§ 5. Sir WILLIAM DAVISONasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will assure the House that, in view of recent events in Germany, there will be no further destruction of our existing naval strength under the Treaty of London, regard being had to Article 21 of such treaty?
The FIRST LORD of the ADMIRALTY (Sir Bolton Eyres Monsell)I assume that my hon. Friend refers to any further scrapping of ships under the treaty. Pending the Naval Conference, which we hope will take place this year, it would be undesirable publicly to discuss such a matter, but my hon. Friend may rest assured that I have had this question for a long time fully in mind.
§ Sir W. DAVISONI am much obliged to my right hon. and gallant Friend. I am sure he can assure the House that the Admiralty fully recognises that, while some of the ships scheduled for destruction may not be equal to first-line work, they will be invaluable in protecting our food supplies in time of war.