This Fleet would, when fully manned, require a personnel of approximately 15,000 officers and men.
The Fleet to be divided into two divisions as follows:—
| EASTERN DIVISION. | |||
| Class of Vessel. | Number. | ||
| In Full Commission. | With Reduced Crew. | Total. | |
| Armoured cruiser | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Protected cruiser | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Torpedo-boat destroyer | 8 | 4 | 12 |
| Submarine | 3 | ... | 3 |
| Depôt ship for torpedo-boat destroyers | 2 | ... | 2 |
| Fleet repair ship | ... | ... | ... |
| Total | 19 | 7 | 26 |
| WESTERN DIVISION. | |||
| Armoured cruiser | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Protected cruiser | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Torpedo-boat destroyer | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Submarine | 9 | ... | 9 |
| Depôt ship for torpedo-boat destroyers | 1 | ... | 1 |
| Fleet repair ship | 1 | ... | 1 |
| Total | 21 | 5 | 26 |
| Grand total of both divisions | 40 | 12 | 52 |
That would necessitate £3,000,000 a year expenditure for the first five years, rising gradually to £5,000,000 a year. To this the Australian Government is understood to be agreeable.
New Zealand does not propose to organise a naval force of her own, but will assist the British Admiralty with a subsidy. That subsidy is to be devoted to the use of the unit in China waters.
Canada's naval plans at present are not known. After the Imperial Defence Conference of 1909 Sir Wilfrid Laurier found both his instincts for frugality and for peace outraged by the forward policy favoured by other of the Dominions. He decided to sacrifice the former and not the latter, and embarked on a naval programme which, whilst it involved a good deal of expenditure, made it fairly certain that no Canadian warship would ever fire a shot in anger, since none would be completed until she had become hopelessly obsolete. His successor in office has stopped that naval programme. It is possible that the new administration will decide that Canada should contribute in some effective form to Imperial naval defence, and she may be responsible for a naval unit in the Pacific.
Latin America.—Brazil (whose interests, however, are in the Atlantic rather than the Pacific) has two modern battleships of the "Dreadnought" type, and one other building. Chili has at present no really modern warship, but projects two "Dreadnoughts" and up-to-date small craft. The existing Fleet consists of one battleship, two armoured cruisers, and four protected cruisers. The Republic of Argentine has at present several vessels practically obsolete, the most modern cruisers having been built in 1896. There are three battleships, four armoured cruisers, and three protected cruisers. A modern navy is projected with, as a nucleus, two 25,000-ton battleships of twenty-two knots, armed with twelve-inch guns. Mexico, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, have no useful Fleets.
The following table will give as accurate a forecast as possible of naval strength in the Pacific in the immediate future:—