Meanwhile the British Government, by way of setting a good
example,, have made yet another naval cut which will mean a saving of £5,500,000.- One of the three 8,000-ton cruisers which were to have been built in the year 1928-29 is to be not merely postponed' but abandoned. This cut is most welcome, but it makes the reasons for the breakdown of the Geneva Conference look odder than ever. The Government would not agree to the American proposal of "arithmetical parity" which in practice (since Great Britain would have been bound to use up most of her permitted tonnage for small cruisers) would have given America a distinct advantage in the largest class of cruisers. Yet now that America is putting forward an unexpectedly large programme of building we begin reducing our cruiser programme. Fortu- nately wisdom is hardly ever too late. The latest British cut is sure to have its influence on public thought in America and in the end that will count.
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