16. Captain BENNasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, in view of the ratification of the Locarno Treaty by the House of Commons, he intends to postpone further expenditure on the new cruiser programme pending the summoning of the proposed conference on disarmament?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANThe answer is in the negative.
Captain BENNIs the Government's programme of armaments quite unaffected by what other nations may decide at any time to do?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANNo, but the whole question of a future possible conference on disarmament is under consideration.
Captain BENNCould a saving be effected if the programme were postponed till we know whether disarmament is to take place?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANI cannot add anything to my answer.
§ 21. Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he now has information of the postponement of part of the appropriations in the Japanese naval budget for shipbuilding; what effect this will have on the Japanese building programme; and whether he can hold out any hopes of additional economies in our own building programme as a consequence.
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANI have no further information to give to the hon. and gallant Member on this matter. Our programme of new construction was decided upon after the most searching consideration had been given to all the factors governing the need of the British Empire and no alteration is contemplated in this programme, which was never designed to compete step by step with the building undertaken by any Power.
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYIn his previous answer the right hon. Gentleman said he had no information beyond what had appeared in the Press. How is it that the Admiralty, with their means of information, cannot get news of a very important matter like this in the Japanese Parliament?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANAll we have seen is the same report that the hon. and gallant Gentleman has seen himself. So far we have been unable to verify it.
§ Lieut. - Commander KENWORTHYHave we not a naval attache at Tokio, and is it not the duty of the Admiralty to find nut an important matter of this sort?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANYes, but the naval attache at Tokio is not able to find out what Cabinet decisions were arrived at.
§ Lieut. - Commander KENWORTHYThis was a decision of the Parliament.
§ Commander BELLAIRSIs it not the case that the so-called postponement had nothing whatever to do with the sanctioned programme but only with the prospective programme which has not been sanctioned?