C. Aan de Sydney Morning Herald van 8 Augustus 1939 ont-
leenen wij het volgende m.b.t. de suggestie van Sir Earle Page,
leider van de Federal Parliamentary Country Party.
960
„The Lyons-Page Government," zeide Sir Earle Page o.m. in zijn
speech van 7 Aug. jl. te Sydney, „had a mandate to make the defences
of Australia secure. No reversals of the decisions made by it, which
lessen the capacity of Australia to defend herself, should be made by
any other Government without extraordinarily good reasons, especially
by a Government not directly entrusted by the people with the conduct
of affairs".
„The circumstances in which Australia finds herself in 1939 are
different from her situation in 1914, when there was no practical danger
of any large-scale invasion of this country," vervolgde Sir Earle Page.
„It is obvious from the altered relationship of world politics now that
the landing of considerable forces might occur at such places as Coff's
Harbour, Port 'Macquarie, Maryborough, Gladstone or Townsville, and
such is the nature of the country at these points, with their sparse
populations, that unless immediately, within a day, substantial numbers
of Australian trained troops are on hand to resist the enemy, he would
have an excellent chance of securing permanent possession.
„This rejection, therefore, of the unanimous advice of military
experts seems to me the height of folly.
„I have myself advocated persistently that we should have two
battleships, or at least one. They would give Australia more safety than
anything else possibly could, and would have both a practical and
psychological effect in improving our position in the Pacific.
„We have already been forced to buy American warplanes because
they could not be supplied quickly enough by Britain. It is worthwhile
considering very seriously whether it would not be to the advantage of
Britain, America, and Australia for us to buy two American battleships
immediately, which could be based at Singapore and the new naval
dock at Sydney."
COST AND DELIVERY OBSTACLES.
Prime Minister's Views.
Replying to Sir Earle Page's suggestion about the purchase of two
battleships, or at least one from the United States, the Prime Minister,
Mr. Menzies,_ said to-day „I repeat what I have said before that
a battleship involves a convoy of attendant vessels, a dock, and special
stores for ammunition.
„Taking all these elements into account, the cost of one battleship
would be 20.000.000 and of two battleships 30.000.000, some of the
attendant vessels being common to both. J)
„We have been categorically informed that no battleship could be
delivered to us before 1943. In these circumstances my Government is
no more prepared to hypothecate these vast sums for a relatively
remote form of defence than was the Lyons-Page Government, which,
it will be remembered, was not prepared to decide to order a battleship
or battleships.
„The conception of my Government of the defence problem is
apparently much more urgent and realistic than the one entertained
by Sir Earle Page. What we are looking for is defence in 1939, 1940,
De door de Ver. Staten v. N. Amerika op stapel te zetten 45.000 tons
slagschepen (met 40,6 cm geschut) kosten per stuk 93 millioen dollar
(Marineblad Aug. 1939 biz. 992) Red.
