Meanwhile German rearmament goes forward with little concealment. Plans for
considerable naval expan- sion are said to be ready for execution at any moment, and if they are carried out the French and other naval programmes• will almost certainly be revised upwards. Most significant, because completely undisguised, is the announcement of increases in the military, naval and air estimates in the new German budget. The Defence Ministry is up by 220,000,000 marks, to 894,823,000 marks (about £70,000,000 at the present rate of exchange) and the Air Ministry estimates (which theoretically include no military expenditure) by 132,000,000 marks to 210,188,000 marks, or much more than double. Relentlessly events are moving to a crisis, but what the precise nature of it may be is still obscure, Germany was promised equality of status at the end of 1932, and the Powers that conceded it can make no violent stand against her if she begins achieving it while they arc still disagreeing among themselves. On the other hand the Treaty of Versailles is still in force, and German rearma- ment is a breach of it. The lapse of time is forcing Europe away from the British plan to the Italian plan, which means simply the stabilization of armaments at their present level. The best to be said for that is that it is a few shades better than a new race in armaments. It is worth almost anything to avert that.
