NAVAL LIMITS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 18974, 26 March 1936, Page 6

NAVAL LIMITS

NEW LONDON TREATY INFORMATION EXCHANGES FIRST LORD HOPEFUL CHECK ON COMPETITION (Rritixh Official Wireless.) Reed. 1 p.m. RUGP.Y, March 25. The Loudon Xaval Treaty, providing for the advance notification of annual building programmes and for the exchange of information defining the categories of ships and the standard of displacement, and setting out the agreed qualitative limits for each category, was signed this afternoon. The qualitative limits laid down in the treaty are: For capital ships. 35,000 tons and 1 -fin. guns, provided all signatories of the Washington Treaty accept these limits, otherwise lGill. guns; for aircraft carriers, 23,000 tons and (i.lin. guns; and for submarines, 2000 lons and .".I in. guns.

Cruisers are divided- into those mount ill}; "tins above li.lin., of which none tire to lie linill during the currency ■of the treaty, and those for winch limits are set ;it Sdtltl tons and 0.3 in eons. The zone of non-const ruction, starting tit .'7Oll, is carried u|> to J 7,0f10 tons. The final sort ion of the treaty -provides for eonsultation with a view to a relaxat ion of restrictions in the event of non-signatories not observing the limits, or eertttin other events. The First lain I of ihe Admiralty, Yiseount .Monsell, in ;i speech, stmt t-hiit the treaty made no provision for direct r|uantitative limitation, and that, in the British view, was a matter for deep regret. lie was optimistic, however, that ipitt at i I til ive naval com petition would not arise in view ot the eli mi nut ion of com|n• ti t ion in types and the elaborate system for advance notification and the exchange of inforniation. NEW ZEALAND REGRETS ABSENCE OF JAPANESE VIEW OF SIR .), PARE ,Klci. Tel. Coin-right—United Press Assn.) I Heed. .March 2a. 2 p.tn.) LONDON, .March 25. The .New Zealand liigli t 'nmmissioiicr. Sir James l’arr, who was present tit the signing of the London Naval Treaty, said thtil from the beginning of the conference New Zealand was under no illusions. Tin* international situation had been in the nature of a thunder cloud which at. any moment might break and end the deliberations!. The fact of there being no general agreement on quantitative limitations was a sad' blow, if only from the viewpoint that, their Japanese friends felt unable to continue the consultations. It was a mat ter of regret, particularly for New Zealand, situated as it was in the i’acilic Ocean.

New Zealanders would hope ih;d .liipiin, animated by a spirll. of friend - ship mid goodwill, would roiil'onu insofar as she was able to agreements which could he. regarded as a valuable contribution to the limitation of naval armaments and the elimination of competitive building. It could lie hoped that (lit international situation would have improved in 19-12 to such a degree that a. new treaty, wider in scope, would he possible. AIR DEFENCE PLANS INQUIRY IN Ml? IT AIN (Itritisli Official Wireless.) Heed. 1 p. ni. ItLt! I ‘A , Minch 25. Sir Thomas Inskip answered questions in the. House of Commons ior the first time to-day as Minister for the Co-ordina-tion of Defence. He informed the House that the Prime Minister, Mr. Stanley Baldwin, proposed to appoint a sub-committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence to consider experiments that had taken place, or were proposed, in connection with defence against aircraft, and the vulnerability from the air of capital ships.