According to a news item wanted the nobility of this British colony to present the British government a gift with a value of 210.000.000 Dutch guilders consisting of 3 dreadnoughts and 9 armoured cruisers. In the meantime spoke a journalist of the newspaper Evening Standard with admiral Lord Beresford.(1) Although the latter was very pleased with the promised gift he wanted to wait before to give a definitive response. The value of the gift was comparable with half the navy budget for 1913. However if there broke a war out in the next coming 3 years England didn’t had no benefits of this promised gift caused by lacking enough sailors at that moment. There were at that moment all ready 5,000 sailors too short and with an increase of the promised gift there were 20,000 men lacking!
Note
1. Charles William de la Poer Beresford, 1st Baron Beresford (10 February 1846-6 September 1919), also member of the parliament and who was opponent of sir John Fisher the British naval architect.
