1935-05-22 — Page 15

Immediate

Needs Of

The Navy

BRITAIN'S POVERTY IN BIG SHIPS

GERMAN ARMS MENACE

of

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH. WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 1935,

larger and more powerful ships. | months," and of our 15 capital And at that time the British Em- ships two at lenat are always in pire will possess only one under-dockyards undergoing, extensive |age, battle-cruiser,

| repairs or “modernisation.”

It is against ocean 'trade routes In cruisers the situation is also that the "pocket battleships" | ong of extremo gravity. Not only would be most dangerous and did the London Treaty limit our the ocean trade routes are the cruiser forces to 50 ships instead most vulnerable part of the British of the 70 which our strategists Empire. Germany's latest move agreed to be the "irreducible

F

We have at present under 30 modern cruisers In commission, and two of these have to be scrap ped next year under yet another special provision of the Treaty,

Much the same obtains in our destroyer flotillas, more than half of which are old and worn out by strenuous war service.

REDUNDANT SHIPYARDS

OLD WORKS TURN TO NEW TRADE

It has been authoritatively an-

DEATH FOR SMUGGLERS

Dr. H. H. Kung declared that

only by introducing such strict measures could the smuggling, of allver out of China be prevented.

The law calls for the death penalty, or at least penal servitude The works are not, however, to for not less than five years.- become entirely derelict, The Router. If real emergency arose all these portion of the firm's property on the south side of the river has been

CORONEL FORGOTTEN

an honourable way out of Treaty has been reduced by more than old ships would have to put to aca acquired by Harland & Wolf, and yet others are already signing the

British Empire, the United States, time security" standard. and Japan.

MOVE TO PREVENT SILVER LOSS

Nanking, May 21, The Executive Yuan has adopted of building submarines must also minimum" for security, but special nounced in Belfast that the wall- affect the security of the Empire clausea wero Inserted in the known shipyard of Workman-Clark the Finance Minister's proposal most deeply, for our anti-submar-Treaty to ensure that, we shall Ltd, has been acquired by National that the law governing the punish ine, cruiser, and destroyer forces have to keep obsolete ships in Shipbuilding Securities Ltd., under ment of crimes which menace the are utterly inadequate in the light commission to attain even this the scheme for closing down re- safety of the Republic should be of yet another submarino Power number.

dundant shipyards. The matter mudo applicable to those con- In Europe.

has been the subject of long victed of smuggling aliver out of The time has, in fact, come when

negotiations, and, nitrough some China. the British Navy feels most sin

details have yet to be settled, the In consequence of the large cerely that it cannot continue to

main lines of the agreement are naval bullding programmes

discharge its duty of giving even

nettled, and the name of the firm foreign nations, and especially of a modicum of security to the Em-

will disappear from the list of Germany, the Government are bo-pire unless immediate stops are

British shipbuilders within a short time. ing pressed to Invoke the "Escala- inken to rectify the poaltion. tor clause" of the London Naval the utmost gravity. During the The present position is one of Treaty,

The "Escalator clause" provides past 13 years the British Navy 1,000,000 tons of warships. And limitations and cutanglements to a nation whose security is "mater this reduction has been effected in an endeavour to protect the

The Workman-Clark firm wRA Jally affected" by the naval build- below and beyond the natural Empire and its vital trade routes, will be utilised mainly in the ex-nemployment registers,

That they would "engage the tension of their engine shops, formed in 1897, and rápidly became It is hoped that the site of the ing of any Power other than the post-war reductions to a "peace-enemy more closely" is implicit | North Shipyard may be secured by one of the most important firms in! in the personnel, but it would be 'TREATY SACRIFICES

murder none the less. The British the building of aeroplanes. This Allan Line, Lamport & Holt, Elder a company now being formed for the industry. They built boats for:

such well-known shipowners as the By invoking the "Esenlater

nation appears to have forgotton will be an entirely new industry for Fylles, the Ellermans, and Alfred clause," the British Empire would The first step in these reductions the lessons of Coronel. be, bound to give notice to the was

