THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22833, 18 March 1936, Page 9

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

DEBATE ON NAVY ESTIMATES INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR (British Official Wireless) (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright) RUGBY, March 10. (Received March 17, at 5.5 p.m.) In opening the House of Commons debate on the Navy Estimates, amounting to £09,930,000, an increase of £9,880,000 over last year, Mr Oliver Stanley paid a tribute to the late Earl Beatty. He explained that no provisions were made in the Estimates for any additional expenditure arising from the proposals for making good the deficiencies outlined in the Government's White Paper on Defence, nor for the 1936 construction programme. These large items would have to be subject to Supplementary Estimates. The increase in the 1935 Estimates was in reference to £4,645,000 for construction already authorised in the 1934 and 1935 programmes. Provision was also being made for larger requirements of ammunition, mainly anti-aircraft, and a greater fuel supply. The fleet air arm vote was increased by £1,193,000, allowing for the addition of 27 machines, three for carriers, 12 for battleships and 12 for cruisers, bringing the total strength from 190 to 217, and for the replacement of 84 machines by new aircraft with full reserves. After assuring the House that as a result of experiments the danger to battleships from aerial bombardment would be provided against in the new construction and reconstruction, that counter-attack by ships’ anti-aircraft batteries had developed out of all knowledge, and that the Admiralty would always bo ready to increase its knowledge by new experiments, Mr Stanley said that the conclusion was that battleships would not be made impotent by air attack and would remain supreme at sea, and that they I‘cmained essential.

For the Opposition Mr A. V. Alexander (Lab.) criticised the absence of active or adequate consultation with other League States concerning their respective contributions to collective security. Sir Archibald Sinclair (Lib.) doubted if greater efficiency and economy in the protection of trade routes could not be obtained by a readjustment of the expenditure between sea and air defence. Mr Winston Churchill declared that the first foundation of British naval policy was acceptance of parity with the United States. There could be no idea of naval rivalry between the two countries. It was fortunate that the three Powers w'hich maintained regular battle fleets were situated at opposite corners of the globe, from which attack upon each other was almost impossible.