more ships to bo built at Portsmouth and Chatham have been placed with private firms on the Tvne and the Clyde. One 2.'}.000-ton aircraft-carrier was ordered from Belfast on Friday and an escort vessel ordered from Southampton at the same time. CALIBRE OF GUNS JAPANESE ATTITUDE 14-INCH LIMIT REFUSED (Received March 23. 10.45 p.m.) TOKIO. March 23 The Japanese Cabinet has approved the draft of a Note to Britain declining the 14in. gun limit proposed in the 1936 London Naval Treaty. LARGE APPROPRIATION

AMERICAN BILL PASSED

SENATE'S AMENDMENTS

Received March 23, 6.40 p.m.) WASHINGTON. March 22

The United States Senate to-day passed the 522,000,000-dollars Naval Appropriations Bill with a few minor amendments bv 64 votes to 11.

The opposition was led by Mr. G. P. Nye (Republican—North Dakota), who stated that the nation was without a definite defence policy, with the result that hundreds of millions of dollars were wasted.