The promptness with which the Bill was introduced into the Commons following first indications of the British Government's plan to lend from £10,000,000 to £60,000,000 to her new allies that they might rearm against possible aggression, is reassuring proof of the steady development and progress in the enormous defence programme. Loans to Poland, Rumania, Turkey and Greece whom Britain has guaranteed, will enable these countries to be equipped with British arms and stand in readiness to do their part The magnitude of the scheme follows naturally upon the vast sums Britain herself is spending. upon her own defence needs. Both the War Minister Mr. Leslie Here-Belisha, and the Secretary for Air, Sir Kingsley Wood, declared at the time when apparent delays brought criticism—ai their Departments, that a major difficulty wa: to decide on designs, so swiftly were improvements being offered. These in many instances have been arbitrarily fixed, and the stocks o: finished materials. and weapons are mounting higher daily, but in proportion to what British skill and engineering science makes possible as well as competition abroad, these stocks are largely being outdated, good as they are. Britain's defence, together with the security of her Empire and her friends, is being safeguarded while the enormous energy and expenditure towards that aim are being exploited to the utmost. The amazing process has now very obviously become so far advanced that c slowing up of production is to be expected. though the lag in output will be in part offset by the purchases of allies under the loan scheme for that purpose. The. slowing up will probably be deliberate on the part of the Government to allow for discretionary adjustments to make use of the latest design: chiefly for purely British needs. Herein lies a problem even now to be foreseen in that Poland, Rumania, Greece and Turkey, and other nations entering the mutual defence system may withhold their purchases except for the latest equipments. Stock market fluctuations of aircraft and other arms plant shares will quite probably, in conjunction with unemployment registrations, keep a tally of these and similar developments. The major objective in industrial preparedness. however, has been established beyond doubt.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.