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1 Sir George Pearce, Minister for External Affairs, to Mr J. A. Lyons, Prime Minister
Letter MELBOURNE, 26 January 1937
PERSONAL AND SECRET
Herewith I forward three copies of a memorandum that I have
drafted re the proposal for a Dominions capital ship based on
Singapore. I thought that perhaps you might wish to send a copy to
Parkhill and Casey. [1] I have not mentioned the matter to
Parkhill, but some time ago when Casey was speaking to me about
the U.K. Govt proposed Defence Loan and the possibility of our
sharing in it for Defence purposes, I mentioned the matter to him.
I have not dwelt on the strategic value of a capital ship at
Singapore as that is so obvious from our point of view. The
presence of the battle cruiser Australia with 12" guns in our
waters at the outbreak of the Great War drove the German Pacific
Fleet with 8" guns away from our shores.
G.F.PEARCE
I leave Melbourne for WA on Feb 3rd and will remain in WA until
after the Referendum campaign is over.
G.F.P.
1 Copies of the memorandum were sent to Sir Archdale Parkhill,
Minister for Defence, and R. G. Casey, Treasurer. In an undated
acknowledgment of this letter, Prime Minister Lyons said that he
would 'take an early opportunity of discussing this matter with
them' (AA: CP 290/6, bundle 1, item 28).
Enclosure
Memorandum by Sir George Pearce, Minister for External Affairs
MELBOURNE, 26 January 1937
SECRET AND CONFIDENTIAL
In 1934 just before the visit of Sir Maurice Hankey [1] and while
still Minister for Defence, I proposed to the Prime Minister that
we should sound the other Dominion Governments on the proposal of
a joint contribution towards a capital ship in the British Fleet,
the ship to be based on Singapore.
The reasons I then set out were that in an emergency, it would
take some time, probably twenty-eight days, for a capital ship or
ships to reach Singapore from the Mediterranean. Furthermore,
there was always the danger of the Suez being blocked at a time of
emergency. But with a capital ship present at Singapore any threat
in the Pacific would be considerably lessened.
On Sir Maurice Hankey coming out to Australia, I obtained the
approval of the Prime Minister to sound Sir Maurice on this
proposition. Sir Maurice quite approved of the strategic value of
the proposal and said he had little doubt that the British
Government would approve. The Prime Minister subsequently agreed
that I should accompany Sir Maurice Hankey to New Zealand to
discuss defence matters in general and the above proposal in
particular, with the New Zealand Government.
When in Wellington, this proposal was discussed with Mr Forbes
[2], Mr Coates [3] and Mr Cobbe (Minister for Defence) [4], with
Sir Maurice Hankey present. The New Zealand Ministers were
generally favorable to the proposal.
At this time it was contemplated that there was to be an Imperial
Conference in 1935 or 1936 and it was suggested that the other
Dominions should be approached with a view to the matter being
discussed at the Imperial Conference. The death of the late King
led to the postponement of the proposed Imperial Conference and
when Sir Maurice Hankey passed through Canada on his way to the
United Kingdom the disturbed state of Canadian politics made it
inadvisable for him to broach the subject there.
When in Australia, Sir Maurice expressed the opinion that South
Africa was greatly concerned at the world situation and was
desirous of improving her defence position. He thought the
proposal which I had made was one which would appeal to the South
African Government. The world situation today is much more serious
than in 1934 when I first made the proposal. The German Navy is
much stronger and there is some sort of agreement existing between
Germany and Japan, although just how far the agreement goes is
unknown. The Army and Navy factions in Japan are becoming more
aggressive and, as is shown by the fall of the Hirota Cabinet, are
dominating the political situation. A civil war in Spain has
created a situation in Europe which may have serious repercussions
in the Mediterranean and the withdrawal of British capital ships
from the North Sea and the Mediterranean becomes every day more
difficult.
The recent increase by over one million pounds of the expenditure
by Canada on defence shows that that Dominion is awaking to a
realization of the dangers of the situation. The matter is one
which should be considered at the forthcoming Imperial Conference.
The proposal in brief is that a capital ship, probably costing
from eight to ten million pounds, especially adapted for service
in the Pacific and based on Singapore should be contributed by the
Dominions, the British Government to be responsible for manning
the ship and for its maintenance. It might be considered whether
the Dominions should not also contribute to the maintenance of the
ship. I would suggest that the cost should be shared by the
Dominions on a population basis except in the case of India where
some other basis might be agreed to if India desired to be
included with the Dominions in this contribution.
G.F.PEARCE
[AA : CP 290/6, BUNDLE 1, ITEM 28]
1 The Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence, Sir Maurice
Hankey, visited Australia during the Victorian Centenary
Celebrations in November 1934 and held general discussions on
defence questions. He also visited New Zealand and Canada during
his tour.
2 George W. Forbes, New Zealand Prime Minister and Minister for
External Affairs 1930-35.
3 Joseph G. Coates, New Zealand Minister for Transport 1931-35,
for Finance 1933-35, and for Customs 1933-35
4 John G. Cobbe, New Zealand Minister for Defence 1928-35.
[AA : CP 290/6, BUNDLE 1, ITEM 28]
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