Military Vote Reduced: Government to Try for New Battleship Berlin, Dec, 17.
The Reichsrath to-day, by 36 votes to 32, adopted the motion of a Prussian deputy demanding that the sum of Ins. 9,300,000, which is the first instalment towards construction of the proposed new! battleship, be deleted from the Budget.
Dee. 18.
The Reichsrath, which adopted a motion yesterday that the sum of Ins, 9,300,000, the first instalment towards the construction of the proposed new battleship, be deleted from the Budget, also has adopted 'a resolution reducing by Ins. 6,000,- 000 the proposed expenditure for military purposes. The Government now intends to submit two Budgets to the Reichstag, one with the cost without, The Minister of Defence, Gessler, in a speech before the Reichsrath to-day, defending the proposal to build a new battleship, Said that the Government's view was that, until progress in world disarmament had been made, it was its duty' to' carry out the modest] naval programme allowed Germany by the Treaty of Versailles.
Dr. Gessler pointed out that, out of the six cruisers Germany "wa permitted to construct, only five Were building and, out of the six! battleships allowed, the construction of only four was contemplated. The Government, he continued, tonsidered that it must at all costs. take! steps. to safeguard. the sea route to East Prussin, which now wa impossible with the light' naval forces possessed by Germany.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.