NAVAL MATTERS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 20104, 24 March 1928, Page 7

NAVAL MATTERS

THE SINGAPORE BASE Geneva Failure Mentioned in x House of Commons HOPS JOB THE FUTURE. (By Telegraph—Per Press Ae’n.— Copyright.) Received March 23, 10 p.m-(A.PJL-Sun) LONDON, March 22. Colonel Headlam, speaking in the Navy Estimates debate in the House of Commons, stated that the Admiralty ’ v total expenditure to date on the Singapore base amounted to £a*)B,oCo. This year they would spend £228,000, plus £300,000 for the floating dock. Towards this expenditure £378,000 had been received from New Zealand, Hongkong, and the Eederated Malay States.

The Hon. W. C. Bridgeman, in reply to a question, said a recent letter to the Presg referred to the Cabinet discussion on the Geneva Conference. This was unusual, and he did not propose to violate the secrecy of Cabinet discussions. The British proposals were eventually rejected at Geneva, not over the question of eight-inch guns, but of the total tonnage. Lady Astor asked would it not be better* to forget Geneva and look forward to the next conference, and Mr Bridgeman agreed, saying he believed that Britain and the United States were not thinking for a moment of any kind of aggressive warfare. They might hope, if feelings were not aroused and mischief done between the two countries, that with the foundations laid at Geneva some satisfactory limitation might be agreed upon at no distant date.