HC Deb 10 April 1934 vol 288 cc154-5
34. Mr. MANDER

asked the Prime Minister whether he has now given consideration to the appeals made to him to appoint a special committee, in view of the Naval Conference of 1935, to consider the advisability of building battleships in excess of 10,000 tons; and whether a decision can now be announced?

The PRIME MINISTER (Mr. Ramsay MacDonald)

As stated in Command Paper 4189, exhaustive investigation has shown that the arbitrary figure of 10,000 tons as the limit of a capital ship would fail to command general acceptance. The size of capital ship which the United Kingdom had proposed was stated in Command Paper 4122; up to the present it has proved impossible to obtain international agreement even for the figures mentioned in that Paper. In those circumstances, it is not considered advisable to appoint a special committee for the specific purpose suggested.

Mr. MANDER

Does not the Prime Minister think that it would allay a lot of misunderstanding in different parts of the country and in different parts of this House if an impartial public investigation were made into this difficult problem?

The PRIME MINISTER

I really do not.