Naval Aid Bill
The Naval Aid Bill was a bill introduced in the Canadian Parliament at the end of 1912 by the Conservative government of Sir Robert L. Borden. The bill would have provided the Royal Navy with the funds to construct a number of battleships or battle cruisers to strengthen the Fleet. From 1912 to 1914 the three battleships envisaged played an extremely important part in the Navy's long-term plans to maintain naval superiority in Home waters and in the Mediterranean. The bill was ultimately defeated by the Liberal majority in the Senate in May, 1913.
An Act to authorize measures for increasing the effective naval forces of the Empire.
HIS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
1. This Act may be cited as The Naval Aid Act.
2. From and out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of Canada there may be paid and applied a sum not exceeding thirty-five million dollars for the purpose of immediately increasing the effective naval forces of the Empire.
3. The said sum shall be used and applied under the direction of the Governor in Council in the construction and equipment of battleships or armoured cruisers of the most modern and powerful type.
4. The said ships when constructed and equipped shall be placed by the Governor in Council at the disposal of His Majesty for the common defence of the Empire.
5. The said sum shall be paid, used and applied and the said ships shall be constructed and placed at the disposal of His Majesty subject to such terms, conditions and arrangements as may be agreed upon between the Governor in Council and His Majesty's Government.[1]
Footnotes
- ↑ Tucker. p. 426.
Bibliography
- Tucker, Gilbert Norman, Ph.D. (1962). The Naval Service of Canada: Its Official History. Volume I: Origins and Early Years. Ottawa: King's Printer.
