12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940

The financial results of the Government's decision cannot but be

exceedingly grave; but, grave as they are, we accept them as inevitable. To let the Fleet fall below the standard of safety because of the expense would in the end prove the most outrageous of extravagances. Roughly speaking, six 'Dreadnoughts' would cost some twelve millions, and as the ships take about two years to build, this will mean an addition to the Naval Estimates of some- thing like six millions a year for the next two years. Nor does the expense stop here, for an increase of great ships means an increase of expenditure in many other departments besides that of shipbuilding. It means more men, more officers, more stores, and more money spent on repairs and upkeep.

Next page