§ 46. Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYasked the Prime Minister whether he will consider making proposals to the Governments of the United States of America, France, and Japan, for the calling of a Conference of those Powers, together with ourselves, to consider a further limitation of naval armaments, especially 427 with regard to cruisers and submarines which are outside the scope of the Washington Agreement?
§ The PRIME MINISTER (Mr. J. Ramsay MacDonald)I need hardly assure the hon. and gallant Member that I am most anxious for further steps to be taken for the limitation of naval armaments, but I can at the present stage only refer to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for North Hackney (Mr. J. Harris) on the 30th April.
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYDid the right hon. Gentleman observe the rider passed by the United States Senate to the Naval Appropriation Bill, asking for such a Conference, and can he do anything to meet that request?
§ The PRIME MINISTERYes, I have observed that they have repeated their rider; that they have not only done it once but done it twice, and I welcome it as a manifestation of their desires.
§ Sir A. SINCLAIRCould the right hon. Gentleman not give the House an opportunity of passing a Resolution in a similar sense?
§ The PRIME MINISTERI should be very glad to do so, and perhaps an opportunity will be found in the course of the Estimates or something else which will at any rate amount to that.