Page:The Annual Register 1899.djvu/57

 1899.] The Navy Estimates. [49

which would bring the personnel up to 110,640. The charge for personnel in pay and retired pay and gratuities, and apart from the cost of victualling and clothing was 7,474,000/., or an increase of 452,000/. In the vote for armaments there was an increase of 161,000/., chiefly due to the construction of guns, but also to the increased need of ammunition for firing practice. It was proposed to provide about the same number of men in the dockyards as were then at work, being a slightly larger number than money was taken for last year. The liabilities of the ori- ginal programme of the present year and the supplementary programme together formed an item of 8,225,000/. These lia- bilities had been swollen to the extent of 2,000,000/. by the delays of the last two years, consequent upon the labour troubles. That being the situation, what ought to be their course as regards the laying down of new ships ? It would be affectation to pretend that tins question could be settled without an exami- nation, among other things, of the programmes of other countries. He had studied those programmes, and the result was not re- assuring. There had been an immense increase in shipbuilding on the part of other nations. The increase in the French estimates for naval construction was very small, but the case of Russia was different. They had increased their ordinary esti- mates for shipbuilding construction by 1,500,000/., and if they added the proportion of the money placed at their disposal some time ago, Russia would be able to spend in this year 3,500,000/. more than in any ordinary year. Looking, then, to the general situation, and the known programmes of other nations, he had come to the conclusion to lay down the following new ships : two ironclads, two armoured cruisers and three smaller cruisers, which were to be very fast. This last step was designed to meet the almost avowed policy of some of our rivals, who, giving up the idea of meeting us in the open sea, hoped to wear out our patience by attacks on our commerce and food supplies. The money required for this new programme in the coming year would be 550,000/., besides 80,000/. for small craft and steamboats. Adding this sum of 630,000/. to the liabilities of new construction from former years, there was reached a total for new construction of 8,855,000/., an excess of 1,167,000/. over the current year. He discussed the question whether the deliberations of the forth- coming disarmament conference would enable them to diminish or modify this programme, and stated, on behalf of her Majesty's Government, that if the other great naval Powers should be prepared to diminish their programmes of shipbuilding, we should on our side be prepared to meet such a procedure by modifying ours. But if Europe should come to no agreement, if the high hopes entertained by the Czar should not be realised, then the programme which he had submitted must stand. The total estimates would be 26,594,000/.

The discussion of the estimates could not be taken until some days later (March 13) when Sir U. Kay- Shuttle worth