THE OUTSIDE WORLD

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXVI, Issue 7910, 3 October 1929, Page 3

THE OUTSIDE WORLD

NAVAL DISARMAMENT PROPOSALS | BRITAIN’S BIG SACRIFICE LIABILITIES IN SHIPS LONDON, August 1. From comments in the foreign press, and particularly in certain American papers (states the Daily Telegraph), it is clear that the full meaning of the British Government’s latest disarmament gesture has not .been fully appreciated by all observers abroad. It is freely stated, for example, that in suspending the cruisers Surrey and Northumberland and cancelling two submarines and the big submarine . depot Medway, we have scrapped ships that exist only on paper, and that, consequently, no real sacrifice of naval strength has been made.

Actually, (all the ships the construction of which has been stopped belonged to the 192 S programme—a programme which had been approved by Parliament and for which large sums had been voted long before the latest developments in the direction of naval disarmament had been foreshadowed, and, incidentally, nine months before the passage of the United States 15-cruiser programme by Congress. The ships affected constituted the entire cruiser programme for 1928 and more than half of the entire naval building scheme for that year. This scheme was estimated' to cost about £11,000,000, but the action now taken by the Government has reduced this sum to £5,000,000. COMPENSATION QUESTION Nor is it true to say that the vessels in question were merely contemplated. All were ordered some months ago, work in connection with the ships and their equipment was actively in hand, and heavy financial liabilities had been incurred. The value of the orders for material which had been placed amounts to £1,750,000, and authority had been given to expend an additional £1,400,000 on the ships during the current year. It is certain that the Government, in suspending or cancelling so much new construction, did so with full knowledge of the dislocation of work that would be suffered by the shipbuilding and armament industries concerned.

Claims for compensation in respect of broken contracts will undoubtedly be forthcoming. Apart from the blow to private industry, the Royal Dockyards will also suffer severely as a result of the Government’s decision.

It will be seen, therefore, that Great Britain, in holding up such a substantial part of her naval building programme, has made a very real and vital sacrifice inthe interests of International disarmament and goodwill. The fact that the effects of this renunciation will be felt by wide sections of the community, employers and wage-earners alike, gives it a distinctly national character and thus enhances its significance.