Washington Treaty: tho

In face of these uncomfortable the North of Ireland, and its Holt & Company. In 1909 they other two signatory Powers of any Under this Treaty Britain scrap facts the immediate Invoking of with great interest. The now com- more new tonnage than any other

establishment is looked forward to

had the distinction of lurning out increase considered necessary, and ped 20 capital ships: America the "Escalator clause" becomes a pany has an influential backing, firm in the world, and they built would be immediately entitled to scrapped 18, and Japan 10. More-matter of the utmost importance. and it is thought that the site is the first ocean-going turbine vessel,

over, when America completed two A minimum of two battle cruisers The clause was inserted in the ships of the "West Virginia" class is an immediate necessity in order. Peculiarly suitable for the produce the Victoria, for the Allan Line. Treaty to meet just such a situa- in 1922 she had to scrap only two to meet the threat of the fast and lion of aircraft of all kinds. The At one time they employed over promoters believe that this 9.000 hands. Among their more tion as has arisen as a conne-ships; whereas, when Britain powerful, German ships. More dustry must grow to a great extent recent achievements was the con- quence of German rearmament, for built the Nelson and Rodney, we cruisers are also essential, sa is during the next few years, and that struction for Norwegian owners of the terms of the Treaty, were en-had to scrap four ships.

also an increase in the rate of It promises to find work for an in- two floating oll factories for the tered on the tacit understanding The Washington Treaty allowed replacement of torpedo and anti-crenaing number of operatives for Antarctic whale fisheries. that the international situation for the gradual replacement of submarine craft. would not be complicated by the obsolete capital ships. But this

The invoking of the clause can years to come, as well as to bring rise of another naval Power, process had only just begun when also save ships from the scrap more work to the Ulster linen

manufacturers. THREAT TO TRADE ROUTES the London Treaty was signed, heap to which they are consigned The necessity of invoking this Under this Treaty the British Em- under the terms of the Treaty. RECENT DEPRESSION clause without further delay ispire again bore the brunt of sacri- Notably, the four cruisers of the

While general regret is felt at Immediate. Not only in Germany fee. We scrapped five capital Hawkins class must be reprieved. the coming disappearance of such a claiming a naval strength equal ships without replacement; Amer-Two of these ships are well under famous firm of shipbuilders as to 35 per cent. of the total strengthien scrapped three, and Japan one, the age limit.

Workman-Clark, the immediato of the British Empire, but she has The Treaty declared a battleship At least half a dozen older effect on employment in Belfast bulit and la bullding ships which building holiday. This reacted eruleers could also be saved. will not be very great. The firm threaten this Empire In a very far more unfavourably upon the While these would be little uso have not had a ship on the stocks particular degree.

British Empire than upon either with the fleet, and would certainly for alx months, and the staff has of the other Powers concerned. be no match for the recent con-been gradually reduced as work in The result is that at the present|struction of other Powers, they hand has been finished. Many of time Britain possesses 15 capital would still be of great value for the men have gone to Harland & ships. All but three of these are coast defence and for convoy Wolff's, and others have found obsolete, or will be within a few duties,

work on the Clyde or Tyne, while

make such increase.

Germany's "pocket battleships" can only be dealt with by battle cruisers. In two or three years Germany will have three of these ships of least, na well na two far

RUMBA

TAYLOR'S LONDON DRY

GIN..

SUPERLATIV

E

TAYLOR'S

GIN

Fundaa kha

QUALITY

Reduced price $30 per case, duty-paid.

Sole Agents:

GANDE, PRICE & CO., LTD. St. George's Building, Ice House Street. Tel. No. 20135. Hongkong.

Canton Agent:--

Better because

it's

líquid

5. LILLICRAP, 72, British Concession, Canton.

CORNS HURT? Whether they're old or new, shoes hurt corns, Kill that pain with

GETS IT

"The greatest" crowd in the history of the [Shanghul- Rača, Course filled the stadium - and, crowded, the neighbouring streets to glimpse the pageant attendant upon His Majesty's Silver Jubiles: Top left is shown the 5.V.C. “A” Company. in square defence. Top contre the Irish pipas of the Royal` Inniskilling Fusiliers. Top left "Troop ing the Colour.”.... At centre is the panorama of the ceremony of Handing down the Colour through _the-Ages, etched-out-sharply by the-flood-lights" At bottom left are seamin of H.M.9. Kent who added much to the display, and at bottaus right e reproduction of old Inniskilling Cantia as the sens men and marines of the Royal Navy.marched out.

Page 15Page 16