Rome, Dec. 14.
A total sum of 10,000,000,000 lire has been earmarked for the development, and the speeding up, of Italian armaments.
An official statement, in which this figure was revealed, says that the step was an "inevitably necessity, owing to the present world situation.
The statement was issued after a meeting of the Cabinet Council this morning, under the presidency of N Duce. The Budget for 1939/1940 was approved at this meeting.
Only four-fifths of this huge sum is included in the estimates—the remaining one-fifth will be kept in hand, and used according to the necessities of the moment.
It is thus estimated that the expenditure for 1989-1940 will exceed the Tokyo, Dec. 14.
Japanese fishery rights in territorial waters off Soviet possessions in the Japan, Okhotsk and Behring Seas, employing 30,000 fishermen and violaing ¥.50,000,000 to Y.60,- 000,000 profits annually, would be reduced to one-fifth if the Soviet terms for a modus vivendi were accepted, according to the spokesman of the Foreign Office today.
The spokesman said that this was based on a rough estimate but that the Soviet proposals for the. cancellation of the Hirota-Karakhan Agreement, to exclude the so-called forty stabilized lots from the activ y of} Japanese fishermen, would deal a serious loss to Japanese fishermen in view of the great value of those forty fishery lots.
The so-called stabilized lots, stipulated in the Hirota-Karakhan Agreement, the spokesman pointed out, constituted 73 per cent. of the total number of Japanese-managed fishery lots.
He declared that Japan had no idea of accepting the Soviet proposals, although negotiations would be continued with the Moscow Gov ernment. for reaching a definite agreement, Fundamentally speaking, - the spokesman the Portsmouth Treaty of 1905 stipulated fishery concessions to Japan, with the exception of those fishery grounds held by Russians and foreigners at that time—Reuter. current year's estimates by nearly 2,500,000,000 lire but, if it is above the one-fifth included, the latter will be Peiping Beflagged For exceeded by over 4,000,000,000 lire.
The current year's estimates were, on the other hand, exceeded by an extra 21 per cent. expenditure, which [amounted to 7,000,000,000 lire.
The total revenue was estimated at 24,590,000,000 lire, and the expenditure nearly 29,500,000,000 lire.
The only new tax to be imposed is a levy on private businesses, announced last month, which should raise nearly—1,250,000,00@ lire—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.