The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1934-03-16
BRITAIN BIG
Ships NOT TO
Be SCRAPpED
Parliament Told Abandon
: ment of Larger Craft
Is Impracticable
By HARRY FLoR1

LONDON. March lo.-tCfJ
United Press Staff Corresponce,nI.
The British empire, traditional!
dominant on the seven seas, ~
tends TO build its fleet up TO man
mum treaty strength by the emu
of 1925. the government mas Oh
ficisllv announced to parliament;
The announcement. tormaily
made in the House of Commons
hv Sir Bolton Eyres-Monsell. FIRST
lord of the admiralty, was ex-
clusively anticipated by the INIT
ed Press in dispatches yesterday
concerning BritaI's naval bulid-
ing program for the next TWO
Fvrcs-Monsen. introducing the
naya, estimates into Commons de-
niered that the time had come to
huild ND to the absolute limit per,
mitted under the London ana
Washington naval treaties: he
said the government intended 10
see to it that such program was
carried out in all categories OF
practically all under-age warshlps.
He made an exception of 6O,5ll
tons of average destroyers and
1 600 tons of average subma-
rines seeking to refute argU-
ments that the entire 86,35O adj
ditional tons permitted under the
treaties should be laid down I'M
mediately. He held out hope that
arms limitation might yet be
achieved, but the hope was adj
mitted faint.
The first lord said that the
building program now offered was
in accordance with a carefully
considered admiralty policy OF
replacement. namely, to pursue a
steady annual program Of con-
struction."
He pointed out that although
the treaties permit laying down
the S6.350 tons mentioned in new
cruisers. the current program call
ed for only $4,000 tons of cruls-
ers. But the current program Is
only for the first of the three
wears between now and the end
of 1886.
1--WE are still trying to bring
about limitation of armaments, "
Eyres-M onsell told Commons.
and it would be impossible for
us on the eve of the 1885 naval
conference largely to increase our
current building program on the
assumption that the conference IS
going to be a failure"
The naval estimates, as report
ed last week. total 5G,550.000
pounds ($2S6,S49,875). Calling
for II new major warships, as
we'll as a number of smaller aux
iliary craft. The personnel will be
increased by 2,03S men, totaling
92.338 effectives under these es-
Inmates. The new ships are to be:
three 9,000-ton cruisers; one s.
000-ton cruiser; one aircraft car
rier: nine destroyers; and three
submarines.
Eyres-Monsell indicated that
the proposed new aircraft carrier
would exceed 10000 tons.
He announced that in future
the admiralty would not attempt
to raise sunken submarines in an
effort to save lives of the crew.
but that submarine Officers and
men had been instructed always
to rely on the so-called Davis es-
cape apparatus with which ali sub
marines are equipped. He said tn
United States navy had made a
similar decision.
He described arguments that
battleships are out of date and
unnecessary in modern naval war
fare as dangerous heresy."
"Only our possession of capital
ships Overwhelmingly more power
full than cruisers has enabled us
to accept so low q strength" he
commented.
He declared that a reduction Of
battleships to a maximum of TO-
600 tons would be deliberately to
play into the hands of the aggres-
sor and dangerously reduce the
defensive power Of a country at
tackled"
Ironically. the first lord pointed
out that the only universally
agreed definition of offensive and
defensive weapons was that
which says that any particular
weapon is offensive if you are
standing in front of it, but de-
fensive if you are behind it. Mel
Their technically, strategically, &c.
onomically, politically nor pacifi-
cally could we accept the 10000
ton capital ship" he added en-
| phatically.