§ 4. Mr. WILMOTasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in order to comply with the Article of the Covenant of the League which requires that every international agreement shall be registered with the secretariat and published as soon as possible, the Anglo-German Naval Agreement has been so registered; and whether it is the intention of His Majesty's Government that the provision of the Article that no international agreement shall be binding until registered shall apply to the Anglo-German Naval Agreement?
§ Sir S. HOAREThe text of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement has been communicated to the League of Nations and I understand that it will be registered forthwith.
§ Mr. WILMOTWill the right hon. Gentleman answer the last part of my question and inform us whether the Agreement is in force now, or whether it will not be in force until it has in fact been registered in accordance with the Covenant?
§ Sir S. HOAREI did not apprehend that that was the object of the last passage in the hon. Member's question. If he will put down that specific question, I will give him a specific answer.
§ 25. Mr. WILMOTasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the increases in German armaments recently published are accepted by His Majesty's Government as being in accordance with the Anglo-German Agreement?
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the ADMIRALTY (Sir Victor Warrender)I presume that the hon. Member is referring to the information published by the German Government regarding the ships they have laid down, or intend to lay down, this year. As will be seen by reference to the exchange of Notes, this programme formed no part of the Anglo-German Agreement, but it is in no way contrary to any part of it.
§ Mr. WILMOTAre we to interpret that as meaning that the increase in the number of German submarines is in accordance with the sanction given by the British Government in the Anglo-German Agreement?
§ Sir V. WARRENDERThe hon. Gentleman must understand what I have said in my reply. This Agreement has not any relation to the German programme of the period before the Agreement.
§ Mr. WILMOTAm I not right in understanding the hon. Member to say that this large increase in German naval armaments did not conflict with the Agreement?
§ Sir V. WARRENDERThat is what I said in my answer.
§ 26. Sir WILLIAM DAVISONasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will inform the House what will be the average age in the year 1941 of the British and German capital ships, respectively, under the Naval Agreement recently entered into?
§ Sir V. WARRENDERThe Anglo-German Naval Agreement did not specify the rate at which the German Fleet will be built. I cannot, therefore, say how many new ships Germany will have built, or how many old ships Germany will still retain, in 1941. The existing 15 British capital ships would have an average age 729 of 23½ years in 1941, but the average age of the capital ships that we shall possess on that date will depend on what replacement programme is adopted by His Majesty's Government in the meantime.
§ Sir W. DAVISONDo the Admiralty not realise that in arriving at those percentages the age of the ships is a material factor, and is it not recognised that a ship over 20 years old is obsolete; also, on those figures, is it not a very serious matter that the Admiralty should inform the House of Commons as soon as possible as to the renewals which will be required to meet this new German Fleet?
§ Mr. MACQUISTENDoes the hon. Gentleman not realise that if these ships were all replaced now it would solve the whole problem of the distressed areas?
§ Captain PETER MACDONALDDo we understand from the Minister's reply that existing German tonnage was not taken into consideration when the new Treaty was entered into?
§ Sir V. WARRENDERThe new Agreement puts a limit to the extent to which the German Fleet can be built up. Whether the Agreement came into force or not, that construction would still have continued.
§ Sir W. DAVISONDo the Admiralty agree with that?